Part 1: 10 Huskies Who Outperformed Their Rankings

High school players are given numbers that essentially break down into a star system. The stars don’t always accurately represent how they will play in college nor what their ceiling is, if given the chance.

Stars awarded to Washington Husky recruits and commits have been the latest and probably one of the most criticized topics of the Jimmy Lake coaching era thus far. 

As of now, the UW has one 5-star, three 4-stars and 10 3-stars who are currently committed to the class of 2021. 

Lake and company are still being criticized, even with three of these players rated by Sports Illustrated All-American in the top 10 nation at their respective positions: Owen Prentice is No. 10 for interior offensive lineman, Sam Huard is No. 6 overall for QBs and Jabez Tinae is No. 4 among slot receivers.

Chris Petersen didn’t get quite as much heat for his commits' recruiting stars as Lake has. Is that because UW fans expect more from a more proven team in the West? Or is it because Petersen was known for developing talent similar to Kyle Whittingham in Utah where stars didn’t mean as much to fans?

Yes, Jimmy Lake and Chris Petersen are two different coaches with two different approaches, but it doesn’t mean that Lake can’t be just as successful in developing talent. Lake, after all, helped produce some of the top defensive players to come out of UW.

The players I will mention have outperformed once they hit Husky Stadium during the Petersen era. Lake helped with some of them; with others, he did not. This is to help provide a little perspective and hopefully some peace of mind, every time a non-5 or 4-star kid commits or gets an offer. 

We learn at a young age to “never judge a book by its cover” and these players are a perfect example of why that should still be true.

Hey, Tom Brady was seventh on the depth chart when he went into Michigan and wasn’t drafted until the 6th round as the 199th pick overall and look what he's accomplished now.