No Time to Waste: McDuffie Became Immediate UW Starter, Seeks Stardom

Los Angeles-area defensive back is the latest in the long line of prototype big-play Husky corners.

Cornerback Trent McDuffie turned up everywhere during recruiting. Official visit to Oklahoma. Unofficial trip to Oregon. Alabama consideration. Top 100 lists. Radio guest on Portland's 1080 The Fan -- at the same time he was looking over Eugene.

Through all of the adulation, the Los Angeles-area player waited for someone to do something other than fawn all over him. He got his wish. It caught him off guard.

"The Washington visit really blew me back and I wasn't expecting that," McDuffie told uscscoop.com's Scott Schrader in April 2018. "The way they practice is really high-paced and how Jimmy Lake breaks things down was really impressive."

The four-star recruit chose the Huskies, identified by a recent Sports Illustrated study as one of the  top 10 programs for developing defensive backs over the past decade, and a top 5 school for cornerbacks.

With McDuffie on the roster, the UW likely won't be losing its exalted rankings any time soon. 

From St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, he cracked the Husky lineup early on as a true freshman and never came out, starting 11 of 13 games.

McDuffie was a playmaker, collecting nine tackles against USC, a forced fumble and fumble recovery against BYU, and an interception and forced fumble against Washington State in the Apple Cup.

Others took notice. Pro Football Focus named McDuffie to its Freshman All-American second team and its All-Pac-12 second team.

"I'm real impressed with the young guys, like Eddie and Trent," the Huskies' All-Pac-12 defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike said, referring to linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio and the precocious corner.

At St. John Bosco, cornerback Chris Steele, now at USC, played opposite McDuffie in the secondary. They called themselves "Muscle and Flash." Steele was the hitter, McDuffie a speedster.

The Huskies typically trot out three corners, sometimes more. Seniors Elijah Molden and Keith Taylor and McDuffie, now a sophomore, are all returning starters. Fellow sophomore Kyler Gordon was the starter for two games before McDuffie move past him.

What drew McDuffie to Washington will now test him. The Husky defensive backs remain in fierce competition at all times, with players rewarded at any time. More elite players are on their way.

"We definitely have some talent back there and have more talent coming in that's going to push those positions," Lake said. "The competition is going to keep everyone on their toes. Our four signees could play on day one."

To further convince anyone of the opportunity at hand, the Husky coach only has to point to McDuffie and his solid track record. 

SUMMARY: The sophomore corner is a fast-track player, impressing the UW coaching staff as soon as he showed up. Gordon, a guy with weighty reputation, couldn't fend him off.

GRADE (1 to 5): McDuffie brings star quality. He's instinctive and productive, the prototype Husky cornerback. He creates turnovers nonstop. He gets a 4. No reason to stop there.