With 18 Commits, A Closer Look at the UW Talent Grab

The Huskies have pledges from players from seven different states.

University of Washington recruiters may or may not be done combing the country for high school football talent, but here's where the Huskies stand with 18 commitments in hand and fall camp fast approaching.

This is not your grandfather's recruiting class, where state lines once were like customs checkpoints, with people wanting to know where you were going and why.

Broken down, the UW commitment list looks like this: 1) 10 Californians, or more than half of the overall total, which is not a big surprise: 2) just two Washington players, which might be an all-time low; and 3) seven different states — California, Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, South Dakota, Texas and Washington — supplying players to the Huskies, which might be a high-end number.

Kalen DeBoer seems undaunted when many of the current Washington state football prodigies feel no compulsion at all to stay home and play in front of family and friends. Again, it will be interesting to see who might come back home and play in Montlake before they're done.

With much-trumpeted Tacoma edge rusher Jayden Wayne choosing Miami, DeBoer came up with well-publicized Texan Anthony James II. It will be interesting to see who's better at the next level and who stays in college longer.

With elusive Lake Stevens running back Jayden Limar picking Notre Dame, the Huskies turned to California's hard-to-catch Tybo Rogers. Again, make sure to measure the progress of these two as collegians and see who busts out first.

And when hotly pursued Seattle cornerback Caleb Presley said no to the UW and yes to Oregon, DeBoer's staff just came up with Louisiana's equally desirable Curley "Lockdown" Reed III in response. 

With Reed offering his commitment on Thursday, the Huskies shot back up the 247 national rankings to No. 20, one slot ahead of Oregon.

That made these Northwest schools, in a new category we just created, currently 1-2 in the conference in recruiting among all Pac-12 teams that are staying put. They still trail short-timer USC at No. 17 nationally, which puts the Trojans third in the Big Ten behind No. 1 Ohio State and No. 5 Penn State. Why wait to make these distinctions?

Ten of the UW commits are defensive players, leaving the Huskies one defensive back shy of filling out an entire unit for the future.

Keep them together and envision a front four of Jacob Lane and James at edge rushers and Elinneus Davis and Sua Lefotu at down linemen; Deven Bryant and Jordan Whitney at inside linebackers; and a secondary of Diesel Gordon, Leroy Bryant and Reed at cornerbacks and Vincent Holmes at safety. 

Offensively, the Huskies are a tight end, wide receiver and offensive lineman short of putting together an entire offense. 

Picture a future backfield of quarterback Lincoln Kienholz and Rogers at tailback; a pair of wide receivers in Rashid Willians and Keith Reynolds; and four offensive linemen in Landon Hatchett, Zach Henning, Elisha Jackett and Soane Faasolo,

A breakdown of each of these 18 commits and a photo gallery of each one is as follows: 

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UW'S ELITE 18

1) Tybo Rogers, RB, 5-11, 180, Bakersfield, Calif. — One recruiting outfit ranks him as California's No. 2 running back recruit in this class. He was the first commit. He holds offers from nine Pac-12 schools, including the exiting USC and UCLA, plus Boston College and others. 

2) Keith Reynolds, WR, 5-7, 170, Adelanto, Calif. — Reynolds might be the fastest incoming Husky recruit this cycle. He has 77- and 80-yard punt returns, an 89-yard interception return and 77- and 94-yard runs for touchdowns so far in his high school career. He'll catch passes for the UW. 

3) Deven Bryant, LB, 6-1, 210, Bellflower, Calif. — He's one of two players from the St. John Bosco football powerhouse who will become Huskies this time, both of whom will follow eventual NFL first-round cornerback draftee Trent McDuffie from SJB to Montlake. He also holds offers from Oregon, Louisville and Colorado among several suitors.

4) Rashid Williams, WR, 6-2, 195, Pittsburg, Calif. — Williams is the first of four designated 4-star recruits for the Huskies in this class. He turned down Miami, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Oregon among his 18 pursuers to commit to the UW. He's coming off a 55-catch, 753-yard and 11-TD junior season.

5) Jacob Lane, ER, 6-5, 230, Puyallup, Wash. — One of two local commitments for this group, he brings plenty of athleticism on a large frame. His 37-inch vertical leap is an eye-opener. Arizona, California, San Diego State and Utah were among his other options.

6) Diesel Gordon, CB, 6-0, 170, Arlington, Texas — The Huskies turned to this Texas recruit from a 5A school (6A is tops) in the Dallas metroplex. He's used to those bright Friday Night Lights so the college level shouldn't faze him. Arizona State and Utah also offered him.

7) Anthony James II, ER, 6-5, 245, Wylie, Texas — James is the one who will be the most responsible for getting this UW class ranked high when everything is said and done. He's a 4-star player with 23 offers, including SEC teams Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M. By all accounts, he should be ready to play right away when he arrives in Montlake next year.

8) Zach Henning, OT, 6-6, 275, Aurora, Colo. — He's one of three offensive linemen committed to this class, primarily choosing the Huskies over home state Colorado, and giving the Huskies another Rocky Mountain blocker to go with Roger Rosengarten. He also received offers from Kansas State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Indiana and Utah.

9) Vincent Holmes, S, 6-2, 175, San Jacinto, Calif. — The third of the four UW recruits deemed 4-star, Holmes has elite 4.4-second speed over 40 yards. It will be interesting to see who's the fastest, Holmes or Reynolds? He holds offers from USC, UCLA, BYU, Colorado, Oregon State, Washington State and Arizona, among others. He hails from UW cornerback Davon Banks' high school.

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1) Tybo Rogers / Bakersfield

The Bakersfield running back was the first UW commitment for 2023. He played this past season for former Husky running back Rashaan Shehee. 

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2) Keith Reynolds / UW Athletics

This speedster from Southern California was his league MVP, even after playing for a 1-9 team. Nobody could catch him. He played quarterback at times, but the Huskies want him as a wide receiver. 

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3) Deven Bryant / St. John's Bosco

The Huskies dipped into Southern California powerhouse St. John Bosco for two more players, with linebacker Deven Bryant the first to commit.  

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4) Rashid Williams / Pittsburg

This Pittsburg wide receiver is one of four 4-star recruits coming to Seattle in the 2023 class. He's coming off a 55-catch season. 

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5) Jacob Lane / UW

This edge rusher is one of just two Washington state players among the 18, which could be an all-time low. Yet geography no longer seems to matter to most top-level recruits. 

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6) Diesel Gordon / SMU

Gordon gave the Huskies their first of three cornerbacks coming from Texas, Louisiana and California. He played in the highly competitive Dallas Metroplex.

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7) Anthony James / Texas A&M

This edge rusher also hails from Texas and is considered the headliner of this UW recruiting class. He originally was committed to Texas A&M.

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8) Zach Henning / UW

The Huskies went after another Colorado offensive lineman in pursuing Henning, hoping he resembles current UW tackle Roger Rosengarten.

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9) Vincent Holmes / UW

Another 4-star player, Holmes gives the Huskies a second defensive back in two years from San Jacinto, California, joining Davon Banks. The extra-swift Holmes is a safety.

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10) Jordan Whitney / UW

This Southern California linebacker had a longstanding relationship with UW co-defensive coordinator William Inge, beginning when the latter was at Fresno State.

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11) Elisha Jackett / El Modena

This Southern California offensive tackle moves well for a 6-foot-7, 280-pounder, an attribute that prompted both USC and UCLA to offer him.

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12) Sua Lefotu / Lefotu

Another St. John Bosco recruit, Lefotu was limited to just two games over two seasons because of a knee injury, but he's healthy now. 

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13) Landon Hatchett / UW

The Huskies pick up their second Hatchett in three seasons, with Landon joining older brother Geirean for the 2023 season. This one is a traditional center.

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14) Lincoln Kienholz / Kienholz

The Huskies went to South Dakota to find their quarterback of the future. He's a winner, leading his high schools to a pair of state championships. 

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15) Soane Faasolo / Faasolo

This offensive tackle from the Bay Area stretches out to 6-foot-8 and is the third of three at this position the Huskies will bring in.

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16) Leroy Bryant / UW Athletics

The Huskies once pulled a four-year starter and a first-round NFL draft pick in Doug Martin from Fairfield, California. Bryant calls this place home, as well. 

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17) Elinneus Davis / Twitter

The Huskies found this defensive tackle in the Upper Midwest, not far from Kienholz, their South Dakota quarterback. Davis hails Minnesota, on the North Dakota state line,  

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18) Curley Reed III / TCU

The Huskies dipped into Louisiana for a 4-star cornerback, pulling him out of SEC country. Reed, of course, carries the nickname "Lockdown."

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10) Jordan Whitney, LB, 6-2, 205, Oxnard, Calif. — Yet another sprinter, he doubles as a trackman at Pacifica High School who runs the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay. He and Bryant could be future starting linebackers playing side by side someday. He holds offers from USC, Arizona, California, Boise State, Fresno State, Washington State and others.

11) Elishah Jackett, OT, 6-7, 280, Orange, Calif. — He brings an overly impressive frame mixed with plenty of athleticism from Southern California. While rated a 3-star player, he likely scoffs at that label after fielding offers from USC, UCLA, Texas, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Nebraska and more.

12) Sua Lefotu, DT, 6-4, 305, Bellflower, Calif. — Lefotu tore an ACL and has missed all but two games of his sophomore and junior seasons and heads into his senior year at vaunted St. John Bosco looking to get some games in. He's probably looking forward to playing a lot of downs with Bryant, the other UW commit from SJB, for the first time. He's no secret to recruiters, also holding offers from Michigan State, Arizona State, Arizona and Colorado.

13) Landon Hatchett, C, 6-3, 292, Ferndale, Wash. — He's already college size with a high school season left to play. He gives the Huskies a second state commitment and one who was heavily recruited. The younger brother of the UW's Geirean Hatchett, he also holds offers from Oregon, Michigan, Texas A&M and USC. He could end up starting next to his brother someday. 

14) Lincoln Kienholz, QB, 6-3, 185, Pierre, S.D. — He's a dual-threat quarterback with a nice blend of size and speed. Kienholz threw for 37 touchdowns and ran for 12 last fall. He shares DeBoer's South Dakota roots and winning ways, capturing a pair of state championships. He went with the UW instead of Wisconsin, Wyoming and others.

15) Soane Faasolo, OT, 6-8, 270, Menlo Park, Calif. — He's one of four offensive linemen for this class, three of whom consider themselves tackles. A two-way player, he finished his junior season with 11 tackles,. Yet he's clearly a blocker for the college level and the tallest player in this class. He also holds offers from BYU, California, Oregon State and San Jose State.

16) Leroy Bryant, CB, 6-0, 175, Fairfield, Calif. — Bryant comes off a junior season in which he intercepted a pair of passes, forced a pair of fumbles and broke up four passes. He also holds offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Fresno State, Oregon State, Utah, Utah State and Washington State among others.

17) Elinneus Davis, DT, 6-3, 295, Moorhead, Minn. — Another upper Midwest player, Davis felt comfortable enough with the DeBoer staff to turn down home state Minnesota and the Big Ten, plus Iowa State, to commit to the Huskies. He's got excellent feet for a defensive lineman.

18) Curley Reed III, CB, 6-2, 185, Lake Charles, La. — The last of the UW's four 4-star recruits, the player known as "Lockdown" picked the Huskies out of 26 offers, which included the SEC's LSU, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Arkansas and Auburn, plus Oregon, USC and TCU. He's coming off an ACL tear that cost him all but one game of his junior season.

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