Football Recruitment of Jayden Wayne Continues at Full Speed
Jayden Wayne has been one of Washington state's most heavily recruited football players in some time, potentially drawing more attention than recent can't-miss locals in J.T. Tuiamoloau or Josh Conerly.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound edge rusher from Tacoma's Lincoln High School is currently at 42 scholarship offers and holding with nine months to go until the first signing date.
He's been to nearly every tempting college campus out there for a look-see, taking multiple trips to Alabama, Georgia, USC, Oregon ... and Washington.
Unlike Tuiamoloau or Conerly, other 5-star recruits whose interest in the Huskies seemed to wane notably with no social-media mentions of themselves coming down the stretch before they made overtime decisions, Wayne continues to show the UW just as much attention as any other pursuer.
On Thursday, the Lincoln High standout posted the following collection of UW-related images of him on Twitter.
While the recruiting analysts have Wayne leaning to Alabama at this early date, only the talented teenager really knows what he's thinking.
For instance, they don't have any idea that Wayne randomly and without any prompting on our behalf, or any explanation from him, messaged the following photo to this Husky Sports Illustrated site.
It was as if to say, hey, make sure everyone knows I still could play my college football in Seattle as easily as I could in Tuscaloosa or Eugene.
Still, the pressure for him to play for Alabama is intense. His hosts made sure to capture a photo of him hanging out with fellow 5-star recruit Arch Manning, the latest in the longstanding family of highly visible quarterbacks.
Manning, of course, is not yet committed to anyone and his relatives, for that matter, played their college football for Ole Miss and Tennessee, Alabama's SEC rivals. Anything goes with him, too.
It must be flattering yet mind-numbing to hear the nonstop recruiting pitches coming from the different schools and have random fans reaching out to you on social media, and professing to worship these guys and continuously try to get their attention.
Wayne, however, seems to be businesslike and polite at all times as he deals with this circus atmosphere.
He has to weigh a lot of things before choosing a school. Will Nick Saban be at Alabama throughout his career if he went there? Does he want all of his friends and family members to be able to see him play in person at the UW or relegate most of them to staring at him on national TV broadcasts? Does he want to be part of Oregon's Disneyland approach to college football with its amazing facilities and closets full of uniforms? Is he drawn to new Husky coach Kalen DeBoer as much as others seem to be so far?
Wayne, it appears, could go just about anywhere. Alabama. Oregon. Even to Washington. He should have everything well researched when it comes time for him to make the grand decision.
Meantime, we'll keep checking our Twitter mailbox for any more photos from him.
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