Inside The Huskies

Huskies Gain Commitment From Local QB Caminong

The Garfield recruit promises to bring more state-produced players with him.

Dan Raley

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One of the things Kalen DeBoer says about his University of Washington recruiting efforts so far is he needs to sign more local players.

On Wednesday, the Husky coach and his staff took a notable step in that direction by gaining a commitment from Seattle's Garfield High School quarterback EJ Caminong from the Class of 2024.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Caminong is just the sixth state of Washington-produced player to align with the Huskies in three DeBoer recruiting classes now, joining tight end Ryan Otton (Tumwater), safety Tristan Dunn (Sumner), wide receiver Denzel Boston (Puyallup) now on the roster, and originally recruited by Jimmy Lake, and offensive lineman Landon Hatchett (Ferndale) and defensive lineman Jacob Lane (Puyallup). 

Hatchett and Lane are the only  locals so far in the UW's 19-player list of 2023 commits. 

"I plan to recruit everyone in the state," Caminong told Brandon Huffman of 247Sports. 

If that's the case, he'll be working on O'Dea High running back Jason Brown and offensive tackle Isendre Ahfua to join him in Montlake. 

Both of those 2024 players and 4-star recruits have 20 offers each, topped by Alabama and Georgia.

Caminong is a 3-star recruit who has quarterbacked Garfield to a 5-3 record this season. He holds offers from Colorado, Oregon State and Washington State besides the Huskies.

While he exhibits decent arm strength, recruiters like him for his natural leadership abilities. He's a fiery player who sets a competitive tone on the field. While just a junior, Caminong is just now refining the other elements of his game, such as decision-making. 

While the Huskies are making good on their quest to add more local players, the fact they took a local quarterback in the Class of 2024 is a bit of a surprise considering there are several  coming out of California. Among them are Julian Sayin of Carlsbad, Myles Jackson of Oxnard and Austin Mack of Folsom, all 4-star players who have UW offers.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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