UW Continues to Mine JC Ranks for Talent, Offers San Mateo DB
A lot of college football programs won't recruit the junior colleges anymore, especially with the newfound talent pool presented by the transfer portal, but Kalen DeBoer and his University of Washington recruiters have no qualms.
To them, if you can play, it doesn't matter where you come from.
On Wednesday, the Huskies offered cornerback/safety Ja'ir Smith from the College of San Mateo, the California state champion, as they continue to mine the two-year ranks for talent.
The 6-foot-1, 183-pound Smith, originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, is notably a fierce tackler who now holds offers from California, Oregon State, Tempe and the Huskies.
This UW bid for him comes after DeBoer's staff extended a scholarship to cornerback Thaddeus Dixon from Long Beach City College and brought him to the recently completed spring football.
The Huskies also welcomed a pair of walk-ons in quarterback Alex Johnson from Santa Barbara City College and punter Adam Saul from El Camino College.
Last year, DeBoer's recruiters brought in edge rusher Sekai Asoau-Afoa from this same San Mateo program and linebacker Demario King from Cerritos College, with King recently leaving the UW.
Smith started for a San Mateo defense that also featured former Husky defensive tackle Noa Ngalu, who left the UW a year ago.
For the 12-1 Bulldogs, Smith finished with 23 tackles, including a pair of tackles for loss and a sack, and 7 pass break-ups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt.
Most impressive on his highlight video, Smith pulled a DK Metcalf, running nearly the length of the field to tackle an opposing running back and prevent what appeared to be a sure touchdown.
Smith, who had the added difficulty of sprinting from the opposite side of the field, caught the other guy on the San Mateo 17, limiting him to a 60-yard gain.
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