With Spring Ball on Pause, Here's How UW Stands in Using Local Talent

As Kalen DeBoer conducts spring football once more, the University of Washington coach has just about everything he needs.

A Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback. Wide receivers to match. Offensive linemen with plenty of athleticism and promise. Maybe the best edge rusher in the country. An elite linebacker fully healed. Enough cornerbacks now to nearly fill out an entire 11-man defense.

One more thing DeBoer would gladly welcome — and he and his staff are working hard on this — is more locally produced players. That would be the Washington-bred football phenoms, those wearing helmets and pads who have a 206, 253 or 509 area code in order take a slew of recruiting calls or text messages on their cell phones.

These are the prospects who fit the UW's erstwhile "Loyal to the Soil" marketing campaign, the next step in full-service program-building.

While the college game has changed significantly, where all of the top football programs compete for nationwide talent, the Huskies still understand they need to encourage a healthy number of water-logged, salmon-eating, Space Needle-visiting players to stay home and suit up for them on Saturdays.

As it stands, DeBoer has just three returning starters for his second Husky football team who rate as Washington state purebreds in senior tight end Devin Culp (Spokane), junior linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala (Federal Way) and junior cornerback turned Husky hybrid Mishael Powell (Seattle).

Add to that another three to five locals in junior offensive linemen Nate Kalepo (Renton) and the Hatchett brothers Geirean and Landon (Ferndale), who are a sophomore and freshman, and redshirt freshman safety Tristan Dunn (Sumner) and freshman cornerback Caleb Presley (Seattle), all of whom could end up at some point as first-teamers, too.

The recent commitment from Presley, a 4-star prospect from Rainier Beach High, was considered a landmark move for the new coaching staff, as an ice-breaker to convince others to follow him.

"For him to just see us for who we are and know that he can make a difference in our program, of course on the field, but really change and have a trajectory in his impact on what he can do," DeBoer said, breaking it down, "as far as showing guys next year, and the year after that who are local, that knowing this is the place to be, and stay home, here at Washington, is what you're supposed to do."

Looking at the Huskies' 100-plus players who shared in the first three spring football practices, just 23 of the scholarship recipients hail from Washington state, plus another 16 are locals who are walk-ons, which together represent about 35 percent of the roster. This is down from UW teams in previous decades that leaned more to 50 to 60 percent when outside recruiting really meant spending time in California and few other places on an annual basis.

While getting the current Husky team ready for what could be a high-stakes college football season, the UW coaching staff simultaneously will keep pursuing a bevy of 4-star homegrown recruits now drawing a lot of attention.

The best ones include running back Jason Brown and offensive lineman Isendre Ahfua, both from O'Dea High School, and Yelm linebacker Brayden Platt, each of whom is considered among the nation's best at their respective positions and one.

Two or all of them would go a long way to further establishing DeBoer's program and giving it a necessary local flavor to endear itself to the fans and make it the place of choice for elite Northwest players. Just one of these local guys would be most welcome on the roster in Montlake.

Loyal to soil, it's time to plant a new crop. Fertilize it. Cultivate it. Celebrate it.

LOCALS WITH UW SCHOLARSHIPS (23)

Sam Adams, RB, Kirkland, Wash.

Ulumoo Ale, DL, Tacoma, Wash.

Sekai Asoau-Afoa, ER, Tacoma, Wash.

Denzel Boston, WR, South Hill, Wash.

Carson Bruener, LB, Woodinville, Wash.

Devin Culp, TE, Spokane, Wash.

Tristan Dunn, S, Sumner, Wash.

Siaosi Finau, DL, Renton, Wash.

Geirean Hatchett, OG, Ferndale, Wash.

Landon Hatchett, C, Ferndale, Wash.

Nate Kalepo, OG, Renton, Wash.

Jacob Lane, ER, Puyallup, Wash.

Quentin Moore, TE, Kenmore, Wash.

Dylan Morris, QB, Puyallup, Wash.

Ryan Otton, TE, Tumwater, Wash.

Samuel Peacock, OT, Gig Harbor, Wash.

Mishael Powell, CB, Seattle

Owen Prentice, C, Seattle

Caleb Presley, CB, Federal Way, Wash.

Sav'ell Smalls, ER, Seattle

Jabez Tinae, WR, Seattle

Alphonzo Tuputala, LB, Federal Way, Wash.

Jack Westover, TE, Bellevue, Wash.

LOCALS WHO ARE UW WALK-ONS (16)

Owen Coutts, TE, Seattle

Drew Fowler, LB, Bellevue, Wash.

Austin Harnetiaux, LB, Seattle

Antonio Hill, CB, Bellevue, Wash.

Milton Hopkins, ER, Seattle

Jake Jennings, ER, Gig Harbor, Wash.

Alex Johnson, QB, Beaux Arts Village, Wash.

Tyson Lang, QB, Snohomish, Wash.

Jack McCallister, P, Edmonds, Wash.

Bradley McGannon, DL, Yelm, Wash.

Griffin Miller, LB, Sammamish, Wash.

Addison Schrock, PK, Bellingham, Wash.

Styles Siva-Tu'u, LB, Seattle

Sean Toomey-Stout, S, Greenbank, Wash.

Tristan Warner, S, Tacoma, Wash.

Mason Wheeler, WR, Vancouver, Wash.

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