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4-Star Recruit: Big-Hitter DB Steven Ortiz Jr. Considers UW Offer

Steven Ortiz from Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, Arizona, described getting an offer in-person from UW Coach Jimmy Lake as amazing.  Could the Huskies go into this state and snag another top DB?
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Steven Ortiz Jr., a 4-star recruit listed as the No. 20 cornerback in the country, has an offer from Washington that could make him the next great Arizona-produced defensive back to join the Huskies. 

UW coach Jimmy Lake personally extended the scholarship to Ortiz on a recent visit.

"I had been (to Washington) before and loved it," Ortiz said. "Going again this time and getting the offer straight from coach Lake was amazing."

In recent years, the Huskies have done well with other Arizona defensive backs, among them Byron Murphy, Dominique Hampton and Jacobe Covington. 

Ortiz doesn't just share the same name with former Boston Red Sox standout David "Big Papi" Ortiz, he likes to hit people like the slugger once crushed baseballs. 

"When I have the opportunity to get a big hit, I take it," Ortiz said.  

Yet this the 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior will pass up the grandstanding collision on a receiver because he prides himself as a sure tackler, as well.   

"I don't always go for the big hit because you can't miss like that," he said.

Although he gives up four inches and 60 pounds to "Big Papi," he's already reached the size of one of the better defensive backs produced in the desert in the past few years, Murphy, now in the NFL.  

"Washington's had a lot of great DBs," Ortiz said.  "My favorites are probably Budda Baker and Murphy."

Ortiz was a receiver and linebacker in youth football before finding a home in the defensive backfield.  He scored a lot of touchdowns before switching over.   

"I was a good receiver and I played linebacker because in youth that's where they put the best tacklers," he said.

He says playing the other positions helped convert him into one of the top DBs in the country, and his 4.5-second, 40-yard dash time from his sophomore year makes him one of the fastest.

During the Coronavirus-related shutdown at Desert Edge High, Ortiz keeps himself busy by working out on his own.  

Many project Ortiz as leaning to Washington but he isn't in a hurry to get the decision out of the way.

"My goal is to announce before the first game of my senior season," Ortiz said.