Inside The Huskies

Another Take on the Huskies' Recruiting Weekend, Highlighted by a Smigiel Visit

The 5-star quarterback is the biggest attraction among 40 prospects touring Montlake.

Dan Raley

Newbury Park High quarterback Brady Smigiel is visiting the UW this weekend.
Newbury Park High quarterback Brady Smigiel is visiting the UW this weekend. / Juan Carlo/THE STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK

The good news for the University of Washington in Brady Smigiel's football recruitment is he will leave 50-degree weather in Southern California for something similar once he touches down in Seattle.

As the featured visitor among 40 invited players, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound quarterback from Newbury Park High School in coming for the UW's "Junior Day" activities actually is making his third trip north to hang out with Jedd Fisch's coaching staff.

He previously showed up during a rather cool spring football last April and again during an even cooler December.

So weather conditions, always important to a pass-minded player -- Smigiel has thrown for 11,222 yards and 147 touchdowns in his prep career -- won't necessarily be a deterrent, which often is a concern for a California-produced quarterback prospect.

After all, Smigiel previously was committed to Florida State, which generally promises a moderate climate to practice and play in as part of its sales pitch, at least when it's not hurricane season.

Rather than simply take another tour of the new weight room or even newer team meeting, this 5-star recruit and his family likely have come to hear what the UW can offer in terms of a latest name, image and likeness deal supposedly worth millions (see this latest online projection below).

On the other side, the Huskies appear to be putting a big rush on Smigiel because landing a player with his credentials in the Class of 2026 would go a long way in further legitimizing to others what Fisch is trying to build in Montlake, let alone bring in a kid who obviously can throw.

According to online reports, Smigiel similarly will visit Michigan, South Carolina and hometown UCLA soon as he makes the rounds looking for a good fit financially and philosophically for his talents.

In the old days, this type of quarterback probably would come away from a visit such as this talking about the brotherhood and commitment he encountered -- they care about me more as a person than a player often is the standard and silly refrain -- while being ushered through the glistening facilities.

And he'll likely offer up some of that recruit speak when he returns to California and the websites begin hounding him for his reaction to a weekend in Montlake.

What won't be disclosed -- and it should -- is where the money situation stands with NIL and revenue sharing. Is it close to what the kid wants or not in this new era of college football without any guard rails?

If suddenly there's a hike in Husky Stadium ticket prices, at least everyone will know where the money is going.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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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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