Defensive Back with Great Length Chooses Final 5, Which Includes UW
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Maliki Crawford is one of those rare football recruits when it comes to inches and choices.
If his listed measurements on various recruiting websites are accurate, the cornerback from Pacifica High School near the beach in Oxnard, California, stands 6-foot-3 1/2 on a 180-pound frame.
Imagine someone trying to catch a pass with a 75.5-inch-long defender draped all over you.
And in choosing a school, Crawford reads like a winning pull on a slot machine — everything comes up Pac-12.
On Friday, the defensive back revealed his final five choices to be California, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington, unusual that all are from the same Power 5 conference..
Typically a player of his 4-star stature will have a Notre Dame or an Oklahoma mixed in, but Crawford is all West Coast,. He passed on Michigan, Michigan State, Florida State and Miami to get to this point.
Crawford, whose nickname is "Cash," which seems apropos in this day and age of name, image and licensing, was once orally committed to UCLA, but pulled the plug on that only to put the Bruins back into consideration.
The Huskies have made this tallest of all high school cornerbacks a priority since Kalen DeBoer's staff took over in December.
Three days following the announcement of his hiring, UW defensive-backs coach Julius "Juice" Brown extended a scholarship offer to Crawford.
Crawford has kept the Huskies in the running for multiple reasons that he outlined for recruiting guru Brandon Huffman of 247Sports.
"Washington made it because of the impact that the DBs have on the team," he told Huffman. "I really enjoyed the family feel from the coaching staff to the players when I was there. Coach DeBoer also has a good track record against the Pac 12, so there will for sure be a winning culture."
What Crawford didn't say is the UW is aggressively recruiting others on his high school team, in particular on the defense. Pacifica players, by the way, are known as the Mariners.
The Huskies are waiting on Pacifica linebacker Jordan Whitney to choose between Arizona and the UW, plus just this past week they offered fellow defensive back Dayton "Dayday," a Class of 2024 prospect.
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