Diving Into Washington's In-State Class for 2024
It's no secret that Washington has struggled to keep the top players from the state at home over the past few years. From the 2021, 2022 and 2023 classes combined, just nine prospects of the 30 ranked inside 247 Sports' top 10 from their respective cycle signed with the Huskies.
Caleb Presley started to buck that trend on the first day of the early signing period, flipping his commitment from Oregon to Washington. Presley, a four-star cornerback, was ranked as the top player in the state in the class of 2023, and has stated on multiple occasions since signing with the Huskies that he's going to lead the charge to keep in-state players at home.
"I’m recruiting every class of 2024 kid in the state of Washington, encouraging them to stay home," Presley said in an interview with 247 Sports' Brandon Huffman. "Malachi Durant, Rahshawn Clark, Jason Brown and Brayden Platt, all of them, and some west coast California kids."
Three of the top 10 players in the state have already made their decisions. Three-star quarterback EJ Caminong announced his intentions to stay home, while four-star offensive tackle Fox Crader has committed to Oregon, and four-star tight end Hogan Hansen is heading to Michigan.
Along with the staff, Presley's job is going to start with four-star running back Jason Brown. The product of O'Dea High School in Seattle is currently ranked as the top player in the state, a top 50 prospect in the country and should be one of the top targets on Washington's board.
One player that it feels like the Huskies might be a bit behind on is Brown's teammate at O'Dea, four-star offensive lineman Isendre Ahfua, who is most likely SEC- bound. Ahfua rose to stardom as a freshman following a visit to Alabama and a video of the 6-foot-5, 330-pound 14-year-old went viral.
The coaching staff needs to find a way to keep players of Brown and Ahufa's caliber at home in order to truly take the program to the next level. They have a great opportunity to do that (and are in good position to do so) with a lot of the top prospects in the state.
Of the seven prospects who haven't announced their college commitments, the Huskies seem to be in very good standing with at least five of them. The staff can build an elite class around those prospects, and getting a commitment from players like four-star linebacker Brayden Platt, four-star athlete Rahshawn Clark and three-star cornerback Kyan McDonald could continue to turn the tides in Washington's favor.
The recruiting staff has been doing an excellent job with unofficial visits, and some of the best players from around the country have flocked to see what's been brewing on Montlake. Five-star defensive lineman David Stone and four-star wide receiver Aaron Butler have both stated their intentions to take an official visit to Washington at some point in the summer, and while pieces of that caliber can go a long way toward headlining the class, its fate will be decided with in-state recruits.
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