Inside The Huskies

How DeBoer Intends to Keep the Top Recruits Home

The new UW football coach and his staff are making introductions as fast as they can.
Dan Raley|
How DeBoer Intends to Keep the Top Recruits Home
How DeBoer Intends to Keep the Top Recruits Home

Marc Wilson remembers stepping over unpacked boxes scattered throughout the office of a newly hired University of Washington football coach named Don James. 

They had a pleasant conversation and then the quarterback from North Seattle's Shorecrest High School — considered the state's top recruit and one of the nation's best at his position — went home and committed to BYU.  

Wilson would become a record-setting passer, a first-team All-American selection and an NFL player for a decade for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders and the New England Patriots.

But not a Husky.

James was left to introduce himself around Washington state and make inroads where he could. The next year, in fact, the Husky leader signed running back Joe Steele from Seattle's Blanchet High School and rated the state's No. 1 player, coaxing him away from Notre Dame. He sent a message that his program was, indeed, worthy of top local talent.

Kalen DeBoer finds himself in a similar situation as an incoming UW football coach. He's trying to sell himself and his coaches who have been in town for just two months. He's got obstacles to overcome.

He takes over a football offering that's been damaged some by a disconcerting 4-8 season left behind by the departed Jimmy Lake, who had a team projected to be one of the top 20 FBS entries. As personable as he was, Lake hadn't made inroads yet with the most elite regional players. 

DeBoer now has his Wilson moment, hoping for a better outcome than his legendary Husky coaching predecessor received. Like James, he needs to model his system on the field.

"No. 1, it just takes time," the coach said. "Our culture within our team will show itself over the course of time. It's word of mouth from our players. And just the way they act and the way they are and what people see when they watch them play."

Yet DeBoer is still waiting on Josh Conerly's college football decision that's been continuously delayed. A mobile 6-foot-5, 283-pound offensive tackle from Seattle's Rainier Beach High, Conerly is widely regarded the state's top recruit as well as the nation's top schoolboy lineman. He's still available. 

Conerly has a final list of six: Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC and the UW. He will have an answer for everyone in March.

Lately, the tackle has taken a trip to South Florida and he's been seen on social media posts modeling Miami Hurricanes uniforms in various settings.

Should Conerly choose to go elsewhere, and some people think he's headed either to Michigan or staying home, this won't crush the new coaching staff, which, similar to James, will press on to the next player.

Yet signing that first can't-miss local player goes a long way to establishing a program. James did it with Steele. Chris Petersen made this happen by getting then-Bellevue High safety Budda Baker to flip from Oregon. 

It's been unfortunate that Lake wasn't a stronger recruiter, and even more unfortunate that he got fired, because it was a very good year to keep the local talent home, especially much trumpeted O-linemen such as Conerly and others. 

The year before, 5-star edge rusher JT Tuimoloau and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka from the Seattle-Tacoma region each signed with Ohio State while the Huskies welcomed 5-star quarterback Sam Huard into the program.

If Conerly leaves town, the UW will land just two of the state's top 10 players, according to 247Sports.

The roll call: Union wide receiver Tobias Merriweather (Notre Dame), O'Dea offensive lineman Mark Nabou (Texas A&M), Todd Beamer offensive tackle Malik Agbo (Texas), Graham-Kapowsin offensive tackle Vega Ioane (Penn State), Puyallup offensive tackle Dave Iuli (Oregon), Graham-Kapowsin quarterback Joshua Woods (Fresno State), Eastside Catholic linebacker Dishawn Misa (Boise State), Tumwater tight end Ryan Otton (UW) and Sumner safety Tristan Dunn (UW).

DeBoer will find himself tested once more with a 2023 recruiting class that features Tacoma's Lincoln High edge rusher Jayden Wayne, who is ranked as the No. 1 player at his position, someone as widely recruited, if not more, than Conerly.

While those two players will pick a school that suits them best, choosing Washington would go a long way to re-establishing the UW as serious entity again and a place to be.

Meantime, the coach is busy promoting himself and his coaches, and forging local relationships. To back his efforts, the school introduced a social-media campaign that urges homegrown players to be "Loyal to the Soil." It's all about making a connection.

"Right now, we're just barely scratching the surface with what that will become," DeBoer said. "But you get just one chance to make a first impression. I think, right now, we're working hard to make sure the coaches and the state of Washington, everyone involved, knows that's a priority."

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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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