UW Draws Top National Recruiting Ranking from SI All-American
Kalen DeBoer sat down in front of media members and expressed his deep satisfaction with how well his 2023 University of Washington football recruiting class had turned out.
Glancing at social-media posts, Husky followers couldn't contain themselves with how giddy they were over the more than two-dozen signees announced.
So with the head coach and the fan base signing off on it, how will did these UW recruiters fare with the various national analysts?
Of the four leading organizations weighing in and sizing up this annual college football talent grab, SI All-American supplied the Huskies with their highest grade in its Top 25 ranking — pegging them 22nd, which was two slots higher than next-best slot for DeBoer and Company.
Of the others, Rivals.com came next and slotted the UW 23rd while both CBSSports.com and On3.com ranked the Huskies in 27th place.
John Garcia, director of football recruiting for SI All-American, whose story you can read here, acknowledged the late work accomplished by the Huskies in coming up with a number grade for them.
"Another program working well in December, Washington continued that momentum Wednesday in keeping Caleb Presley home. The longtime Oregon Duck commitment was the sole ounce of negative news coming out of Eugene. Locking in wide receiver Taeshaun Lyons days earlier also stands out with UW recruiting down the stretch."
For those wondering what it might have taken to elevate the Huskies even more, the late commitment flip of South Dakota quarterback Lincoln Kienholz from the UW to Ohio State no doubt held them back some.
Signing quarterbacks always carry a lot of weight in these sort of rankings — and the DeBoer's staff chose to go without one for this recruiting cycle once Kienholz moved on from his Montlake commitment.
The late pick-up of Presley, a 4-star cornerback, Washington state's No. 1 overall recruit and a commitment flip from Oregon back to the UW, no doubt had a big impact in the Huskies rubbing elbows with the others in SIAA's Top 25.
Of the other Pac-12 teams identified in Garcia's national listing, Oregon ranked sixth, USC 13th and Utah 24th.
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