Inside The Huskies

Huskies, Graham Continue Full-Court Press on SoCal Running Back

The UW coach visited with Brian Bonner for the third time in three weeks, counting Montlake and California.
Dan Raley|
Scottie Graham meets with running back Brian Bonner once more.
Scottie Graham meets with running back Brian Bonner once more. | Bonne

Scottie Graham, University of Washington running-backs coach, might as well rent an apartment in Valencia, California.

On Wednesday, for the third time in three weeks -- and twice in that city over 16 days -- he met with 4-star running back Brian Bonner Jr. from Valencia High School.

That's what's called a full-court press in recruiting.

The sun was out in Southern California. Everyone was smiling. Looked like some sort of mall backdrop.

Regardless of the details, the Huskies and Graham clearly are pursuing the 6-foot, 185-pound rusher as hard as anyone on their list of must-haves.

The competition appears to be stiff, with Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State and UCLA all in the running for the 1,493-yard ground-gainer. He seems to have a burst coming through the line that is overly attractive to all of these powerhouse schools, with all but the Irish sporting a Big Ten membership.

Graham's assignment is to build a relationship with Bonner, meeting and checking in with him as frequently as the rules permit, that is so strong to make it difficult for the kid to say no.

A personable sort, the UW coach would appear to be very good at this. He's the one who comes out to UW practice and speaks with all of the Huskies, not just his position players, and makes sure even to say hi to media members in the shadows.

Besides Jedd Fisch's program, Graham has a lot to sell a high-level running-back recruit.

He can tell him what it was like to be the starting running back at Ohio State.

He can share what it was like to play in the NFL for the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.

He can break it down in how he rushed for 166 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs and 139 against the Green Bay Packers more than three decades ago.

Now it's time for Graham to close the deal.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Arizona Offensive Tackle Has UW Among Final 3

Husky Roster Review: McMillan Offered Playmaking Glimpse

Husky Roster Review: Beierly Received Rigorous UW QB Initiation

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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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