Huskies Offer Another Gaines, Hoping for a Deep Connection
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Sire Gaines is a recruit's name, not a racehorse breeder, but the latter is not a bad idea at all.
Spider Gaines remains one of the most explosive, playmaking figures in University of Washington football annals.
He was a tall, rangy receiver who could go deep better than any other pass-catcher to grace Montlake.
If you emulate him, good things will happen.
Gaines caught 74- and 58-yard touchdown passes against Alabama and its larger-than-life coach Bear Bryant in Husky Stadium. He beat Washington State with a last-minute 78-yard scoring grab as a true freshman. He was a 1978 Rose Bowl hero
Sire Gaines, Spider Gaines.
No relation, just a Husky connection.
Sire Gaines is a 6-foot, 193-pound sophomore wide receiver and free safety from Orange Vista High School in Perris, California, who on Wednesday received a scholarship offer from Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff.
With recruiting profiles just coming together for this 10th-grader, it was believed to be his first offer.
Young Gaines can go deep, too.
Last fall, he caught 29 passes for 757 yards and 9 touchdowns, with his longest one covering 92 yards.
He also rushed 70 times for 511 yards and 4 scores for the 6-5 Coyotes, with a long run of 47 yards.
While the Huskies have wide-receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard in contact with Gaines, other schools have indicated they might recruit him for the defensive side.
Gaines finished with 38 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions and 4 forced fumbles. He covers a lot of ground and doesn't shy from contact.
A Greg Gaines' namesake comparison might be in order now, with the ex-Husky defensive tackle proving to be a disruptor on the other side of the ball and recently winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams.
However, a Spider Gaines connection still works here.
The former Husky speedster never played a down of defense, but he was a special-teams wizard, blocking 5 kicks in his first year at the UW.
It was all about the big play, not which side of the ball you were on.
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