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Husky Priority Target Josh Conerly Impresses at All-American Bowl

The Rainier Beach High offensive lineman draws a lot of analysis during the game.
Dan Raley|
Husky Priority Target Josh Conerly Impresses at All-American Bowl
Husky Priority Target Josh Conerly Impresses at All-American Bowl

Josh Conerly spent the weekend in Texas, accepting awards and plaudits while putting his big and buff athletic frame on full display for the West team at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

One of the very best among the best gathered on Saturday for this annual high school football all-star game, the 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive tackle from Seattle's Rainier Beach High School drew plenty of discussion during the nationally televised game on NBC.

While others involved in the showcase event used this moment to commit in front of a national TV camera, Conerly has maintained all along he will wait until the Feb. 2 signing date to reveal his choice from among Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC and  hometown Washington.

The game analysts suggested that this 5-star recruit likely will pick from among Michigan, USC and the Huskies, noting his multiple visits to Ann Arbor, family connections in Los Angeles and his residence in the Northwest.

They repeatedly suggested that Conerly represents an important program-launching local recruit for new UW coach Kalen DeBoer, much like safety Budda Baker did for Chris Petersen back in 2014.

While plenty of players have committed to the upper-echelon schools of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Notre Dame, the All-American game demonstrated there is still recruiting hope for the little guy. Considering what happened on Saturday, it had to give the new Husky staff some hope.

Game MVP and 4-star running back Rayshon Luke from St. John Bosco High School in Southern California surprised everyone by choosing Arizona over UCLA, Louisville and San Jose State.

Then there was 4-star wide receiver Kevin Coleman from St. Mary's High in St. Louis who pulled an even bigger shocker by selecting Jackson State and Deion Sanders over Florida State, Miami, Oregon and USC.

Besides working up a sweat in practice and on game day in Texas, Conerly received the Anthony Munoz Lineman of the Year Award at the event, given to the nation's top high schooler in the trenches. 

So fit and mobile, he resembled a man among boys as he dropped in a stance and helped the West team take a 34-14 victory, with Conerly opening holes for Luke the game MVP and others. 

His Rainier Beach football coach Corey Sampson made sure to document the moment for Conerly on Twitter.

The new UW football staff has three and a half weeks to state its case for Conerly staying home. The coaches lately have been pushing a "Loyal to the Soil" recruiting campaign hoping to get the attention of him and other recruits in the region and encourage them to become Huskies.

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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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