Skip to main content
Inside The Huskies

Lake Calls Huard 'the Best Quarterback in the Country'

The UW football coach doesn't hold back in his hyperbole in describing his best signees.
Dan Raley|
Lake Calls Huard 'the Best Quarterback in the Country'
Lake Calls Huard 'the Best Quarterback in the Country'

Jimmy Lake doesn't care how you rate his recruiting class.

Three stars? Five stars? Blue ribbons? Chamber of Commerce certificates?

The University of Washington football coach on Tuesday addressed the 15 players who sent in their national letters of intent and he offered his own assessments, in particular sizing up a guy on each side of the ball.

Sam Huard and Will Latu.

Naturally, what he had to say was glowing, which is commonplace for recruiting day.

While fans wondered out loud how this Husky class could be rated from 15th by Sports Illustrated to 36th by 247Sports, consider how Lake views his incoming quarterback from Seattle's Kennedy Catholic High School, a 5-star designee.

"There's Sam Huard, the best quarterback in the country," the coach said, comparing him to his recruiting peers. "A guy who's ultra accurate but has unbelievable leadership traits. I've personally known Sam for a long time. He breathes football. He's everything we want in a quarterback."

Then there's Latu. 

The defensive-minded Lake had plenty to say about this inside linebacker, too, a 4-star recruit. 

"He's a phenomenal athlete, who played linebacker and played running back, and he's got really good size," the coach said. "He's going to be a monster in the middle for us."

Lake told how Latu, a 6-foot-2, 230-pounder from the Tacoma area's Bethel High, played receiver in a 7-on-7 competition at the UW and none of the defensive backs could cover him. He also said Latu's running-back instincts would help him cover the field and anticipate what's coming at him.

As for a sleeper, the coach turned to 6-3, 250-pound tight end Caden Jumper, from tiny Eatonville High at the base of Mount Rainier. He's the son of a former University of Oregon fullback who at one time was the all-time leading Washington state high school rusher.

Lake called Jumper "a Will Dissly duplicate," referring to the UW's former two-way end from Montana who now plays for the Seattle Seahawks. 

"Talk about tough, physical football players, this guy is one of the toughest guys I've seen on film," the Husky coach said. "He's going to mash people in the run game and then release and catch the ball. We're really excited about him."

Of the 15 UW signees, eight are defensive players, who include three defensive linemen, all Polynesian players. They are 6-4, 280-pound Siaosi Finau from Maui, Hawaii; 6-3, 300-pound Kuao Peihopa from Makakilo, Hawaii; and 6-2, 270-pound Voi Tunuufi from the Salt Lake City area. 

The Huskies picked up three defensive backs in cornerbacks Zakhari Spears from Los Angeles and Dyson McCutcheon from Claremont, California, and safety Vincent Nunley from Oakland, California. The UW coaching staff watched Spears in person. 

"He just had a phenomenal practice, working hard and defending all footballs that came his way," Lake said of Spears. "The film showed his toughness. Once we got to know him, we knew this was over."

Besides Latu, the UW signed another linebacker in 6-6, 245-pound Maurice Heims from Hamburg, Germany, who prepped in California.

Joining Huard and Jumper as offensive signees are offensive linemen in 6-3, 290-pound Owen Prentice from Seattle's O'Dea High and 6-7, 285-pound Robert Wyrsch from Capitola, California; Kennedy Catholic wide receiver Jabez Tinae, Texas running back Caleb Berry, and Kansas junior-college tight end Quintin Moore.

"Owen Prentice is one of the best offensive in the country," Lake said of a heavily recruited player who projects as a guard.

Berry is recovering from a broken leg that ended his high school season. He took an unofficial recruiting trip to Seattle and the UW with his mother last weekend to reaffirm his college decision. 

With 15 signees, Lake said the Huskies weren't necessary done filling out this class, that attrition would open up scholarships for others to join in the February signing period.

As he said this, the Husky coach acknowledged that sophomore quarterback Jacob Sirmon had entered the transfer portal and left the team.

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: HuskyMaven/Sports Illustrated

Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Husky Maven. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
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.

Home/Recruiting