UW Extends Offers to 2 Nevada Prospects on Thanksgiving
Sir Mells and Anthony Jones had reasons to be thankful on Thursday. The Washington Huskies extended scholarship teammates to the Nevada football recruits.
"I was on a Zoom call for about nine minutes with Coach [Ikaika] Malloe when he said to me, 'We want to offer you a scholarship to the University of Washington,' " Mells said.
Mells, a 2022 defensive lineman from Liberty High School in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, was so excited by this he ran out of the room for a minute to compose himself.
"I didn't know what to do," he said. "It was a complete surprise. Shocked."
At the same time, Jones also was on a Zoom call with Husky coaches Derham Cato and Pete Kwiatkowski. He knew what he wouldn't do when he was offered.
"I won't have to play tennis," Jones said with a laugh, referencing a Husky Maven story from his recent visit to Seattle with teammates Germie Bernard and Mells. "This is the offer that I wanted."
Jones and Mells were beginning to hear from schools around the country when the Husky coaches made the offers. Bernard already was committed to the UW.
"I was talking with Michigan, UCLA, Colorado, Fresno and Oregon," Mells said. "But I loved my time in Washington. I could definitely see myself playing football there."
This past weekend, Jones, Mells and Bernard together took an unofficial visit and toured Washington's campus. They weren't able to meet with coaches or the team, or even watch the UW-Arizona game live in the stadium. But they considered it a helpful trip.
"Washington likes to feature tight ends in its offense," Jones said. "I've also been impressed with how many tight ends UW has put into the [NFL]."