The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Oct. 12 …
Monster clash on Montlake; elite recruits in Seattle
The Oregon-Washington showdown will be the epicenter of college football on Saturday.
With ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ set to air live from Red Square on UW’s campus, the Huskies will be hosting a slew of top targets and recruits.
Two of the headlining prospects in attendance have both Washington and Oregon on their very short lists.
Washington will welcome the top uncommitted recruits in both Northern California, defensive lineman Jericho Johnson, and in the Pacific Northwest, running back Jason Brown.
Johnson, from Fairfield, California, has a final four of Oregon, USC, Utah and Washington. Brown, from Seattle, has a final three of Michigan State, Oregon and hometown Washington.
Several Husky commits in the 2024 class will be on hand, including Portland cornerback Elias Johnson and five California prospects: Bellflower linebacker Khmori House, Rancho Cucamonga quarterback Dermaricus Davis, Glendora tight end Decker DeGraaf, San Juan Capistrano receiver Jason Robinson and Westlake Village receiver Justice Williams.
Meanwhile, Arizona lost a pair of commitments in the past week, both of them hometown prospects. One of them will be in Seattle: edge rusher Keona Wilhite.
The Other Salpointe Decommit
Sunday was a busy night in recruiting.
That’s because the No. 1 player in Arizona, five-star edge rusher Elijah Rushing, from Salpointe Catholic in Tucson, opened up his recruitment.
When Rushing picked Arizona in July, it was a huge win for third-year coach Jedd Fisch. But a day after a heartbreaking triple-overtime loss to USC, Fisch experienced another heartbreaker when Rushing de-committed.
Oregon was immediately tabbed as the 247Sports Crystal Ball favorite to land Rushing. The Ducks factored heavily into his recruitment the first time around.
Ducks land No. 1 JUCO prospect
Literally minutes before Rushing de-committed from Arizona, Oregon received an early bit of good news.
College of San Mateo (California) cornerback Sione Laulea, the No. 1 junior college prospect in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings, announced his commitment to Oregon.
Laulea comes from the same program that produced former Ducks Bennett Williams and George Moore; he chose Oregon over USC and Miami.
More good news for Oregon?
Shortly before kickoff inside Husky Stadium, the No. 1 player in California will announce his decision.
Mater Dei High School’s Aydin Breland, the No. 4 defensive lineman nationally and the No. 11 overall recruit, will name his destination.
His finalists are Georgia, Miami and Oregon, but the buzz suggests it’s a Georgia-Oregon battle.
Will it be Dan Lanning’s current school or his previous program?
The word will get out before Lanning coaches on Saturday.
Arizona gets some flips
It wasn’t all bad news for Arizona this week, though the losses of Wilhite and Rushing are painful.
The Wildcats ruined the weekend for San Diego State, grabbing a pair of Aztec commitments: Rancho Cucamonga (California) athletes Stacy Bey and Rahim Wright both flipped their SDSU pledges.
Beavers’ big moment
While Washington’s game with Oregon is attracting plenty of attention, it’s not the only nationally televised game between ranked Pac-12 teams in the Pacific Northwest.
Oregon State is hosting several key recruits for its primetime clash with UCLA on FOX.
With the Bruins visiting Reser Stadium and the Beavers coming off consecutive conference victories over Utah and Cal, OSU’s first Saturday home game in almost a month will include several recruits.
Headlining the list are all three of the Beavers’ commitments from inside the state: Portland linebacker Dexter Foster; Medford offensive lineman Terrell Kim; and Prineville athlete Eddie Freauff. They will also have an out-of-state commitment coming to town in Kelso, Washington, offensive tackle Payton Stewart.
Perhaps the most intriguing visitor will be La Mesa (California) quarterback Ryland Jessee.
Jessee took an official visit to Oregon State in June, then committed to Utah State. Still, the Beavers didn’t stop recruiting him — they are looking for a quarterback in the 2024 class — and will host Jessee this weekend.
He’s not the only committed prospect who will be there. Meridian (Idaho) kicker/punter Martin Connington, a commit to Boise State, is also expected in Reser Stadium.
Other Pac-12 commits
Two other Pac-12 schools received commitments of their own over the last week:
Statesboro (Georgia) edge rusher Amontrae Bradford chose to play for Deion Sanders and Colorado.
And Miami tight end Benjamin Blackburn picked a first-year coach of his own in Stanford’s Troy Taylor
*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716
*** Follow Huffman on Twitter via @BrandonHuffman and support @AveryStrongDIPG
*** Follow me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline
*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.
