UW class of 2016 recruiting thread

[RegentDenali]

Time to get this started.

Huskies put together a nice balanced class in 2015 which hit on about every need. They'll need to continue the momentum. Right now, QB recruiting for this class concerns me. I would suspect they would want to take two QBs this class, but may still end up with one. Problem is it right now they're projecting that most of the top H.S. QBs will be located on the east coast this year. Things are looking thin right on the west coast. We'll have to see what the coaches do. On the other hand, it's looking very deep at the WR position for west coast talent this year. I'm sure they'll take advantage of that.

And with #2 committing this week, here we go. So far with the 2016 class, we have:

4-star S Brandon Wellington (Bellevue WA) - Eastside Catholic H.S. - who committed back in Aug 2014.

4-star S Taylor Rapp (Bellingham, WA) -Sehome H.S. - who committed yesterday, March 13th.


Let the games begin....

 

[RegentDenali]

4-star OLB Camilo Eifler (Oakland, CA) committed to Washington this evening. The coaches had been recruiting him for sometime now so nice to see all the work pay off. Nice addition to the LB corps.

 

[RegentDenali]

Was super busy this springtime with a long drawn out hiring process for a new job so missed these other two.

4-star APB Sean McGrew (Bellflower, CA)

4-star OT Luke Wattenberg (San Juan Capistrano, CA)

This now brings us to 5 recruits for the class and it looks very solid so far.

 

[RegentDenali]

 

[WizardHawk]

Was he the kid introduced by Napoleon? Only briefly heard something on the radio about a kid he was with when he announced his commitment to UW. Always great to see Napoleon again. Truly one of the greatest of the greats. Hell, even fans that HATE UW have a lot of respect for Kaufman.

 

[jakedog56]

So while I have some familiarity with the recruiting process, can you please enlighten me on the following:
*We have signed five 4-star recruits so far. These are 4-star recruits based upon a specific scouting service or is it a consensus?

*I thought the scout ratings were from 1-5 stars, but I recently saw a 6-star comment on the FSU rb who got in trouble. Is it still 1-5 star or has the rating system changed somehow? If it is still a 5 star system then we are off to a heckva a start for a strong class!

*I am assuming these are verbal commitments? When is official signing date?

Any info is appreciated!

 

[WizardHawk]

It is still 1-5 stars, but most teams don't use those for their evaluations and don't typically report those. It is the media that lists that stuff and they may use any number of different sites for that information. So take it all with a grain of salt.

Teams aren't allowed to directly announce verbal commits. Sark used to simply tweet WOOF every time he had one and the media was left to figure out who based mostly off the kids themselves making public comment.

NLI day is the earliest kids can sign official letters of intent. That is normally in the first few days of February every year. No kid listed for any team has signed anything for the class of '16 and cannot do so until national NLI day which is Feb 3rd 2016 for that class. That morning the fax machines will be flying as letters are turned in from kids as well as those hand delivered or signed on campus.

 

[jakedog56]

It is still 1-5 stars, but most teams don't use those for their evaluations and don't typically report those. It is the media that lists that stuff and they may use any number of different sites for that information. So take it all with a grain of salt.

Teams aren't allowed to directly announce verbal commits. Sark used to simply tweet WOOF every time he had one and the media was left to figure out who based mostly off the kids themselves making public comment.

NLI day is the earliest kids can sign official letters of intent. That is normally in the first few days of February every year. No kid listed for any team has signed anything for the class of '16 and cannot do so until national NLI day which is Feb 3rd 2016 for that class. That morning the fax machines will be flying as letters are turned in from kids as well as those hand delivered or signed on campus.

Thanks wiz, but I am still confused.

*If the team is not allowed to announce signings, then where are these "early announcements" coming from? The kids themselves?

*Just as a general statement, what is a typical rate of "de-commits"? Also, players that don't meet enrollment criteria? Can we expect 85-90% of these "early commits" to actually be on the team? ......or?

Even if we take the ratings with a grain of salt and assume that these are the higher ratings given it still appears to be a very strong start. I know that these announcements seem to come earlier and earlier with kids sometimes announcing commitments years in advance (crazy!) so I don't want read too much into it.

 

[WizardHawk]

All of these announcements come from the kids, not the schools.

UW doesn't have nearly as many of these commits as most of the rest of the conference because Petersen goes to great lengths to let kids know he doesn't want them to make any kind of a commitment unless they are seriously 100% committed. He actually discourages them from making one and taking the time to make sure this is what they want. He really wants firmly committed and devoted players. Because of that there are likely many more that will end up coming here that are simply sitting on their commitment until much later in the process. Most classes don't fill in until some time after the end of the regular season. Bowl season is when things really heat up. Lots of the biggest talents wait until this time to make their very public decisions. Often in front of cameras and with 2-3 teams hats sitting in front of them. They want that spectacle.

How many decommit? Hard to say. There are typically a few flips around the conference every year, but not normally that many unless something happens like a late coaching change. I wouldn't expect many from UW given how hard this staff pushes them to not commit without being fully there. His staff is also careful about kids that will qualify academically. That's part of the 'OKG' thing he has going on. School is a focus for the team and his staff. He isn't offering to kids that aren't likely to make it. Still, there could be a kid that for some reason slips through the cracks.

 

[RegentDenali]

Petersen builds his classes slowly so our class rankings during the summer will be low compared to the PAC schools who tend to build theirs early and then leave some room for the flips that will probably happen.

By Dec and Jan, you'll get a sense of where we'll end up ranked. Ranking conf classes right now is pointless. Some already have 15 commits, others way less, but come Jan, they'll be more firm.

One big benefit of how UW recruits is that those that do commit are highly likely to stick with it to LOI. Petersen always tells them to go home and think it over before committing, but also comes with the clause that they aren't allowed to visit other schools once they commit. That once you commit, you shut it all down. That's the requirement.
It's refreshing to see that.

As for the star rankings, it can differ slightly between the services like scout and 24/7. ESPNs are so hopelessly biased, I ignore them.

 

[seahawksfan234]

In response to kids decommitting/flipping, it's not a huge concern. Typically for every 4 star prospect you have that decides to pick another school, you have one that flips and comes to UW.

Using rivals as the measuring stick, considering that the class of 2015 finished with four 4-star prospects, and we currently have four 4-star prospects, it looks like Petersen is off to a really good start.

 

[RegentDenali]

3-star WR Aaron Fuller - Allen, TX - Lovejoy H.S. - has committed to Washington. First WR of the 2016 class. Projected mainly to the slot. Runs a 4.36 and had 1300 yds /22 TDs last year. Nice looking burner.