The Impact of Shaq Thompson

Napoleon Kaufman. Tommie Smith. Charles Frederick…all were amazing on the gridiron for the Dawgs, but they also share something in common: they were all highly touted out of state recruits for Washington. Could there be another now added to that list? Steve Sarkisian’s Huskies sent shockwaves across the recruiting landscape monday night when Shaq Thompson (Grant Union HS, CA) verbally committed to UW, via his Twitter account, beating out the likes of California and Oregon. If you have been reading our previous updates you may have some understanding as to how big this is, but if you have not let me give you a rundown.

• #1 rated Safety in the country (Scout.com)
• #3 rated recruit in the country (Scout.com)
• 2012 Parade All American, 2012 US Army All-American Bowl participant, 2010 California state player of the year.
• Jr./Sr. year HS Statistics:
  • Rushing: 284 carries, 3016 yards, 10.5 yards/carry, 25 TDs
  • Tackles: 111
  • Points accounted for: 264 (44 total TDs)

This is by far the biggest recruit Sark has landed since being on Montlake, and it could even be the biggest defensive recruit since the Don James era. Thompson is in a class of his own. Measuring in at 6’2″, 215 lbs, he is a safety in a linebacker’s body. He runs a 4.5 forty time and can strike fear into any receiver crossing between the hashmarks. Excited yet? Thompson possesses great closing speed, pursuit angles and range, and is a surefire tackler in the open field, getting low and driving through his opponent. On top of this, he has a high football IQ, regularly putting himself in the correct position to make plays and shows great defensive awareness. Even as a safety, he is above average in man to man coverage, which has been terrible for the Dawgs in the past. Lastly, and probably my favorite quality about him, is he is very good at coming up and stuffing the run. He can lay people out. In short, Thompson does everything. He is Taylor Mays 2.0, and if you are unfamiliar with the former USC standout, look him up. You won’t be disappointed. Shaq will immediately see the field in the upcoming season, and will most likely start for the Dawgs, giving the secondary a huge boost that it sorely needs.

The New and Improved UW Coaching Staff

If you haven’t been following the Washington Football team since their Alamo Bowl loss to Baylor, boy have you missed a lot. After watching a whopping 123 combined points put on the board by the Huskies and Bears, you couldn’t help but wonder how Nick Holt would retain his job as Defensive Coordinator for UW. As expected, two days later Holt as well as Linebackers coach Mike Cox and Safeties coach Jeff Mills were relieved of their duties. But who did the university deem qualified enough to turn around a reeling defense that hasn’t seen success since 2003? Step in Justin Wilcox, former Defensive Coordinator at Tennessee.

Who is Justin Wilcox?

A 35-year-old native of Junction City, Oregon, Wilcox was (unfortunately) a graduate of the University of Oregon where he played defensive back for the Ducks from 1996-1999. Following his college days, and unable to make a final roster in the NFL, Wilcox became a Graduate Assistant on the Boise State coaching staff in 2001. After two seasons in Boise, he was offered the Linebackers coaching position by Jeff Tedford of Cal, which he accepted. Three seasons later, Wilcox found himself back on the “smurf turf,” but now as the Defensive Coordinator for Boise State. Four years at the helm of the WAC’s top-ranked defense, Wilcox alongside head coach Chris Peterson went 49-4 and captured the nation’s spotlight. In 2010 the Tennessee Volunteers came knocking and hired him as their new D-Coordinator. Two seasons in Knoxville and then here we are today, now the new DC on Montlake. Here’s what he said about his new job: “I’m grateful for this opportunity. Washington is a place where you can win big, and I’m excited to work with Coach Sarkisian in developing a championship-caliber football program. Our first order of business is hitting the recruiting trail, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Wilcox will look much better in the Purple and Gold.

As a Husky fan, you should be excited about this hire, as Wilcox has shown a lot of success with little to work with. Perfect fit, right? Last season he led a Vols defense that ranked 28th nationally in yards allowed (340.5 yds/gm). That’s 85.8 yards better than the sorry excuse that the Huskies fielded. Just for a little perspective, the last time the Huskies held their opponents under that mark was way back in 1996, when Jim Lambright’s defensive prowess was on full display. To make it even more impressive, Wilcox was able to accomplish this with all three starting linebackers being freshman.