Huskies Land Seven

June 29th, 2012 was a huge day. Not because I spoke with Husky greats Brock Huard and Mike Jensen at work, or the fact that the USA beat Australia in the World Cup of Softball. It was bigger (surprisingly) than both of those things. Combined. Why you might ask? It was a day that could go down as the beginning of the return to prominence for Washington Football. June 29th saw seven recruits…no that’s not a typo, SEVEN recruits decide to pledge themselves to the Purple and Gold recruiting class of 2013, all while attending the Rising Stars 7-on-7 camp put on by the UW coaches. I learned of the news when I was on my break during work and I strained to contain myself from making an absolute scene in the break room. I resorted to a quick, yet powerful, fist pump and dove into the details. Here’s what I uncovered.

Stringfellow heads the group of talented recruits to pick Washington.

Demorea Stringfellow – WR, Moreno Valley, CA

Probably the best out of the bunch talent-wise and name wise. I mean, he isn’t in the same echelon as Wonderful Teriffic Monds II, who is a linebacker for the powerful University of Buffalo Bulls, but he definitely brings the best name to Montlake in quite some time. But I digress, Stringfellow is another man child to add to an absolutely stacked group of wide receivers. The Huskies already picked up the #5 WR of the 2013 recruiting class in Darrell Daniels, and here they add the #11 WR. Airwolf (the new nickname I am giving the kid based on the 80′s TV series who’s main character shared the same name) is a handful for defensive backs, standing at 6’3″ tall and weighing roughly 205 lbs. He possesses a great combination of size, speed, and strength, which creates huge mismatch problems for defenses. Stringfellow looks to be the type of receiver that can stretch the field not necessarily with his speed, but with his playmaking ability in traffic and tall athletic frame which allows him to fight for jump balls. He still lacks a little in the speed and route running departments, but he has super soft hands and can snag almost anything that comes his way. Demorea had offers from Notre Dame, USC, Michigan, Florida, Ohio State, and Nebraska to name a few. Still a raw talent, but with time we could see him develop into something quite special for the Huskies.

Elijah Qualls – DT, Petaluma, CA

Qualls is a load, weighing in at 279 lbs and standing 6’2″ tall. He surprisingly plays both running back and defensive tackle for his high school team, but figures to be on the D-line come college ball. He is very quick off the line and uses his low pad level to gain leverage against offensive lineman. Also, he has shown the ability to penetrate effectively and get a nice push, even with his smaller size in comparison to your normal defensive lineman. Still lacks some polish when it comes to footwork and block shedding, but like Stringfellow, Qualls is still very raw. He actually is a more advanced RB technique-wise at this point in time, but it’s nothing that can’t be changed and improved in the future. One thing that plays into his favor is his high motor and intensity that his game brings to the table.

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.

UW Football Recruiting Update – 1/18

With Signing Day on Februrary 1st, here at SS&O we will try to keep you all updated on the happenings on the UW recruiting trail. Here is the first post of several before we get to the big day.

• Headlining the recruiting news today for UW would be the supposed verbal commitment from cornerback Brandon Beaver (Dominguez HS, CA). Rated as a three star recruit by Scout, Beaver has been near the top of Washington’s board when it comes to defensive backs. Steve Sarkisian and Johnny Nansen had an in-home visit with him Tuesday night, where it is said he chose to roll with the Purple and Gold. Over his recruiting process he and high school teammate Alphonso Marsh have said they are a “package deal” so we will wait and see how that plays out.
• There are rumblings that with the new addition of Tosh Lupoi, Cal commit and four star athlete Cedric Dozier (Lakes HS, WA) could be opening up his recruitment to consider the Dawgs. He said he is “looking at probably visiting Washington, Washington State and possibly Vanderbilt” with the rest of his official visits that he has yet to use.
• Four star wide receiver Jordan Payton (Oaks Christian HS, CA) will take an official visit to Washington this weekend, even though he is currently committed to California. Once again, the addition of Tosh Lupoi to the UW coaching staff has made an impact in the recruiting game. We will keep you posted on what comes out of that visit.
• As I noted in the post earlier, the number three rated recruit in the country and number one rated safety, Shaquille Thompson (Grant Union HS, CA), is now torn between Cal and UW. This is by far the biggest recruit that the Huskies have their eyes on. Once again it will come down to the wire, but an in-home visit by Tosh Lupoi next week will be crucial in this race to lock up one of the nation’s top high school football players. Unlike De’Anthony Thomas a year ago, where we saw news outlets tease Husky fans with the idea of the Dawgs still being contenders, in this case UW has a legitimate shot and fans should be excited for the opportunity to land an absolute stud.

That’s all the recruiting news for now. As soon as more news breaks we will let you know.

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.