Huskies struggle with recruiting game

SEATTLE – With a weekend off last week, seven Washington football coaches – everyone but head coach Tyrone Willingham and his offensive and defensive coordinators – hit the road to do some recruiting.

Just how much they accomplished remains to be seen, but there is little doubt at this point that Huskies coaches are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to recruiting.

The combination of a 0-5 start and a head coach seemingly on his way out has many recruits staying away from Washington or waiting to see how things shake out.

“It’s hard,” offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said of recruiting. “You’ve got to remember, recruiting is sales and the sale is very competitive. When you’re competition is a little bit wounded, the jabs start coming out. Everybody in this league is making all of our recruits on the West Coast aware of what the deal is. It’s a tough struggle right now.”

Willingham said in August that many recruits are “waiting and watching” before they pick a college.

“I think they’re still waiting and watching,” he said.

The Huskies have received commitments from six players, and the most highly regarded of that group, Garfield (Seattle) High defensive tackle Deandre Coleman, has since changed his mind.

The five still committed to Washington are linebacker Andru Pulu from Federal Way, Wash.; safety Nathan Felner from Fresno, Calif.; cornerback Aaron Grymes from Seattle; cornerback Kenneth Pinkard from Dallas; and quarterback Keith Price from Bellflower, Calif.

Felner was rumored to be looking at other schools, but he said Tuesday that he is still committed to the Huskies.

“That’s not right,” he said of the Internet reports that he was planning to visit other schools. “Right now, I’m committed and that’s all I can say. If I was going to take a visit I would make sure it would be OK with the coaches from Washington.”