Commentary: UW’s Jedd Fisch has made in-state recruiting strides. Does it matter?
SEATTLE – After being introduced as Huskies football coach Jan. 16, Jedd Fisch outlined a recruiting footprint that reflected Washington’s conference affiliation.
“Now you’re in the Big Ten, so you really can have more of a national recruiting style,” he said. “You can go find big linemen in Ohio and Michigan now, where you can actually sell that they’ll be playing games there. Yet you still want to start here, at home, and get as many in-state players (as possible) to stay home and not go to those other programs.”
In nearly six months since, Fisch has followed the first part of that formula, making massive in-state strides.
Specifically, Fisch and his staff flipped four-star Garfield High defensive back Rahshawn Clark from Arizona in the 2024 class, after his Husky predecessor – Kalen DeBoer – failed to add a single in-state player in the early signing period. Fisch signed a pair of local transfers as well in former Miami edge Jayden Wayne (who hails from Tacoma) and Portland State center D’Angalo Titialii (an Auburn native and Eastside Catholic alum).
Next, UW earned commitments from the state’s top two prep players in the 2025 class – four-star Bethel linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale and four-star Auburn Riverside athlete Jonathan Epperson. It’s a long way from signing day, but the Huskies have an opportunity to land Washington’s top two prep recruits for the first time since 2015.
To trot out a classic recruiting cliché: The Huskies are trying to build a fence around the state.
But it’s worth asking – given the prominence of the transfer portal, UW’s move to a more national conference and Washington’s erratic prep talent pool – how much does in-state recruiting matter in 2024?
“I don’t think it is as big as it used to be,” 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman told the Times this week. “I think you keep tabs on the top five to seven guys (in the state), but you don’t need your entire class to be local kids, especially in a state that doesn’t necessarily have the depth of talent that the big four states (California, Texas, Florida and Georgia) have.
“What you don’t do is alienate a kid when they do decide to go national. Because you have a situation with a kid like Jayden Wayne, where he goes national (to Miami in 2023), and then he comes back and decides this is where he wants to be.”
For years, Husky fans have been inundated with the importance of keeping top talent home. Yet consider that in the past eight prep classes with NFL draft eligibility (2014-21), Washington has produced 48 four- or five-star prospects … and only seven developed into draft picks (14.6%). The last such player was Husky corner Kyler Gordon, who hailed from the 2018 class.
Likewise, Washington’s collection of prep talent in 2020 and 2021 was considered among the best in history. But outside of five-star recruits J.T. Tuimoloau and Emeka Egbuka, who have succeeded side by side at Ohio State, let’s revisit the largely listless list.
Washington blue-chip recruits (according to the 247Sports Composite)
2020
WR Gee Scott Jr. (Ohio State): 20 catches for 140 yards and two TDs in four seasons, switched to tight end
Edge Sav’ell Smalls (Washington): 34 tackles and zero sacks in four seasons, transferred to Colorado in 2023, switched to tight end this spring
OL Levi Rogers (Stanford): 23 starts in past two seasons
OL Geirean Hatchett (Washington): four starts in four seasons, transferred to Oklahoma this winter
DB Ayden Hector (Washington State): transferred to Colorado State in 2021, has recorded 76 tackles with three interceptions and two sacks in two seasons
RB Sam Adams II (Washington): 63 rushing yards and three total TDs in four seasons
TE DJ Rogers (Cal): transferred to TCU in 2021, seven catches for 78 yards and one TD in three seasons
CB Alphonse Oywak (Washington State): transferred to Eastern Washington in 2022, 32 tackles with four passes defended in two seasons
2021
DL JT Tuimoloau (Ohio State): two-time first-team All-Big Ten, 74 tackles, 18 TFL, two INT in three seasons
WR Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State): two-time All-Big Ten honoree, 124 catches, 1,857 receiving yards, 16 total TDs in three seasons
QB Sam Huard (Washington): threw for 265 yards with one TD and four INTs in two seasons (one start) at UW, transferred to Cal Poly in 2023 and Utah in 2024
OL Owen Prentice (Washington): retired after two seasons and zero starts
LB Julien Simon (USC): appeared in five games with zero tackles in two seasons at USC, transferred to Tulsa in 2023, had 58 tackles with 10 TFL in 2023, transferred to UConn in 2024
QB Clay Millen (Nevada): transferred to Colorado State in 2022, threw for 2,020 yards with 10 TDs and seven INTs in two seasons and 11 games at CSU, transferred to Florida in 2024
WR Lonyatta Alexander Jr. (Arizona State): Has caught one pass for 9 yards in 13 career games, transferred to Washington in 2022 and Montana State in 2023
WR Jabez Tinae (Washington): appeared in one game with zero catches, left the team in 2023
DL Jacob Schuster (Minnesota): appeared in five games across two seasons at Minnesota, transferred to Oregon State in 2023
Edge Josh McCarron (Virginia): zero tackles in three seasons at Virginia
LB Will Latu (Washington): never enrolled at UW and has not played major college football
The above list contains two all-conference performers … and 14 total transfers.
Granted, these erratic recruiting results are not exclusive to Washington, and pandemic-shortened seasons made players from said classes tricky to evaluate.
But the inconsistent classes underscore a larger lesson: In-state recruiting, while important, is just one piece of the puzzle.
Consider, just five of UW’s 22 starters (offensive lineman Nate Kalepo, linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala, defensive back Mishael Powell, tight ends Devin Culp and Jack Westover) in January’s national championship game hailed from Washington. And that quintet contained more former walk-ons (Powell and Westover) than blue-chip recruits (Kalepo).
The Huskies’ 2025 haul – which comprises 20 commits and is ranked 18th in the nation by the 247Sports Composite – has been buoyed by Fisch’s in-state efforts. Huffman said, “I think you’re thrilled if you’re a Washington fan who was frustrated that you lost out on Josh Conerly two years ago to Oregon. You lost Brayden Platt last year to Oregon. You’re coming off the JT (Tuimoloau) and Emeka (Egbuka) years. And Washington beat Florida State for (Rainey-Sale).”
Considering the shockwaves surrounding DeBoer’s departure and UW’s resulting transfer exodus, Fisch deserves enormous credit for building the fence. But the next step, as he outlined after being introduced, is to go more national – and to build elite talent on the lines.
UW’s class noticeably lacks dominant interior defensive linemen, with the only commits being a pair of three-star prospects in Caleb Smith (6 feet 5, 265 pounds) and Dominic Macon (6-3, 305). And considering the dearth of big bodies out west, Washington will have to scour the Midwest and south for run-stopping recruits.
Alas, recruiting remains a relentlessly imperfect process. But close to home, at least, Fisch is off to a sizzling start.