I was chuckling today at the news that ESPN rated the current Husky recruiting class as 59th in the nation. Scout is probably a lot more accurate rating the Huskies in the Top 30. I like the class we are about to bring in, I think you can fairly compare it to one of DJ's top 20 classes, but of course only time will tell. James of course always hated to have his classes rated, and paid no attention to it, and rightly so if performance was any indication.
Do you remember the 2001 Husky recruiting class? On paper it was rated around 6-7th in the country by all the recruiting guru's. On the field it was a major disapointment which led to a serious downswing in Husky fortunes immediately after the last Rose Bowl.
With the exception of Reggie Williams this was a very mediocre class overall. You do see what a Superstar like Williams can do. In his three years at UW he basically kept the team in contention. When he graduated the bottom fell out.
It has been six years, let's evaluate that class.
Starters or major contributors listed in bold.
Husky Recruiting 2001
QB Barton....Transfer from Colorado who never played, then got very ill. 3 Stars
QB Paus....Was rated the best QB in the Midwest. 5 Stars
RB Singleton....Never saw much action. 3 Stars
RB Eriks....Played around five positions at UW and never did well at any of them. 5 Stars
FB Mc Courtie....quit after the first Fall. 2 stars
WR Williams....Perhaps the best WR ever at UW. 5 Stars
WR Frederick....Never lived up to his potential, had one great game. 5 stars
TE Heater....Never broke the depth. 3 Stars
TE Toledo....Was injured most of his career. 4 Stars
OL Meadow....Had a decent career. 3 Stars
OL Raines....Never made it in to school 3 Stars
OL Savicky....Quit the team early. 3 Stars
OL Kava....Went on amission and never played much. 3 Stars
OL Vandeman....Very average starting Center. 3 Stars
DT Sauu....Had a nice career at UW. 3 Stars
DT Alaeilifailula...Ate himself almost off the team. 4 Stars
DE Hopoi....Had a good year beside JWF. 3 Stars
DE Conwell....Quit the team 4 Stars
DE Ellis....JC Transfer was good, but hurt most of the time he was here. 5 Stars
MLB Lobendahn....Started quite a bit, but injuries slowed him down. 3 Stars
S Sims....Ended up being a solid RB who is in the pro's. 3 Stars
S Benjamin....Too slow for Safety, ended up an all conference WLB 3 Stars.
P McLaughlin...Started two years as a punter then went on a mission never to return.
Let's take a look now at the 2002 class which was another highly rated class which just graduated. Nate Robinson could have made quite the difference if he decided to stick with football.
QB Stanback....Struggled all the way through his career. Was injured just as he was getting it. Should stick in the NFL. 3 Stars.
RB James....Was injured most of the time he was here but played through it. 3 Stars
RB Sampson...Quit the team a few times and fumbled repeatedly.should have been a DB. 3 Stars
WR Jackson...Transfered after one year. 3 Stars
TE Bandel...Injuries ended a promising career very early. 4 Stars
TE Benn...Legacy never played and graduated early. 2 Stars
OL Rhodes...Never made it in due to injury. 5 Stars
OL Tipoti....Spent most of his time eating. 5 Stars
OL Daniels....Had a good career as a starter. 3 Stars
OL Kezerian....Transfered to Fresno.
OL Walker....Had a good career as a starter. 3 stars
DT Milsten....Nasty injury finished a promising career. 3 Stars
DT Reffert...A grey shirt who will start in 2007. 3 Stars
DE Baisy...Never made it in. 3 stars
DE Mateaki...Played a lot, but had a mediocre career. 4 stars
DE Ala.... Like Mateaki was overhyped, finished stronger than Mateaki. 4 Stars
DE/TE Crutchley....What exactly was your favorite Dash Crutchley moment? 2 Stars
LB White....Finished All Pac Ten 3 Stars
LB Jones....Never made it in
CB Robinson....A fantastic difference maker who switched to basketball and was a #1 NBA draft choice. Could have played both ways. Only One Star and he was the best athlete on the coast that year.
CB Taylor...Never got in a game. 2 Stars
CB Shyne....Left the team. 3 stars
CB Fountaine....Started a lot of games but was never a force. 3 Stars
S/WR Slye...Could have been a player if he had a better attitude. Left the team. 2 stars.
Finally lets take a look at the 2003 Class which for the most part will be seniors next season. No superstars in this class though Sonny Shackleford had a nice career as a possesion receiver. Wallace should go on to a career in the NFL.
QB Bonnell....Has spot started 4 Star
RB Moss....Rarely played and left early 3 Star
RB Rankin...Has shown glimpses 3 Star
WR Russo....Has had a decent career 2 Star
WR Chambers....Transferred to Montana 3 Star
WR Williams....Has dissapointed 2 Star
WR Whitmore....Was asked to leave the team. 3 Star
WR Shackleford....A very nice career. 3 Star
WR Daniels...Has been injured most of his career. Could be a Pat Reddick, nice potential. 3 Star
TE/DL Tyler...Quit the team early. 3 Star
TE Lyon....Third in the rotation while he was here. 5 Star JC
TE Lewis....Has started here and there, but last year was injured a lot. 3 Star
OL Berglund....Quit and came back. A very capable guy in the rotation. 2 Star
OL Macklin....Serviceable starting tackle. 2 Star
OL Garcia....Has overcome injuries to start at center. 2 Star
DL Afoa...Could be all league in 2007 2 Star
DL Mapu....Started and was mediocre 4 Star
LB Bomar....Lost starting job to a true frosh. Was over rated. 4 Star
LB Trew....Mired in the depth 2 Star
CB Bradley....injuries never allowed him to enroll 3 Star
WR Ellis....Has a spot in the rotation at WR. 2 Star
DB Simpson...Was asked to leave. 3 Star
DB Smith...Flunked out, and never played while he was here. 3 Star
DB Wallace....All Pac Ten who will go to the NFL 3 Star
DB Hemphill...Played a little, started the last half of 2006, asked to leave. 3 Star
P Douglas....Will play in the NFL 3 Star
K Braunstein....Started one year, but asked to leave because of attitude. Very limited range. 4 Star
In conclusion I look back at the 2001, and 2002 classes following major bowl games which were highly rated and wouldn't trade either of them with the exception of Robinson, and Williams for this years incoming class. The 2003 class had a lot of the same problems as the previous two, but the decline continued, and there wasn't any superstars to prop it up. 2003 was when we screwed up the balance of the team waiting for the great class of linemen avaiable in 2004. That of course is another story since Rick was fired and it became Gilby's only recruiting class. By the way the 2004 line class was also a bust for the most part.
I think our incoming 2007 class while not nearly as highly rated will easily outperform these three classes. Recruiting is mostly about evaluation, not star rankings. That is why Boise State is the Fiesta Bowl Champions, Oregon State beat USC, and WSU had three consecutinve 10 win or higher seasons.
Tomorrow we will unveil, and try to evaluate the 2007 Husky recruiting class, and I will explain to you why I feel it is much better than any class we have had at Washington this decade.
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3 comments:
I was too slow for safty but made a very good impact at LB. Where is the loyalty for guys who worked hard every time they were on the feild and never stopped playing no matter what the score? I topped the 100 tackle mark twice which lead the team, and I ended up top ten in UW career tackles with over 320 tackles(which hadnt been done in over 15 years) and asked for no recognition. I played through adveristy and coaching changes and wouldnt have it any other way. It has made me into a better person today. For all the people who say bad things about this class lets look at the graduation rates of these classes for people who stayed all 4-5 years. Reggie was great but did he graduate?
You were a good LB EB, you got a shot at the NFL and a degree. Can't do much better than that.
Reggie was great, but he could have been so much better...the team could have been so much better.
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