Holtzclaw Chooses Washington
From the moment Lance Holtzclaw stepped on campus at the University of Washington for his official visit it just felt like home.
Not only due to the 95 to 100-degree heat that scorched Seattle the weekend of June 25-27, but rather everything else he learned and experienced during his time in the city. After he returned home to Mesa, Arizona it became evident there was nowhere else Holtzclaw wanted to play his college football.
On Friday, the three-star Desert Ridge defensive end / outside linebacker made his commitment to UW official on Twitter.
Holtzclaw is the eight commitment for the staff in the 2022 class and the second defensive pledge, joining three-star Salt Lake City (Utah) East defensive tackle Ben Roberts, who also made his official the same weekend last month.
Head coach Jimmy Lake and outside linebackers coach Ikaika Malloe both played a significant role in securing the Grand Canyon State prospect. Once he got on campus and spent time in person with the coaches, it was clear the energy he’d come to know virtually was very real.
“Me and coach Lake we had a real good connection,” Holtzclaw said. We’ve been talking ever since I first got to see him. When I got there, I came straight from the airport to the facilities.
“When I left the facilities, he didn’t get to see me while he was there so while I’m in the car going back to the hotel he Facetimed me while he was on his boat going to the facilities. He just wanted to make sure he talked to me since he didn’t get to see me. He’s a really, really cool guy. He’s very genuine but he’s super smart at the same time. He knows what he’s talking about, but he knows how to have real good relationships with his players.”
UW offered Holtzclaw on May 12, the second to last offer ahead of only Boise State, who offered on May 30, that made his final five cut.
Boston College, Oregon State and Vanderbilt also made his final list along with BSU and UW.
His last official visit was to Washington. The relationships he had established with the staff made it too hard to pass up in the end.
“Definitely having connections and relationships with people is a huge part of things. Everyone on staff having connections with each other helps things run smoothly,” he said.
“Coach Lake has a connection with literally every single player on the team. Then, just having connections with your university as well as companies outside of it, so you can have things connected to you outside of football so when football ends you can have somewhere you’re connected to.
“You can graduate with a degree from the University of Washington you can use that. That name sticks with you.”