SEATTLE – On the eve of Chris Petersen’s fifth National Signing Day as head coach at Washington, only two recruits with the Huskies on their final list have yet to make their decision.
The Huskies added their 21st commitment Monday night, getting a little karma on the recruiting trail flipping four-star defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa from his USC pledge after being committed for nine months. Late in the 2017 recruiting cycle the Trojans flipped long-time DT commit Marlon Tuipulotu away from his Huskies commitment.
UW solidified its No. 10 ranking with the flip, sitting two spots above of National Champion runner-up Clemson, and one spot behind the inevitable winners, the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Letuligasenoa, a 6-foot-2 and 295-pound standout lineman for California high school football powerhouse De La Salle (Concord, Ca.), was joined by another four-star recruit, San Bernardino (Calif.) Cajon defensive end Jeremiah Martin. The No. 194 overall prospect and No. 9 weak-side-DE in the 2018 class per Rivals’ rankings is the highest ranked prospect at the position who remains uncommitted heading into Wednesday’s spectacle.
Martin took official visits to Oklahoma and Texas A&M in October, followed by a mid-January trip to check out the Oregon Ducks before taking two visits in four days last week. With former Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin hired to replace Rich Rodriguez at Arizona, Martin made a short one-day visit to Tucson on Thursday before a red-eye flight Saturday to Seattle.
The four-star prospect is scheduled to announce his decision at 10 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday. If the Huskies are able to secure his NLI it would mark four four-star defensive line recruits to sign in this years’ class.
UW announced the signings of four-star DL Sam Taimani (Salt Lake City, Utah/East) and four-star DE Draco Bynum (Wilsonville, Ore./Wilsonville) back on Dec. 20 during the first-ever early signing period.
In addition to waiting on Martin, UW also remains in the mix for four-star Corona (Calif.) Centennial quarterback Tanner McKee, the No. 78 overall recruit in 2018 per Rivals’ rankings who is also considering Stanford, BYU and others. The No. 4 pro-style QB in the class is planning on taking a two-year mission after graduating this spring, effectively making McKee a 2020 recruit.
The Huskies signed two four-star signal-callers, Jacob Sirmon and Colson Yankoff, and Tuesday announced the transfer of former Lake Stevens (Wash.) and Georgia QB Jacob Eason. UW also has four-star Graham (Wash.) Graham-Kapowsin QB Dylan Morris in the fold for the 2019 class, in theory paving a way for UW to not think about who will be taking snaps under center for years to come.
Since announcing 19 signees during the early period UW has added two more recruits, Letuligasenoa and four-star safety Julius Irvin, ranked No. 95 overall in 2018.
With only a small number of new players to announce Wednesday, a UW spokesman confirmed to Rivals that head coach Chris Petersen will not hold a press conference. The Huskies coach is scheduled to appear on the Pac-12 Network NSD show.
