SEATTLE – On the way to his grandmothers’ funeral back in May, junior linebacker Cooper McDonald received a direct message from UW outside linebackers coach Pete Kwiatkowski.

Less than a week later the versatile 6’3 and 220-pound defender had earned an offer from the Huskies. From there, it was a matter of adding all the small things together along with the Northwest High School (Justin, Texas) prospect taking an official visit to UW.