Washington Picks up Local Recruit, Tries to Get Healthy

Deandre Coleman from Garfield committed to Washington this week. He is the top recruit from Washington and the top defensive tackle on the West Coast.

The only knock on Coleman is his grades. He has a long way to go over the next 12 months if he wants to avoid going the JC route to start his college career.

Imeka Iweka from Rainier Beach was in the same category and never made it in. He is playing JC ball somewhere and the Huskies are no longer recruiting him.

Coleman has a cousin named Eric Smiley who is also a highly regarded recruit. He moved from Washington to Arkansas last year to get away from some not-so-great influences.

He is currently spending the Summer working on his grandfather's farm in Alabama. The reason I mention Smiley is that he wants to go to Washington and he is the same caliber recruit that Coleman is.

The bonus on Smiley is that grades are not a problem. You have to wonder why the Washington coaches haven't offered him yet. Seems like he would be a great package deal with his cousin.

The announcement by Coleman means Washington now has five commitments for the year. Expect the next two to come sooner than later.

WR's Gino Simone and Kellen Moore are pretty close to popping the question. The only thing holding them back is the uncertainty around Ty Willingham. With every commit, that uncertainty begins to chip away. Add a win over Oregon in the first game and all the dominoes start falling into place.

Injuries

There are a lot of nagging injuries in camp this year. The latest on the list is Victor Aiyewa, who has a groin pull. I just wrote a feature on Victor and no sooner than it was published, he goes down for the count for a bit.

Injuries are part of training camp and they happen every year. Nobody at this point on the squad has been penciled out of the opener at Oregon, but you hate to see projected starters losing reps on a young team.

All the players listed below are day to day except Anthony Gobern, who is going to be redshirting.

• Jake Locker: Hamstring
• Byron Davenport: Ankle
• Brandon Johnson: Calf
• Mike Gottleib: Hamstring
• Juan Garcia: Foot
• Anthony Gobern: Shoulder Surgery
• Brandon Yakaboski: Hip Flexor
• Matt Sedillo: Minor Concussion
• EJ Savannah: Academic Problems
• Curtis Shaw: Personal Leave of Absence

Jake Locker is obviously getting closer to getting back on the field. I think if he had to play a game tomorrow he would be out there.

Hammies can be a nagging injury if you don't rest and rehab them properly. UW wants Jake to be healthy all season so they are willing to sacrifice time this camp to achieve that goal.

Freshman making an impact

Kavario Middleton is really moving up the depth chart. Expect him to get plenty of playing time against Oregon in passing situations.

Johri Fogerson and David Freeman have taken advantage of the absences of Yakaboski and Johnson. Both are on a track to play this season.

Most of the receivers are in line for playing time. Jordan Polk, Jermaine Kearse, and Cody Bruns in particular have been very impressive. Devin Aguilar and Anthony Boyles are also in the mix.

On the defensive line, Alameda Ta'amu, Senio Kelemente, and Everette Thompson are all on schedule to play opening night. All three of these kids showed up in great shape  and ready to play.

Senio missed the first couple of weeks of practice because of an NCCA Clearinghouse mix up, but the coaches love this kid. He has a motor that just won't quit.

What's Happening

Tyrone hasn't announced it, but the Huskies could be having their first scrimmage today with two weeks to go until the opener. Don't count on Jake or any of the players listed above to participate much or at all.

UW has a goal of getting everyone healthy by Aug. 25. Game week practice is the most important week of camp, and if a player misses that week his chances of playing against Oregon are not very good.

This hasn't been a very open camp. We speculated in the off season that Ty might loosen things up this year to give the media a better view of what is going on. That hasn't happened.

In fact, this is the tightest camp information-wise he has run since he became coach at Washington. The press conferences haven't shed much light on where the Huskies are right now either.

I will be back later in the day with updates from practice.