Shaq Thompson: Star Safety Brings Buzz Back to Stale Washington Program

It was a bitter sweet few days for the University of Washington, but I think fans should be very excited with where they stand entering National Signing Day.

The Huskies had their hearts broken by in-state recruit Zach Banner, who is widely considered to be one of the top offensive line prospects in the nation. He decided to commit to rival USC.

But the sentiments quickly changed when star safety Shaquille Thompson decided to pick Washington. The Sacramento native is currently ranked 16^th overall by ESPNU’s Top 150 and is the second best safety in the 2012 class.

In text messages sent to the Sacramento Bee, Thompson had an odd reason for picking the Huskies according to the Seattle Times:

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"It (UW) was where my heart was at," Thompson said in texts. He also mentioned UW's second-highest Pac-12 graduation rates and that he "love(s) the coaches."

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A player who actually cares about graduation rates? Now that is something you don’t hear about every day.

It’s a breath of fresh air in the recruiting wars, but more than anything else it’s signifies that Washington is still capable of landing top notch recruits. The 6’2’’ 210-pound Thompson had been committed to California earlier in the month, but had a change of heart.

Thompson is as athletic as it gets and is incredibly instinctive when the ball is in the air. He is going to play baseball as well which is a testament to the wide variety of skills. Thompson has terrific recovery speed and incredible jumping abilities.

On Tuesday, receiver Jordan Payton (Westlake Village, California) announced his intentions to sign with the Huskies. He is a 4-star recruit according to Scout.com and is currently ranked 15^th in the class.

Like Thompson, he originally committed to Cal.

While the Huskies may not be ready to knock off USC and Oregon just yet, they are making incredible progress and have a lot to look forward to. With the 10^th-ranked QB Cyler Miles on board, the Huskies now have four 4-star recruits and 11 3-star recruits coming to the great Northwest.

Here is one program trending in the right direction.