2009 Washington Recruiting Analysis: Steve Sarkisian's First Class

Feb. 4, 2009 marks the first class put together specifically by new head coach Steve Sarkisian at Washington. It's key to note that this is also the first recruiting class for him as a head coach, and for a team that was 0-12 for the 2008 season. It did not come without the usual hiccups.

That being said, 18 recruits is a decent haul and a marked improvement in terms of quality from the 13 recruits hauled in at the beginning of Tyrone Willingham's tenure in 2005. There is a heavy reliance on Junior College transfers to fill out the class. All in all, six were signed from the JC ranks. 

Over the course of the recruiting process, since his hiring on Dec. 6, a total of two minor recruiting violations have been committed. A smoke machine was used to simulate a game-day experience, as well as allowing underclassman recruits and an LA Times reporter to view a recruiting visit (which ended up losing the Huskies Delvon Purvis).

These violations were merely secondary violations and nothing to get overly upset about if you are a Washington fan. Both violations ended up being self-reported by the university's compliance department. Mike Matthews, the compliance director for the Pac-10, said that "secondary violations are very common." Nothing more will happen beyond an administrative reprimand.

Steve Sarkisian merely labeled the incidents "misunderstandings" and refused to comment any more on them.

The Husky staff should be applauded for doing their best with the limited time that they had in putting together a decent enough class. There are definitely some diamond in the rough players and a few that could come in and contribute immediately.

That being said, the analysts do not rank this year's class highly at all. Scout.com has them listed as last in the Pac-10 and 66th overall, while Rivals.com places them ninth and 68th respectively. 

Some qualifiers are required on these numbers. First, the UW was 0-12 this season; no matter how aggressive of a recruiter you are, that's a hard number to overcome. Second, by the time that Sarkisian and his staff were assembled and working, most of the major recruits on the West Coast had been taken.

Only four of the recruits that Tyrone Willingham picked up decided to stay on. These include one of the more exciting players in the class in quarterback Keith Price from St. John Bosco High School in California. Price, a dual-threat quarterback, was one of the first players from the old staff's recruiting class they went after to try to sway to stay. 

The other three players are safety Nate Fellner, tight end Marion Barnett, and linebacker Andru Pulu. It's important to note that Fellner is the grandson of former Washington State coach Jim Sweeney. 

The staff were able to make some last minute changes of allegiances, with guys like David Batts coming to UW instead of Kansas State. Batts is listed as a four-star cornerback on Rivals and is the highest rated recruit in this class. 

The JC guys in this class are fairly well thought of. Kevin Lustgarten of Scout.com, a junior college analyst, was quoted by Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times saying, "UW's JC guys, for a change, are solid, Pac-10 caliber kids. They could have the same impact that Jeff Tedford's first crop of JCs had at Cal."

These are guys that have a huge potential to come in and play right away, none more so than punter Will Mahan, who is considered one of the top JC punters in this class. With Jared Ballman leaving an already ineffective unit, this is a solid get. 

Defensive lineman Johnny Tivao is a huge pickup, literally. Listed at 5'10" and 349 pounds, he should add a huge presence on the inside of the line, a unit that severally underperformed in 2008. 

The guy that had the staff most excited, however, was wide receiver James Johnson, a six-foot, 185-pound prospect from San Diego who set the city record for most receiving yards in a career, racking up 2,930. Coach Sark called him "probably the biggest get of this class."

The staff did not do as well recruiting in the state of Washington, however, with only two recruits coming from in state. The biggest of those being, of course, cornerback Desmond Trufant from Tacoma, WA. Desmond is the younger brother of former Washington State Cougar and current Seahawk Marcus Trufant.

The staff is heavily weighted towards guys who had done a lot of work in California, and that shows, with the remaining 16 recruits coming from the Golden State. It will be a key battleground, along with the rest of the Pac-10, for talent with which to combat USC's domination. 

The class is heavy on tight ends and defensive players, with the breakdown being as follows:

• 3 tight ends
  
• 3 safeties
• 3 defensive tackles
• 2 linebackers
• 2 cornerbacks
• 1 offensive tackle
• 1 wide receiver
• 1 quarterback
• 1 punter
• 1 defensive end
  

This gives the class a balance of 11 on defense, six on offense, and one special teams player. The defensive needs needed to be addressed, with the unit's performance as a whole in 2008 being utterly atrocious.

The need for tight ends was addressed by Sarkisian when he stated that the position was key to the system they would run. Sarkisian stated his desire for the tight ends as such: "We need guys who are savvy and can move around and do different things."

The class is solid on the whole, perhaps not as glamorous as some would hope, but that should be chalked up to a lack of time and uncommitted players. Sarkisian stated that along with the work being done for this class, a lot of the groundwork was being laid for the class of 2010, with 20 scholarships being offered. 

The future looks bright with Sarkisian at the helm. The staff is young, energetic, and has a hard work ethic. While the class may not hold the immediate keys to resurrecting the program, there is a solid foundation to work from. 2010 will be the year that will really show what kind of recruiter Sarkisian and his staff can truly be.

Until then, let me be the first to welcome the 2009 recruiting class for the Washington Huskies. All 18 recruits are as follows (JC players are marked with an *).

• Marion Barnett, TE, Corona, CA
• David Batts, S, Torrance, CA*
• Dorson Boyce, TE, Santa Maria, CA*
• Talia Crichton, DE, Lakewood, CA
• Nate Fellner, S, Fresno, CA
• Dominique Gaisie, CB, West Covina, CA*
• James Johnson, WR, Valley Center, CA
• Daniel Mafoe, OL, Carson, CA*
• Will Mahan, P, Bakersfield, CA*
• Kimo Makaula, TE, Kailua, HI
• Keith Price, QB, Compton, CA
• Andru Pulu, LB, Federal Way, WA
• Chris Robinson, DL, Tustin, CA
• Will Shamburger, S, Compton, CA
• Johnny Tivao, DL, Paramount, CA*
• Semisi Tokolahi, DL, Hilo, HI
• Desmond Trufant, CB, Tacoma, WA
• Tim Tucker, LB, Harbor City, CA