Recruiting New Year’s Resolutions

It is never too late to make a resolution (or to post about one) and today I issue a challenge to each of the coaches for the 2027 recruiting class. Some are broad and others may be more specific. With that said, let’s jump into it.

Jimmy Dougherty (OC/QB): Land Sione Kaho sooner rather than later

As I mentioned, some coaches have more specific resolutions and Dougherty’s is quite clear, land the local four star signal caller. The staff has already landed two in-state commitments, so keeping the ball rolling there is important and landing a QB early is very beneficial for recruiting classes. The Huskies have had the lead for awhile, but the longer his recruitment drags out, the more room it allows for others to get involved. Time to lock in and lock him down.

Scottie Graham (RB): Find your next big back

Graham has been high on my list of our top recruiters since his arrival and he really flexed his recruiting chops in the 2026 class. UW has two very talented faster backs in Washington and Bonner, but with Adam Mohammed and Jonah Coleman gone, there are questions at who can be the thunder to their lightning. I’m going to leave this as a broader goal, but my personal vote would be for Terrance Grant Jr.

Kevin Cummings (WR): Continue to stockpile talent

Again, a very broad goal, but an important one. I was originally thinking of challenging him to focus more on western WRs, but he already landed a commitment from Braylon Pope and last year he landed three 4 star receivers from outside the western region. Hard to critique someone who is having that level of success. Pope is already a big start to the goal of stockpiling talent, but adding at least one more stud receiver like Tre Moore, Zion White, or Zerek Sidney (among others) would continue to elevate the overall talent in a WR room that has produced a lot of NFL talent over the past decade.

Jordan Paopao (TE): Land Zach Albright

Similar to Dougherty, I’m issuing a specific challenged to Paopao to land a talented local product. Albright started more as a receiving threat at TE, but he has been putting on good weight and has dramatically improved as a blocker. He could end up being the most balanced TE at UW since Jack Westover.

Michael Switzer (OL): Restock the IOL

Through HS recruiting and the portal, Switzer has done very well bringing in some very good OT talent as well as versatile swing pieces. After the 2026 season the Hatchett brothers will be graduating and two starting spots will open there and there is a decent chance that Mills moves to OT, which would open up a third. There are many good options at IOL out west in the 2027 class including a true center prospect who could become Landen’s heir apparent. I’m sure Switzer has his list, but some names I would personally like to see added include Gecova Doyal, Reis Russell, Jackson Roper.

Aaron Van Horn (Edge): Take the lead

When Van Horn was hired, he took over the edge position group from Jason Kaufusi who was also handling the DL group. Recruiting is all about relationships, so it made sense for Kaufusi to continue to be the primary recruiter/point of contact for the 2026 edge prospects. It is time now for Van Horn to take charge of this group and establish himself. He faces an uphill battle with the 2027 class not having as many highly ranked edge prospects as the 2026 class, but he will need to find a way to carve out wins wherever he can.

Jason Kaufusi (DL): Land a top 200 DL

Possibly the biggest challenge I will be issuing to any of the coaches, but it is still achievable. It is another deep talent pool of DL prospects out west again for this class and there are many top end talents as well. Kaufusi must have had this resolution as well though because he is off to a strong start to accomplish it. He is recruiting the top talent very hard and is at or near the top for Jon Ioane and Tevita Nonu. Other top prospects like Alifeleti Tuihalamaka and Kasi Currie are also interested in the Huskies. All that is left to do is close on them.

Brian Odom (LB): Build your room with the style you like

Going back to a more broad resolution, there are currently two main styles of LB in the room right now; rangy/athletic and fast/hard hitters. The two main fast and hard hitters will be seniors this season (Jacob Manu and Taariq Al-Uqdah) while the younger talent is more of the rangy athletic types. The question is does Odom want to replenish the departing senior’s style or is he looking to move forward more towards the other style? I don’t have that answer, but I do support whichever direction he and the staff want to go with it. There are multiple talented LBs of each style out west for this class, so time will tell what Odom’s preference is.

John Richardson (CB): Land a top boundary corner

I chose my wording intentionally for this resolution because it will be a different look of prospect compared to the ones from the 2026 class. There are definitely some true corners, but a lot of them are position versatile across the secondary. I am challenging Richardson to land a lockdown CB who can be put on an island without worry. There are a lot of prospects that J-Rich is doing well with early that fit that style including Censere Gaylord and Evan Mack. Landing one or both of those two to go with the talented and versatile DB commit Maurice Williams would be another strong CB class from him.

Taylor Mays (S): Earn your coffee

To quote Alec Baldwin from Glengarry Glen Ross, “Coffee is for closers” and that is exactly the challenge I am issuing for Mays. He had a great first year landing the uber talented Gavin Day and he has already hit the ground running for the 2027 class. A lot of safety prospects list UW as their favorite and name Mays as one of their best relationships. Much like with Dougherty and Kahoe, the more time you give a prospect without closing him, the more time other schools can jump in the mix. He is already doing well with Gavin Williams, Isala Aisa Wily-Ava, and Malakai Taufoou among others and we hope that he can indeed close on his top guys.

Jedd Fisch: Channel your inner Chris Petersen

Chris Petersen wasn’t always thought of as an elite recruiter, but he did do two things exceptionally well in that department;

1) Scouting talent. This is an important piece that of course Fisch and every other position coach will take part in, but with the increased size of the support staff a lot of that falls on them initially. Fisch has shown an aptitude for scouting and I have no worries there.

2) Closing. Petersen wasn’t involved directly in a lot of recruitments throughout the process, but when he got involved it was usually a knockout blow. Recruiting doesn’t necessarily work that way anymore and Fisch is far more directly involved, but the principal is the same. My challenge to our head coach is that once you and your team lock in on a prospect you know will be a huge addition, work your magic and land him. Much like Petersen had his Built for Life philosophy, leverage your Be a Pro philosophy to bring in future stars.

The staff has given a lot to be optimistic about, but if they are able to meet these challenges/New Year’s resolutions, they will elevate their performance even higher.