More on Polk, plus another commit

Published 6:53 pm Thursday, December 13, 2007

I talked briefly on the phone with Chris Polk this evening. A star running back/receiver from Redlands East Valley High School, Polk decided yesterday to play for the Huskies after originally committing to USC. Obviously, taking a recruit from Trojans from their own backyard is a pretty big deal for the Huskies.

Polk said the biggest factor for him was coming to a school where he could play right away.

“It was tough, because SC is my favorite college,” he said. “They’ve always been my favorite college, but I can’t go there. I’ll play, but I won’t play as much as I would somewhere else like Washington. I want to go to a school that needs me and I want to help turn things around.”

Polk said he’ll likely play receiver, though he played both running back and receiver in high school. He said he is excited about the prospect of playing with Jake Locker.

Another factor was Washington’s decision last week to keep Tyrone Willingham as head coach.

“I thought he might be leaving, and I didn’t want to come right when they got a new coach,” Polk said.

When he heard Willingham was staying, Polk finalized his decision

“Well it’s set then,” Polk recalled thinking. “I committed when I found out he was staying.”

Polk will graduate tomorrow and will be on campus in early January, giving him a valuable head start on the 2008 season.

The Huskies got another out-of-state commitment today from linebacker Bradly Roussel of Baton Rouge. Here’s the story from the Baton Rouge Advocate.