Sarkisian on Washington’s 18 new players

Published 4:25 pm Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Hopefully you got to watch or listen to the Steve Sarkisian signing day press conference today, but if not, here’s a bit of what he had to say:

“This is a pretty exciting day for us. I am very proud of our coaching staff coming in here with three weeks to go, three recruiting visits, to increase our number from what was four committed scholarship players up to 18 is exciting. I think we have filled a lot of needs.”

“Anytime you are in a race like this and you are trying to catch up in the end, it is obviously very difficult to develop the relationships that are really needed in recruiting with the parents, the kids, and the coaches, to get where you need to get to. We were in a lot of battles right until the end, and in recruiting you win some and you lose some. But, I was really proud of our coaches. They fought, they battled, and they stayed on kids, leaving an impression on a lot of coaches and kids in the area that are up and coming of what they can expect form us from a recruiting standpoint.”

“We obviously did a little more with the JC run then we will do in the future, signing six junior college players. But I am excited about this class and I think all of these kids are going to fulfill needs for us. They are going to play right away, at least we are going to try and get them to, and we’re going to keep forging ahead and see what we can do here in the future.”

“It was a good first year for us of just getting going, and establishing who we are and the aggressiveness we’re going to have on the road in the recruiting process, and I think we fulfilled a lot of needs only offensively and defensively, but also on special teams with the punter and guys that will be able to play on all teams, kickoff, punt and that nature.”

On each player:

Marlion Barnett – “He’s more of an H-back type of guy – a move guy. He has great hands and was a 1,500 yard receiver as a junior. We are excited about him and had him in camp at SC. He was an early commit here and he stuck with us, and I am really excited about him, and I think he’ll have a chance to play early for us.”

David Batts – “He’s a junior college safety and a three-for-three kid. [He’s] big, physical, just a good looking kid – that’s how they are supposed to look. He still has some work to get done in the classroom but I think he will have an immediate impact for us, especially on special teams.

Dorson Boyce – “He’s a physical tight end, not the tallest kid, 6-foot-2, 245 guy, that is a physical blocker that we need if we are going to establish ourselves as a physical football team. We need that kind of guy in our program, that can knock guys off the ball. I think he will be a nice compliment to the guys we already have in the program.”

Talia Crichton – “He’s a fantastic pass rusher. This guys a split end pass rusher, a LEO in our system that can really rush. In this conference if you are going to be successful, especially on third down, you better be able to get after the quarterback and this guy can do that for us. I am really excited about this guy and was able to hold onto him in the end. There was a lot of pressure from other schools in the conference, and we held onto him which is big for us.”

Nathan Fellner – “He’s a real physical kid and puts his hat on guys. He played some offense and I’m excited about Nate because not only can he do some things on defense, but he can help us on special teams. He’s a very smart kid and the grandson of Jim Sweeney, he’s been around football his whole life, and it’s good for us to get those type of football junkies in our program.”

Dominique Gaisie – “Don’t be fooled by 5-foot-9, 165, this kid is a physical football player. He’s a great return guy and we are expecting him to come in and contribute right off the bat. He’s a physical kid that can come in and help on both defense and special teams.”

James Johnson – “James Johnson, in my opinion, was probably the biggest get in this class. We needed a guy that could come in and play at wide receiver right now. He can do that, and he can make plays down field. He will help in the passing game, and on special teams. Again, his brother is a coach and he just gets the game of football. It’s important for us to get more football guys in the program.”

Daniel Mafoe – “He’s a big physical tackle and again another JC guy that can hopefully fill a need on the offensive line. I know some people will look at this class and ask why there were not more o-lineman if the offensive line was such a need. It’s one thing to fill a need with numbers and to fill it with guys that can come in and play. It was not a big year for offensive line on the West Coast, and instead of just taking numbers at the position and not get better, we decided to take what we thought was the best guy at tackle.”

Will Mahan – “He’s the top junior college punter in the country and we are ecstatic to have Will in here. Again, if you are going to be good in football, you need to be good in all three areas. Special teams is huge for us and playing the field position game is big.”

Kimo Makaula – “He’s a fantastic athlete out of Hawaii. This kid was a quarterback on a state championship team. The first day I saw him I though he was somebody else and you guys will know who I am talking about [Sarkisian was referencing Manti Te’o, a HS All-American linebacker from the same high school who signed with Notre Dame], because he is such a good looking kid. He can play fullback, tight end, possibly defensive end and his upside is huge. I am very excited about this kid, he’s a football junky, a well equipped athlete that can do a lot of different things. I love the fact he was a quarterback on a championship caliber team and he brings a lot of leadership, and a winning mentality to our program.”

Keith Price – “He’s a fantastic football player and when I got here one of the first guys I got on to stay with the program. He can make plays with his arm, he can make plays with his feet, he’s a great leader”

Andru Pulu – “He’s a local kid and I am anxious to watch him develop. He may develop into a defensive lineman, I don’t know, but right now he’s a big physical inside linebacker who can put his hat on guys. I think he can have an immediate impact on special teams. And you are going to hear me come back to this, because we were not very good on special teams last season if you guys didn’t notice. It’s a third of the game, a third of the time our special teams are out there and we need to get better at it.”

Chris Robinson “He’s another kid that we had to hold onto late because people were coming after this kid hard. Nick Holt did a great job fighting people off and keeping him. I think this guys going to have an immediate impact. He’s a big, physical, and explosive kid that can really come off the football. He reminds us a lot of Cedrick Ellis back at SC, he has that type of build and structure to him.”

Will Shamburger “He’s a fantastic athlete, a safety, receiver, outside linebacker. Where exactly he ends up I don’t know. Again he’s another special teams guy and we will give him his opportunity at safety, but he could fill out into a linebacker, or lengthen out into a receiver. But, we need guys like him that can play a lot of position and do a lot of things for us.”

Johnny Tivao “He’s a defensive tackle and he’s a load now – he’s a load. He’s a nose guard, he can handle the center really well and is two-gap guy. He’s a JC kid and is more mature and very physical. He has highlights of him at fullback and moves very well for his size. Again he’s an immediate impact guy for us.”

Semisi Tokolahi “This kid is great, a fun kid, and 6-3, 320. This is what they are supposed to look like when they come in. I am anxious to get this guy as part of the program because I think he just has a winner’s mentality and a beautiful family.”

Desmond Trufant “For us, he was a big get. When we hired Nick Holt, this was the first home visit we did was to go in and see Desmond. He’s a big get, keeping the local talent coming to the UW. Obviously we all know about the lineage of the family and I think he will have huge upside in the program and start to change the scope of who we are.”

Tim Tucker “He’s a linebacker and possible fullback. He’s a big physical thumper type of guy, which if we want to become the physical football team we want to be, we need to get more guys like this in our program.”

Check tomorrow’s paper for more on signing day.