UW, USC battle on field and on recruiting trail

By Mike Vorel / The Seattle Times

SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies are officially entering the arena.

Oh, and they’ve got company. College football’s premium recruiting powerhouses are all there — Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, USC, Oregon, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, on and on and on.

At 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, No. 17 Washington (3-1) will host No. 21 USC (3-1) in a ranked matchup on Montlake.

But really, the competition is everlasting. It doesn’t start or end. It’s fierce, and it’s forever.

Or, at the very least, the Huskies would like it to be.

“Hopefully (we’re recruiting head-to-head against USC) very often,” UW defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe said this week. “SC traditionally has a standard of recruiting at an elite level, and I think we’ve brought ourselves to that point. So we do want to compete with the USCs, the Alabamas, the Clemsons.

“We want to be in those arenas, and I think we’re working on that right now.”

And, in a weird way, USC’s recent decline presents a unique opportunity. In Husky head coach Chris Petersen’s first five signing classes at Washington, USC secured a superior class — according to the 247Sports Composite, at least — and finished in the top 10 nationally each time.

In 2019, UW’s national class rank (15) finally supplanted USC’s (20), which unsurprisingly slid as head coach Clay Helton’s job security all but evaporated. Thirteen of Washington’s 22 signees also claimed USC offers, and seven of those 13 hailed from the state of California. USC, meanwhile, welcomed nine players (out of 30 total signees and transfers) who had once held a scholarship offer from Washington.

The difference in 2020, with roughly three months left until early signing day, is even more stark. As of Thursday evening, UW’s class — which contained 19 verbal commits — was ranked 17th nationally and second in the Pac-12, behind only Oregon. Nine of those 19 commits touted Trojan offers, and four of the nine are currently California residents.

USC, which lost four-star in-state quarterback commit Bryce Young to Alabama earlier in the week, was slotted just 62nd with 11 total commits (and one 247Sports four-star prospect).

So, yes, it’s true (and it’s obvious): when USC struggles, everybody else eats.

“It’s definitely an opportunity,” said 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman. “I think the one thing that certainly hurts a school that has typically had success is when there is a lot of questions about the coaching staff. Every time it looks like Clay Helton is about to get fired he then wins the next game.

“So I think that roller-coaster itself, more than anything, is the perfect opportunity for schools like Washington, because that uncertainty carries over tremendously into recruiting.”

Meanwhile, there’s little uncertainty on Montlake. Petersen isn’t going anywhere; his seat is so cold it might as well be stationed in an Antarctic igloo. Still, there are California kids who dreamed of wearing the cardinal and gold; who endlessly emulated Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush; who, regardless of the record, will throw up two fingers and sign with USC.

Those aren’t the guys Jimmy Lake is ultimately looking for.

“There’s some southern California guys that grew up USC fans, and they’re going to go to USC regardless,” said UW’s second-year defensive coordinator. “So we try to pick our battles wisely. We just know they’re going to go there, just like a Taylor Rapp that grew up a Washington fan, he wanted to come to Washington. So we understand that.

“But now there’s a lot of guys where we’ve battled and won over the years — guys that are on our squad right now, that decided to sign here.”

Junior running back Sean McGrew — once a four-star prospect from St. John Bosco in Bellflower, Calif. — technically isn’t one of them. He never received a USC offer.

But he also plays with plenty of teammates from California that did.

“I think honestly (a program’s in-state pull) depends on how good USC and UCLA are in the recent years,” said McGrew, who chose UW over UCLA. “Honestly, there’s a lot of California dudes on this team right now that had USC offers. I think they used to have a lot of pull back in the day growing up, when there was Reggie Bush and all the Heismans were going there and stuff. But I think now it’s all an even game, and people are seeing that.”

It appears to be an incredibly even game, even outside the state. In the 2017 class, Oregon four-star defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu flipped from Washington to USC. A year later, four-star California defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa returned the favor, flipping from USC to UW.

Or, consider the 2019 crop of wide receivers. Four-star Orange, Calif., product Kyle Ford — one of the Huskies’ top targets — ultimately signed with USC, while four-star wideout Puka Nacua dramatically flipped his commitment from USC to Washington.

On Friday, during a school assembly, Kennedy Catholic five-star outside linebacker Sav’ell Smalls verbally committed to Washington over USC (and just about everybody else).

So the competition continues, on into eternity.

“I don’t want USC to be better,” Petersen said on Monday, when asked if a competitive USC is best for the Pac-12 as a whole. “I mean, I’m just trying to make sure the Huskies are as good as they can be.”

After all, there’s only so much room in the arena.