The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Feb. 8 …
Signing day wrap
And with that, the final National Signing Day for Pac-12 football (as we know it) is done.
The 10 departing schools are, of course, ranked in their new respective conferences of the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12.
But the 247Sports database also lists the Pac-12 — err, ‘Pac-2′ — recruiting classes and has Washington State ahead of Oregon State.
So pour one out for the final memories of the conference.
— The biggest news of signing day on the West Coast unfolded in Eugene, where Oregon landed Gatlin Bair.
The five-star receiver — and the highest-rated player to ever come out of Idaho — announced on Saturday that he would sign with the Ducks. His letter of intent was sent to the school on Wednesday.
Still, the Ducks won’t see Bair until the 2026 season. He’s set to begin his church mission this month in Dallas.
By the time he returns, Oregon will have played two seasons in the Big Ten.
— Stanford experienced some signing day drama of its own as two players from the class of 2025 reclassified to ’24 and will enroll with the Cardinal this fall.
Offensive lineman Charlie Hoitink, a Wisconsin native, signed on Wednesday morning. So, too, did linebacker Maxwell Richardson, who’s from Michigan.
— Two Oregon State recruits committed to the program under Jonathan Smith but didn’t sign in December as they waited to see how new coach Trent Bray filled out his staff.
They must have approved, for both signed on Wednesday: Receiver Malachi Durant (Puyallup, Wash.), the Beavers’ highest-ranked signee, inked with OSU thanks to the retention of assistant Kefense Hynson; the Beavers also secured Eddie Freauff, an in-state talent without a classified position.
Oregon State added the No. 6 player in Idaho, offensive lineman Jayden Tuia.
— Washington received a signing day bonus, and it came locally when Seattle athlete Rahshawn Clark announced he would be attending UW.
Clark was a longtime commit to Cal but flipped to Arizona right before the early signing period. When Jedd Fisch left Tucson to take the Washington job and brought cornerbacks coach John Richardson along, Clark asked out of his letter with Arizona. (Richardson was the primary recruiter when Clark flipped to Arizona.)
Clark became the Huskies’ lone in-state recruit in the class of 2024.
— Finally, Seattle safety Kyan McDonald signed with Arizona State on Wednesday, becoming the second player from O’Dea High School to pen with the Sun Devils.
He joins longtime teammate and close friend, running back Jason Brown, in Tempe.
2025 commitments
While the traditional National Signing Day contained little drama, save for a select few prospects, the 2025 recruits are already coming off the board.
Stanford had a good week with the announcement of four-star quarterback Bear Bachmeier’s commitment to the Cardinal.
The youngest of the Bachmeier brothers, he’ll join his older brother, Tiger, on The Farm. (Tiger played significantly as a true freshman in 2023 for Troy Taylor.)
UCLA had a miserable signing day and would have finished dead last in the Pac-12. Instead, the Bruins were No. 17 in the Big Ten (out of 18).
Their one bit of good news came for 2025, with a commitment from four-star linebacker Weston Port. He’s from the same prep program that produced former Bruin offensive lineman (and current Green Bay Packer) Sean Rhyan: San Juan Hills High School in San Juan Capistrano.
Right across town, at JSerra HS in San Juan Capistrano, another top 2025 prospect came off the board. Jake Flores, the 35th-ranked offensive tackle nationally, announced his commitment to Washington. He’s the first offensive lineman to commit to UW in the Fisch era.
Dead period underway
The NCAA contact period ended on Sunday, giving way to the dead period.
That means no unofficial visits to campuses until the week of March 4, for any recruits in the 2025-27 classes.
In addition, the NCAA transfer portal remains closed until April, although players at Washington have until Sunday and players at Arizona have until Tuesday to enter the portal thanks to the 30-day window available when the head coach departs.
So it’s worth keeping an eye on Westwood, where Chip Kelly has been mentioned multiple times as a candidate for NFL coordinator positions — or even for a college coordinator job.
Should Kelly leave UCLA, players would have 30 days from his departure to enter the portal while the 2024 signees who have yet to enroll could ask for releases from their letters of intent.
Additionally, the 2024 signees who enrolled early would be permitted to join veteran players in the portal.
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