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 Jan. 31 …
So, what did we miss?
What a wild three weeks since we last addressed the West Coast recruiting landscape.
Months after the implosion and days after the final football game played under the Pac-12 banner (as we know it), the conference experienced even more change.
Out? Washington coach Kalen DeBoer — to Alabama.
Over? Arizona coach Jedd Fisch — to Washington.
In? San Jose State coach Brent Brennan — to Arizona.
And that’s just at the top of the football org charts.
It doesn’t take into account all the decommitments from the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes.
Or the 2024 signees who asked out of the letters of intent they signed in December.
Or the current players who entered the transfer portal.
After 18 roiling months — a stretch that began June 30, 2022, when USC and UCLA announced their departures to the Big Ten — the conference entered an oh-so-brief period of glory as its champion, Washington, won the Sugar Bowl and secured a spot in the national title game.
A week later, Washington lost to Michigan, then its head coach DeBoer agreed to replace Alabama’s Nick Saban.
Only in the conference of champions.
Coaching change impact: UW
The Huskies didn’t have the highly-ranked class that one might expect from a conference champ and playoff participant. But they were gearing up to raid the transfer portal in the aftermath of so many players leaving for the NFL.
Still, they signed several key prospects, including four-star edge rusher Noah Carter out of Arizona and three blue-chip recruits from California: offensive tackle Paki Finau, edge Ratumana Bulabalavu and quarterback Dermaricus Davis.
They also had a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Dominic Kirks from Ohio, although he didn’t sign.
But after DeBoer’s departure, Carter asked to be released from his letter of intent, Bulabalavu did the same, and Kirks flipped his commitment to Ohio State. Then Finau and Davis put their names in the transfer portal. (Davis has since announced that he would be sticking with Washington.)
And that’s not all. Keona Wilhite, a high three-star recruit from Tucson who signed with the Huskies in December, also asked for a release from his letter of intent.
While UW is trying to keep Wilhite from heading elsewhere, Michigan State, Nebraska and UCLA are all making a push and all have hosted him on campus.
To make it worse, the Huskies, who didn’t sign a single in-state player, lost a commitment from the No. 1 player in the Evergreen State in the 2025 recruiting class: Spanaway (Wash.) linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale.
Rainey-Sale announced his commitment to Washington mere hours before the national title game, but a few days later — after DeBoer’s name surfaced as Alabama’s top target — he announced a re-opening of his recruitment.
The Huskies also lost committed transfers, including Tre Watson from Fresno State, who played for DeBoer with the Bulldogs, and Vanderbilt’s Ethan Barr, who settled on UCF.
The bright side? They picked up two transfers from Arizona, running back Jonah Coleman and safety Ephesians Prysock, and a transfer who was headed to Arizona from Indiana, cornerback Jordan Shaw.
The Huskies also landed a handful of 2024 recruits who signed with Arizona last month but will instead be true freshmen on Montlake: running back Adam Mohammed, lineman Justin Hylkema and quarterback Demond Williams, a four-star prospect and Elite 11 finalist.
And perhaps most importantly, quarterback Will Rogers, who transferred to UW from Mississippi State, withdrew from the portal and announced he would remain on Montlake.
Coaching change impact: Arizona
While the Wildcats did lose Williams, as well as Hylkema and Mohammed, they held onto key current players who many thought would follow Fisch to Seattle. Topping the list: quarterback Noah Fifita, receiver Tetairoa McMillan and linebacker Jacob Manu, high school teammates who were essential to Arizona’s revival this season.
But the Wildcats might be in danger of losing four-star athlete Rahshawn Clark, who they flipped from Cal during the early signing period.
Cornerbacks coach John Richardson played an integral role in luring Clark, but he accompanied Fisch to Washington and is trying to get Clark to follow.
It would be a short trip in one regard: Clark is from Seattle and played for Garfield High School. He was released from his letter of intent by Arizona and likely will stay home, giving the Huskies one local signee in this class.
Oregon’s class: Getting better?
The same November weekend that Oregon hosted receiver Gatlin Bair, the school he had previously committed to, Boise State, fired head coach Andy Avalos.
In early December, Bair decommitted from the Broncos and narrowed his choices to Michigan and Oregon.
While it wasn’t a huge surprise that Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh went to the NFL — Bair had been expecting that — the bigger blow was Michigan losing strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert, who was a key part of Bair’s recruitment.
Herbert’s departure was enough for the 247Sports Crystal Ball to flip from Michigan to Oregon. The Ducks could now be in a position to land the first five-star recruit from the state of Idaho.
The calendar: What’s next
The NCAA’s contact period ends on Saturday, and then the dead period returns.
For the rest of this week, coaches can travel to fill any final needs in their 2024 recruiting classes, but they are more likely to see prospects in the 2025-26 classes.
Official visits can take place this weekend before the traditional National Signing Day on Feb. 7.
The transfer portal is closed until April, save those players at a school that lost its head coach (think: UW or Arizona).
They have 30 days from the departure date to enter the portal.
*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716
*** Follow Huffman on Twitter/X via @BrandonHuffman and support @AveryStrongDIPG
*** Follow Wilner on Twitter/X: @WilnerHotline
*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.
