UW coach Jedd Fisch’s recruiting philosophy in six letters: NFL, NIL
Seattle Times
When Jedd Fisch met the media Wednesday, he did so in front of two purple backdrops, one blocking the other from view. The dual backdrops — both featuring gold block Ws and assorted sponsorships — were identical in every way but one:
The Pac-12 logo was purposefully missing from the updated design.
SEATTLE – It’s a new day at UW.
But new, in this case, transcends conference affiliation. It applies to Fisch (who has been the Huskies’ coach for less than a month) and his assembled staff, including a pair of former Patriots assistants in defensive coordinator Steve Belichick and safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri.
It applies to the players Washington officially welcomed Wednesday, on the 2024 recruiting cycle’s second signing day: senior Cal wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter; senior San Jose State linebacker Bryun Parham; junior Arizona running back Jonah Coleman; junior Arizona cornerback Ephesians Prysock; junior Arizona defensive lineman Bryce Butler; junior Arizona edge Russell “Deuce” Davis II; junior Arizona linebacker Anthony Ward; redshirt sophomore edge Isaiah Ward; redshirt freshman Arizona cornerback Jordan Shaw; freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr.; freshman running back Adam Mohammed; freshman offensive tackle Jusin Hylkema; freshman nickelback Rahim Wright II; and freshman defensive back Rahshawn Clark. (One other Arizona transfer commit — freshman wide receiver Audric Harris — was not announced but could be soon, pending the processing of paperwork.)
It applies to Fisch’s voluntary mentions of recruiting rankings and Pro Football Focus grades, subjects his predecessors strictly prohibited.
It applies to the program’s overflowing NFL experience and NIL prospects, which Fisch enthusiastically emphasized.
“I think NFL’s a lot more important than NIL,” Fisch said. “When you have an opportunity to sell the NFL, you should do it. The difference at some programs is, they want to sell it. We can tell it. We can tell you what it’s actually like. Steve Belichick and [offensive coordinator] Brennan Carroll have lived, breathed and were born into the National Football League. …
“I expect we’ll have two of the four members of the [coaching] Mount Rushmore [the UW coordinators’ fathers, Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll] walking around our building very often. When you can get that done, that’s an incredible opportunity for the kids.”
Of course, UW offers NIL — name, image and likeness — opportunity as well.
Though not to the degree Fisch might envision for UW’s future.
“I would just say this: The opportunity is endless and limitless,” he said. “When you’re a part of Montlake Futures [the program’s technically unaffiliated NIL collective], you have an opportunity or a relationship we’re able to provide for these kids unlike any other. Because you turn around and you see Amazon and you see Microsoft, you see Costco, you see REI. You see the suites being owned by Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. You see Jody Allen down the street and all the opportunities that exist in Seattle. …
“My hope is that one day we walk down Starbucks field into Costco’s arena, into Microsoft’s area, into the recruiting lounge owned by Ballmer and everything in between. Let’s see if we can find ways to utilize and absolutely dominate the Seattle community.”
Those six letters, NIL and NFL, constitute much of Fisch’s recruiting philosophy. But the Huskies coach has had to focus more on retention in his first month on Montlake.
Specifically, a whopping 27 Huskies have entered the transfer portal this offseason — with 15 committing to outside schools, nine recommitting to Washington and three currently uncommitted.
UW’s most concerning exodus has come along the offensive line — where five players departed via the transfer portal (Parker Brailsford, Nate Kalepo, Julius Buelow, Geirean Hatchett and Jalen Klemm), two declared for the NFL draft (Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten) and two others simply left the team (Robert Wyrsch and Samuel Peacock). The Huskies’ lone addition is San Diego State sophomore offensive tackle Drew Azzopardi.
Washington will return zero starters from the unit that won the Joe Moore Award — which honors college football’s dominant offensive line — in 2023.
It’s a new day, indeed.
“We’re looking at a situation where we’ve got about 10 [scholarship] linemen for spring ball, which is OK as long as you’ve got the reinforcements coming in May,” Fisch said. “My hope is to sign probably four to five more scholarship linemen for this class. I think if you do it the right way, there’s some great opportunities there for guys to come in and compete to be starters. The guys who are here are going to have a great opportunity to compete to be starters.
“We play freshmen. The last place we were at, we had a freshman All-American, then we had another freshman All-American, then we had a third one that I think would have been one if he didn’t get hurt. So we feel really confident in playing true freshmen and redshirt freshmen. … We’re going to play the best five or six and certainly believe there’s going to be an opportunity in April for a lot of good players to join one of the best teams in the country.”
Granted, there’s no guarantee UW will be one of the best teams in the country again in 2024. For now the Huskies have a projected 75 scholarship players, an alarming 10 under the 85-man limit. Fisch and his staff will be undeniably active in the offseason’s second and final transfer portal window, which lasts from April 16-30.
And as the Huskies prepare for their Big Ten debut, they are searching for reinforcements on both lines.
“You’re always going to look to get big, especially in the Big Ten,” Fisch said. “You’re always going to look to see if you’re able to add pass rushers. You’re always going to look to see if you can add [offensive] tackles. Because those are the guys that protect the passer or sack the passer. Really, that’s where our focus is going to be.
“I feel very confident in our team and who we have at the skill positions right now. We didn’t really want to upset the [current mix] in a lot of spots, because we have some really good players there.”
On that note: Fisch credited veterans such as linebacker Carson Bruener, quarterback Will Rogers, running back Cameron Davis and cornerback Elijah Jackson for leading internally during an admittedly difficult transition.
It’s a new day at Washington.
Can it be a brighter one?
“We will do everything we can to have the best recruiting class Washington has ever had for the class of 2025,” Fisch said.