The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a weekly dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting analyst for 247Sports.
The following information, in his words, was provided to the Hotline on Sept. 22 …
*** The biggest news in the Pac-12 last week wasn’t just Oregon’s victory over Brigham Young or Washington’s win over Michigan State.
It was the “relinquishing” of coaching duties by Arizona State’s Herm Edwards and the ripple effect the move will have on the Sun Devils’ recruiting for the 2023 class and the near future.
*** ASU had the lowest-rated class in the Pac-12 at the time of Edwards’ departure and was among the lowest in the country for Power Five schools: No. 92 in the 247Sports database behind the likes of Liberty, Georgia Southern, Ball State and Rice.
Part of that was the uncertainty over Edwards’ future going into this season and the transition of coaches — off the staff and onto the staff. They only have six commitments in the class of ’23, and none of them are from the state of Arizona.
I spoke with a few of the commits:
— RL Miller, a three-star linebacker from Sacred Heart Prep in San Francisco, said he’s hoping ASU hires from within the program and, if that’s the case, he’ll stick with his commitment.
— Another commit, three-star quarterback Israel Carter from Corona, California, said that he remains loyal and isn’t planning to leave at all.
— Three-star linebacker Xe’ree Alexander, from Burien, Washington, said he remains committed, but he does have some questions about (position) coach Chris Claiborne and whether he’ll be retained.
Alexander is an interesting one to watch. His older brother, Junior, a receiver, signed with ASU in the 2021 class with assistant Prentice Gill as the primary recruiter. By the time Alexander got to campus, Gill had been placed on administrative leave. Alexander played as a true freshman, then transferred home to Washington.
So we’ll keep an eye on the younger Alexander.
*** On the field, the wins by Washington and Oregon helped tremendously with their juice in recruiting — not only for the 2023 class but also the ’24 and ’25 classes.
The Ducks didn’t have any official visitors for the BYU game, but they hosted a number of unofficial visits, including the No. 1 prospect in Idaho, four-star athlete Kenyon Sadiq. He will be back on campus for his official visit in December but raved about the energy and atmosphere at Autzen Stadium.
So did three-star offensive tackle Fox Crader, a top-10 prospect in Washington (class of 2024) who lives in Vancouver. He’s kind of in no man’s land between Washington and Oregon in terms of which school he grew up rooting for.
*** Meanwhile, Washington had a number of 2023 commitments come to the Michigan State game, including four-star receiver Rashid Williams and four-star defensive lineman Anthony James.
The No. 1 player in the state in the 2024 class, four-star running back Jason Brown, was there. So was the No. 1 player in Washington in the 2025 class, four-star tight end T’Andre Waverly. They both raved about the excitement in the stadium.
Perhaps the most intriguing player in attendance was four-star cornerback Caleb Presley, the No. 1 player in the state in the 2023 class. He has been committed to Oregon since July, but he went to the game and was wearing purple. Read into that what you want. He said he was happy to see his hometown team win and that he’s still 100 percent committed to Oregon. But he let the door crack open enough for the Huskies to get him on campus.
So the Huskies had the No. 1 player in the state for three straight classes at the game. One was Presley, the other was Brown, and the third was Waverly.
Another in-state player, four-star tailback Jayden Limar, was in attendance. He’s committed to Notre Dame, but this was the second UW game he has attended, and his little brother, Jayshon Limar, is being recruited by the Huskies.
The Huskies haven’t stopped talking to Jayden, and they are hoping to flip him. He has been committed to the Irish since May, but UW seems to have the door open there, as well.
*** Lastly, this week is a huge opportunity for Oregon State with USC coming to town and the Beavers looking for their first 4-0 start since 2012.
They should have a rocking atmosphere at Reser Stadium for a number of visitors.
One of the prospects scheduled to be in attendance is Aiden Childs, their four-star quarterback commit from Downey, California, who has been one of their Pied Pipers for this recruiting class.
One of the players Childs will undoubtedly spend time working on is another four-star commit to another school: cornerback Daylen Austin, who’s from Long Beach Poly and is committed to LSU.
The Beavers have ties to him. His older brother, Alex, is a cornerback for OSU, but they will have to peel him away from LSU.
Nevertheless, it’s significant that they have Daylen Austin on campus; he has an offer from USC.
Another OSU commit coming to the game is unrated linebacker Isaiah Chisolm, who chose the Beavers over USC and Cal at the end of August.
And probably the most interesting name on the list from the 2024 class is three-star cornerback Nikko Klemm from Eugene.
He’s a top-five player in the state and the son of Oregon offensive line coach Adrian Klemm. With Oregon on the road in Pullman, he’ll make the trip to Corvallis.
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Source: www.mercurynews.com