With Kekua Aumua announcing his commitment to the Huskies the 2026 HS recruiting class is likely all done (there could always be a surprise in February), so lets take a look at how the coaches did at recruiting their respective positions.
Jimmy Dougherty (Quarterback/OC): Aaron’s Grade: C Luke’s Grade: A–
Overview: The QB dominos out west began falling very quickly, but Dougherty/Fisch didn’t panic. They had two guys they were after very heavily, Brady Smigiel from Newbury Park, CA and Derek Zammit
from Wayne, NJ. For awhile, it appeared that Smigiel would be the QB for this class, but Zammit snatched the spot first and rest was history. At the time, Smigiel was the much higher rated recruit, but Zammit ended up being rated higher in the end. From a rankings perspective, that is a win in the eyes of Husky fans.
Luke’s Comments: The Huskies weren’t in the conversation for the highest ranked prospects out west outside of Smigiel. It was surprising they didn’t go after Oscar Rios harder since he was committed to Walters when he was at Purdue, but they clearly saw something they liked in Zammit and it was a good win getting a player from NJ.
Scottie Graham (Runningbacks): Aaron’s Grade: A- Luke’s Grade: A
Overview: Graham was on fire for this class. He was the first to land a commit for the class with Ansu Sanoe. He followed that up by landing versatile speedster Dre Pollard and was somehow still able to land the second highest rated RB out west in Brian Bonner.
Luke’s Comments: I was already thrilled with our RB commits even before Bonner, but to get such a dynamic playmaker was a massive win. Although Pollard flipped to Stanford on signing day, landing Bonner under those conditions is still enough to earn his grade.
Kevin Cummings (Wide Receivers): Aaron’s Grade: A Luke’s Grade: A+
Cummings zeroed in on top 247 talent Mason James very early on and his efforts were rewarded. He then set his sites on a receiver who was blowing up on the camp circuit, Blaise LaVista. He was able to get his commitment before he ever set foot in Seattle for the first time. The staff wasn’t finished though because Cummings got the attention of two top receivers in Jordan Clay from San Antonio, TX and Trez Davis from West Monroe, LA who were committed to Baylor and Tulane respectively. Cummings convinced both of them to take an official visit during the Purdue game and after that, the Huskies continued to build momentum with them. Clay flipped on Tuesday and Davis committed on Wednesday. They form possibly the best position group in this recruiting class.
Aaron’s Comments: Cummings gets an ‘A’ from the standpoint that we added 2 potential #1 wideouts late with a big bodied WR and speedster from SEC territory.
Luke’s Comments: When this article was being written on Monday, Cummings was originally assigned a ‘C+’ since there were only two commits and there were multiple top targets out west that he missed on. He never let that discourage him though because like with Mason James Cummings was focused on the Midlands and boy did it pay off flipping Clay and Davis.
Jordan Paopao (Tight Ends): Aaron’s Grade: B+ Luke’s Grade: B
Summary: There may have been higher rated prospects that were offered, but Paopao has never really been concerned about that and focuses more on who is best suited for the team’s needs. He locked in on Sam Vyhlidal and got his guy. He was also able to get a late flip on a talented blocking TE in Kekua Aumua.
Aaron’s Comments: While we missed on some top targets, he closed with a massive bodied TE who should help with the blocking and a versatile TE in Sam V.
Luke’s Comments: Even during his first stint, Paopao has drawn criticism for his recruiting chops. There were multiple four stars out west this year and none of them gave UW major consideration. Flipping Aumua late is a big win, but Husky fans must be asking why they aren’t in the conversation for the top prospects.
Michael Switzer (Offensive Line): Aaron’s Grade: B Luke’s Grade: B+
Summary: After Carroll’s departure, Switzer was promoted and got to work on the recruiting trail. Ah Deong Yang was already committed and Switzer kept him from looking elsewhere. He was also integral in landing five star OT Kodi Greene and OT Dominic Harris. Since he wasn’t the lead recruiter for Greene, that is the main reason his grade isn’t higher. With his first full cycle coming up, it will be all on him moving forward.
Luke’s Comments: I was on the fence about giving him an incomplete grade since the majority of the offers given were done by coach Carroll. Ah Deong Yang was also committed to UW before Switzer took over and Kodi Greene’s commitment was the product of Marcus Griffin more than any coach. That said, he was able to keep Yang committed and was able to land Dominic Harris. If he were able to land one more of his targets such as Puleleiite Primus, Sam Utu, or Marlen Bright, it would have bumped his grade up to an A.
Aaron Van Horn (Edge): Aaron’s Grade: B- Luke’s Grade: A
Summary: Since Kaufusi was the lead recruiter for both edge and DL recruiting since last year, it made sense for him to continue to leverage his relationships with both position groups with Van Horn acting as support for edge players. Van Horn changed all that Nov 20 when he landed the commitment from JD Hill. Hill is the third highest rated commitment in the class and a major win late in the cycle. There has been a lot of misconception about who his lead recruiter was between Van Horn and Kaufusi, but it was Van Horn assisted by Marcus Griffin.
Luke’s Comments: Another coach that was going to receive an incomplete grade due to lack of time in seat, but given the level of quality of the lone commitment he was able to secure, that deserves a corresponding grade. Hopefully he can ride that momentum as the main edge recruiter moving forward.
Jason Kaufusi (Defensive Line): Aaron’s Grade: B Luke’s Grade: A-
Summary: While JD Hill may not have counted towards Kaufusi’s grade, he still had a very good year regardless. Since recruiting is a process that is building a relationship over multiple years, it makes sense that he was still the lead recruiter for the majority of the edge prospects UW was after. He was able to land a commitment from arguably the top defender on the staff’s board in Derek Colman-Brusa as well as possibly the biggest need in NT Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais. He also landed a player with a high ceiling in Ta’a Malu to work on developing and managed to land a signing day surprise with local DL David Schwerzel.
Aaron’s Comments: This grade is reflective of my expectations for the class heading into signing day. We loaded up on the inside with 2 developmental players with solid frames and 2 elite tackles.
Luke’s Comments: I am quite happy with these commits, those are all quality wins for sure, but with such a strong DL class out west in the top 247 for a change it was a bit of a let down to not be in heavy consideration for any of them. Once again he was able to swing big and get some top out of state prospects like Landon Barnes and Jae’Lin Battle to take official visits, but neither signed with the Huskies. Next class has another strong group of DL prospects out west and Kaufusi appears to be putting in good work with them already. Hopefully next year it will be easy to give him an ‘A’.
Brian Odom (Linebackers): Aaron’s Grade: B Luke’s Grade: B
Summary: It is kind of funny when you land two commitments and neither may end up playing your position group. That will very likely be the case for Ezaya Tokio who will play on the edge with coach Van Horn, but Ramzak Fruean could grow into an edge as well. His grade is based on who he has landed though and not where they end up on the roster.
Luke’s Comments: It was a fairly weak group of LBs out west in the 2026 class and Odom was still able to come in late and get two very solid players for the team. It will be very interesting to see what he can do next year.
John Richardson (Cornerbacks): Aaron’s Grade: B+ Luke’s Grade: A
Summary: Not only did Richardson go out and get a bunch of talented/highly rated players, he got his kind of players. Long and rangy ballhawks who aren’t afraid to hit someone. Richardson and the front office staff did a great job of scouting this year and were able to see multiple commits rise in the rankings, not just following who was rated highly when they offered.
Luke’s Comments: It is a shame that CJ Lavender flipped to UCLA, but it is tough to hold that against Richardson when there was nothing he could have done since he wanted to stay close to home. If Richardson had landed Davon Benjamin, it would have been an even easier ‘A+’ grade to give than Cummings.
Taylor Mays (Safeties): Aaron’s Grade: B+ Luke’s Grade: A-
Summary: Mays was certainly a quality over quantity grade with only directly landing one safety, but Gavin Day ended up being rated as a top 100 player in the nation. Mays was able to get UW back in the running for Salesi Moa, but unfortunately it was too little too late. Mays certainly gave the assist for other DB prospects with Richardson and was co-lead for Duncan, but the one commitment he got as the primary recruiter was Day.
Luke’s Comments: Thanks to his quick work on Day as well as the assists he was able to give for other DBs, Mays had a great first year on the recruiting trail. Mays has already hit the ground running for the 2027 class, so expectations are already high for him.
Ryan Walters (DC): Aaron’s Grade: Luke’s Grade: A
While Walters isn’t expected to be the lead recruiter at his position, he was very involved and played the supporting role perfectly. He provided probably the most support to first time coach Taylor Mays, but Walters was on the road a lot this year making his presence felt to many defensive recruits.
Marcus Griffin (Director of Recruiting): Aaron’s Grade: Luke’s Grade: A+
Yes, he is not a coach but Griffin oversees all of the recruiting and is directly involved in many recruitments as well. Griffin coming in and landing Kodi Greene could have alone earned his A+ grade, but Griffin didn’t coast on that victory. He was also heavily involved with the recruitments of Brian Bonner and Jeron Jones among others. While he didn’t commit, five star edge Tristian Givens never would have taken a visit to UW if Griffin wasn’t here. It will be exciting to see what Griffin is able to accomplish after such a successful first year.
