Football: Utes, Cougs in a dead-even battle for Northridge safety
A day after receiving a scholarship offer from the University of Utah after participating in its football camp, Northridge High safety Chris Washington was back at BYU's football camp on Wednesday -- but just to watch.
I got a chance to chat with the 6-2, 195-pound Washington and he said he wants to make a decision soon. I wouldn't be surprised if he commits next week.
To which school?
"Right now, it is totally up for grabs," he said, noting that BYU and Utah are both recruiting him "consistently," but not with a lot of undue pressure.
"Both [coaching staffs] have been great about it," he said. "I feel comfortable around both [staffs]."
Washington said he kind of wants to stay in-state, but will go to the B2G camp at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, Calif., tomorrow and will participate Friday through Sunday in hopes of seeing what else is out there, and what kind of interest he draws. Boise State and Oregon State have seemed the most interested among the out-of-state programs.
I asked him if the commitment of his good friend and teammate, Peni Maka'afi, to BYU on Saturday affects his decision.
"Yeah, it does," he said. "Obviously, it would be fun to play with him and go to a place where I already know someone really well. But that won't be the biggest factor. There are other things to consider like playing time, how I will be used, and all that."
Washington is a walking advertisement for what camps and exposure can do for a player. He wasn't even a first-team all-region selection last fall at Northridge, but he has performed so well at camps such as the Las Vegas 7 on 7 meet in March and the ones at BYU and Utah that schools have taken notice.
Northridge coach Erik Thompson said Washington used to be a lanky, skinny guy, but has filled out well and is still only 16, having been moved ahead a year in school.
He's smart, too, getting a score of 22 on the ACT college admission test. That's not Rhodes Scholar territory, but it will get him into most colleges in the country.
Washington, who is not LDS, reiterated that he could "handle" the BYU lifestyle and honor code.
"Probably 90 percent of my friends are Mormon," he said. "It's not a big deal at all."
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By the way, Josh Nunes, the four-star quarterback from Upland, Calif., who had BYU in his top eight, has committed to Tennessee. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound rising senior stunned the recruiting world with the announcement on Tuesday because most observers figured he would wait until at least September to make a decision.
The Cougars, incidentally, pretty much stopped recruiting Nunes after former Utah State quarterback Riley Nelson said he was transferring to BYU.
I got a chance to chat with the 6-2, 195-pound Washington and he said he wants to make a decision soon. I wouldn't be surprised if he commits next week.
To which school?
"Right now, it is totally up for grabs," he said, noting that BYU and Utah are both recruiting him "consistently," but not with a lot of undue pressure.
"Both [coaching staffs] have been great about it," he said. "I feel comfortable around both [staffs]."
Washington said he kind of wants to stay in-state, but will go to the B2G camp at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, Calif., tomorrow and will participate Friday through Sunday in hopes of seeing what else is out there, and what kind of interest he draws. Boise State and Oregon State have seemed the most interested among the out-of-state programs.
I asked him if the commitment of his good friend and teammate, Peni Maka'afi, to BYU on Saturday affects his decision.
"Yeah, it does," he said. "Obviously, it would be fun to play with him and go to a place where I already know someone really well. But that won't be the biggest factor. There are other things to consider like playing time, how I will be used, and all that."
Washington is a walking advertisement for what camps and exposure can do for a player. He wasn't even a first-team all-region selection last fall at Northridge, but he has performed so well at camps such as the Las Vegas 7 on 7 meet in March and the ones at BYU and Utah that schools have taken notice.
Northridge coach Erik Thompson said Washington used to be a lanky, skinny guy, but has filled out well and is still only 16, having been moved ahead a year in school.
He's smart, too, getting a score of 22 on the ACT college admission test. That's not Rhodes Scholar territory, but it will get him into most colleges in the country.
Washington, who is not LDS, reiterated that he could "handle" the BYU lifestyle and honor code.
"Probably 90 percent of my friends are Mormon," he said. "It's not a big deal at all."
---------------------------
By the way, Josh Nunes, the four-star quarterback from Upland, Calif., who had BYU in his top eight, has committed to Tennessee. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound rising senior stunned the recruiting world with the announcement on Tuesday because most observers figured he would wait until at least September to make a decision.
The Cougars, incidentally, pretty much stopped recruiting Nunes after former Utah State quarterback Riley Nelson said he was transferring to BYU.
5 Comments:
Best of luck to the Washington kid in choosing which school to attend.
The kid says he's not LDS. I hope he is 100% educated about the honor code and mandatory weekly devotionals that they have down there at byu.
Hopefully he weighs his options well and makes an informed decision.
Justin, here is a little bit of information so your next post is more "informed". BYU has a weekly forum that is encouraged, but certainly not mandatory. You will not get in trouble if you skip every single one your entire academic career. Most of the forums are a "devotional" (aka religious in nature) and about once a month they also have a regular "forum" in which a speaker is invited to come to address other types of issues (economic, political, etc).
Methinks Justin is a Ute in Cougar clothing. Interesting.
Dont get all defensive guys. Im just trying to say that environment and lifestyle down there at byu isnt for everybody.
I always thought the weekly meetings were religious devotionals but one of the posters above says they are "forums." Maybe I do need to look into this a little further.
Actually since we have a newspaper reporter right here maybe we could have Jay tell us more about the rules they have down there concerning devotionals or "forums."
Help us out Jay ?
More info about this would be good but I did find this snipet of information about the devotionals.
I found this at www.byucougars.com:
Football Fireside Schedule
by Jeff Reynolds, BYU Athletic Communications
Prior to each week's game, the BYU football team will conduct and participate in weekly firesides.
The weekly pre-game devotionals will feature musical numbers and spiritually-based messages from selected players, as well as Coach Mendenhall and his wife, Holly.
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