If he chooses UW, Sarell would be the highest-ranked recruit ever to commit to the Huskies.
Five hats will accompany Foster Sarell for his much-anticipated announcement Saturday morning.
“The five hats will be Notre Dame, Nebraska, Stanford, Washington and USC,” the five-star offensive lineman told Scout.com this week. “It’s down to those five schools.”
Scout ranks Sarell, the local product from Graham-Kapowsin High, as the nation’s No. 1 offensive lineman and the No. 2 overall recruit for the Class of 2017.
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound tackle has kept a relatively low profile throughout most of his recruiting process. Beyond the top five, he has never publicly named a leader, but the general feeling is he is down to two choices: UW and Stanford.
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Sarell will announce his decision Saturday during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio. The game is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. PT on NBC.
The Huskies’ march to the College Football Playoff could be an enticing pull to keep Sarell close to home for college. Brandon Huffman, Scout’s national director of recruiting, has said Sarell was solidly leaning toward Stanford before the season, but the Huskies have apparently closed the gap considerably.
Sarell was in attendance at Husky Stadium for the Huskies’ 44-6 victory over Stanford on Sept. 30, and he made his official visit to UW in early December.
UW coach Chris Petersen also took a ride in a helicopter — the first time he’s done that on a recruiting trip — from Seattle to Tacoma to scout Sarell at a Graham-Kapowsin game in September.
“Washington did everything they needed to do to show they were trending upward,” Huffman said.
Sarell would be the first five-star recruit to ever commit to Petersen, and he would be the highest ranked recruit to sign with UW in the 15-year history of Scout’s service.
The last five-star recruit to sign with the Huskies was Shaq Thompson in 2012.
Four recruits who have already made verbal commits to the Huskies are also participating in the U.S. Army Bowl: Juanita High athlete Salvon Ahmed; wide receiver Ty Jones of Provo, Utah; linebacker Ariel Ngata from Folsom (Calif.) High; and defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu from Independence, Ore.
The Huskies have 14 known commitments in this recruiting class, which Scout ranks No. 17 nationally.
National signing day is Feb. 1.
UW Class of 2017
Salvon Ahmed, ATH, 6-0, 186, Juanita HS
Henry Bainivalu, OL, 6-6, 295, Skyline HS, Sammamish
Hunter Bryant, TE, 6-3, 240, Eastside Catholic HS, Sammamish
Terrell Bynum, WR, 6-1, 177, St. John Bosco, Bellflower, Calif.
Alex Cook, WR, 6-2, 180, Sheldon HS, Sacramento
Jake Haener, QB, 6-1, 188, Monte Vista HS, Danville, Calif.
Ty Jones, WR, 6-4, 195, Provo HS, Provo, Utah
Brandon McKinney, S, 6-0, 180, Lutheran HS, Orange, Calif.
Elijah Molden, CB, 5-11, 185, West Linn HS, West Linn, Ore.
Ariel Ngata, LB, 6-4, 210, Folsom HS, Folsom, Calif.
Cade Otton, LB, 6-5, 223, Tumwater HS, Tumwater
Keith Taylor, CB, 6-2, 180, Servite HS, Anaheim, Calif.
Marlon Tuipulotu, DT, 6-2, 275, Central HS, Independence, Ore.
Joel Whitford*, P, 6-3, 200, Santa Barbara (Calif.) JC; Neerim South, Victoria, Australia
*Already signed and enrolled at UW