5 recruits who could take UW Huskies’ 2025 class to next level

May 19, 2024, 12:05 PM

UW Huskies players celebrates after an interception during a 2023 game. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

UW Huskies Insider

Among the early talking points for UW Huskies’ coach Jedd Fisch is his desire to sign “the best recruiting class Washington has ever had” in the 2025 cycle.

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The Huskies have five players committed so far: three-star quarterbacks Dash Beierly from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei and Treston Kini McMillan from Mililani (Hawaii) High; four-star receiver Raiden Vines-Bright from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy; three-star offensive lineman Jake Flores from San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic; and three-star running back Julian McMahan from Danville (Calif.) Monte Vista.

At present, the Huskies have more than 20 prospects scheduled to take an official visit this month, and another 17 or so scheduled for June.

Here are five prospects among the expected visitors who could take their 2025 recruiting class to the next level, relative to recent seasons.

All ratings per the 247Sports Composite.

CB Dijon Lee

School: Mission Viejo (Calif.) High

Rating: 5-star, No. 26 nationally

At least right now, Lee is the highest-rated player the Huskies could reasonably land in the 2025 class; Washington recently made Lee’s top four along with SEC schools Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M, and he has official visits scheduled to each. Lee is a huge corner, at a listed size of 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, and Fisch could really send a message by landing Lee in his first real recruiting cycle. He snagged two interceptions and had 13 passes defended as a junior.

S Anquon Fegans

School: Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson

Rating: 4-star, No. 36

The Huskies are a geographical outlier in Fegans’ recruitment, as the Alabama native has also scheduled official visits to Georgia, Clemson and Miami — though he did originally commit to USC, as a sophomore, before opening things back up. It would be a coup for secondary coach John Richardson, safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri and Fisch to pull Fegans from the south, considering the competition for the 6-foot-1, 180-pound safety. It might also be an uphill battle. Fegans had nine interceptions as a sophomore at Thompson, which won its fourth consecutive state title that year. Fegans made seven interceptions as a junior.

WR Phillip Bell

School: Mission Viejo (Calif.) High

Rating: 4-star, No. 149

Former receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard recruited at a high level during his two seasons at Washington, and new receivers coach Kevin Cummings has a chance to take it up a notch in his pursuit of Bell, Lee’s teammate at Mission Viejo. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, Bell caught 56 passes for 644 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior last season. USC will be difficult to beat for Bell’s services, and he also has visits scheduled to Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State and Tennessee. He’s scheduled to be at UW at the end of May.

LB Zaydrius Rainey-Sale

School: Spanaway (Wash.) Bethel

Rating: 4-star, No. 181

Rainey-Sale originally gave his commitment to Washington on Jan. 8, the day of the national championship game. He decommitted after coach Kalen DeBoer’s departure for Alabama, but the new coaching staff immediately made him a priority; the star linebacker recently shared a photo of seven UW assistants visiting him at Bethel. Rainey-Sale is scheduled to visit UW the weekend of June 21, per 247Sports, with other visits scheduled to UCLA, California, Oregon State, Florida State and Oklahoma. In six games as a junior — he missed three due to injury — Rainey-Sale made 65 tackles and four sacks, and also led the team in receiving yards (230) and touchdowns (4).

TE Vander Ploog

School: Fullerton (Calif.) Troy

Rating: 4-star, No. 236

Ploog visited Washington earlier this month, and also has visits scheduled to SMU, Arizona State, Utah and California. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, Ploog would bring a different physical element to UW’s tight end room. He caught 61 passes for a team-best 1,047 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior. Ploog was an important target for DeBoer’s staff, too, and new tight ends coach Jordan Paopao is no less interested in landing the four-star prospect. With Quentin Moore and incoming transfer Keleki Latu each entering their senior seasons, tight end is a position of need both in the portal and in the 2025 class.

This column from UW Huskies football insider Christian Caple is exclusive to Seattle Sports. Subscribe to OnMontlake.com for full access to Caple’s in-depth Husky coverage.