Washington goes deep for ‘07

SEATTLE – Maybe it was the new, gray goatee, which makes Tyrone Willingham look more fatherly.

Or maybe it was the silver-rimmed bifocals Willingham perched on the end of his nose to scan the list of 27 recruits Washington signed Wednesday.

Something got Washington’s coach the largest and deepest recruiting class of his three-year tenure.

“I think it was a tremendous help. I think it made all the difference in the world,” Willingham, 53, joked about the goatee’s possible role in recruiting – before he added, “Not quite.”

Instead, he said his Huskies’ 4-2 start to last season – including a last-play loss at Southern California – got UW into more living rooms. Many doors were slammed shut to Huskies’ recruiters after a two-win season in 2005 and a 1-10 catastrophe in ‘04, the latter under Keith Gilbertson.

“The encouraging thing is that we’re gaining more acceptance,” Willingham said following a 5-7 season that also included an overtime loss at co-Pac-10-champion California and an upset win at Washington State in the Apple Cup.

“The young people were pleased with some of the things we did last year. Obviously, we’re not totally pleased with what we did last year. But there was progress.”

Willingham is expecting about half a dozen, even perhaps 10, of his newest, mostly California-bred Huskies to help Washington to its first winning season in five years.

The class has 14 Californians and six from Washington. It is led by flashy wide receiver Anthony Boyles from Compton, Calif., speedy running back Brandon Johnson of Hawthorne, Calif. (whom Willingham said may run the 100-yard dash in 10.6 seconds), and two new kickers who have jobs to lose in the fall: punter Jared Ballman, a junior-college transfer from San Diego, and place-kicker Eric Folk, yet another Californian from Woodland Hills.

Washington signed 21 last year and just 13 in 2005, after Willingham and most of his staff arrived two months before signing day.

“This year, we made a tremendous amount of progress. People see us as on the rise in the Pac-10,” said Chris Tormey, the UW’s recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach.

The many Californians but relatively few from Washington didn’t surprise Willingham.

“We will still make our focus Washington and California. That will never change,” the former Stanford and Notre Dame coach said.