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University of Washington Huskies Football

Huskies pull recruiting coup as five-star LB Sav’ell Smalls commits to UW after eliminating them

Washington cheerleaders run onto the field before a game against Eastern Washington on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson / AP)
By Mike Vorel Seattle Times

SEATTLE – On May 1, Kennedy Catholic outside linebacker Sav’ell Smalls publicly eliminated the Washington Huskies from contention in his recruitment.

On Aug. 18, he changed his tune, including the hometown Huskies in his top six – which included Washington State.

And on Sept. 27, at an all-school assembly, he accepted his Under Armour All-American game jersey, then announced a verbal commitment to UW.

What a difference five months made for this five-star recruit.

But regardless of the journey, Husky fans should be happy with the result. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior is currently ranked as a five-star prospect, the No. 1 player in Washington, the No. 1 outside linebacker in the nation and the No. 9 overall recruit in the 2020 class by 247Sports. He chose UW over scholarship offers from football factories like Alabama, Florida State, Oregon, Tennessee, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Stanford, USC, Florida and many, many more.

Smalls spent his sophomore and junior seasons at Seattle’s Garfield High School before transferring back to Kennedy Catholic, where his prep career began. Washington was the first school to offer him at the tail end of his freshman season in December 2016.

Now it appears the early attention paid off. Smalls is the 20th verbal commit in UW’s 2020 class, which entered the day ranked 17th nationally by 247Sports and second in the Pac-12 (behind only Oregon). He’s also the Huskies’ fifth 2020 commit from the state of Washington, joining running back Sam Adams II, offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett, wide receiver Sawyer Racanelli and inside linebacker Carson Bruener. UW has received commitments from three of the top four players in the state, with four-star Ohio State wide receiver commit Gee Scott Jr. being the only exception.

Smalls is the Huskies’ first outside linebacker commit of the 2020 cycle. The program signed a pair of outside linebackers – four-star Laiatu Latu and three-star Bralen Trice – in 2019. UW outside linebackers have compiled 3.5 combined sacks in four games this season.

If you’d like to credit a specific recruiter with Smalls’ commitment, you may need to look on Kennedy Catholic’s roster. The Lancers’ starting quarterback is Sam Huard, a 2021 five-star prospect and UW verbal commit.