Huskies notebook: Chris Petersen succeeds in keeping signing day free of drama

Chris Petersen's 2016 recruiting class at Washington is ranked 30th in the nation by ESPN. (AP)

When it comes to recruiting, Washington football coach Chris Petersen puts a lot of importance on operating in a manner that keeps national signing day as free of drama as possible.

In that case, mission accomplished.

Related: A rundown of the Washington Huskies’ 2016 football recruits

The Huskies rounded out a class of 18 signees on Wednesday, a day that Petersen found thrilling in its lack of surprises.

“Awesome, exciting, uneventful day,” he quipped.

Washington’s class, which is ranked 30th in the nation by ESPN, features eight four-star recruits and is well balanced with nine defensive players, eight offensive players and a punter. As pleased as Petersen may be with the class itself, he seemed most happy with how the recruits stuck to their commitments, something that has been a strength during his time with Washington.

“I’m really proud of these kids that we signed, because I think in this day and age to make it uneventful takes a little bit more work and a little bit more strongness of will, so to speak, because there’s a lot of good players here that were recruited by a lot of people,” he said.

When Petersen moved to Montlake from Boise State after the 2013 season, how he would fare with recruiting was a big question. Coming off a Heart of Dallas Bowl win and now with his third class finalized, it appears he and his staff have found their groove, though Petersen himself believes it to be harder recruiting to Washington in the Pac-12 than Boise State in the WAC or Mountain West.

“Things change a little bit being in this league and this university,” he said. “I know this – there’s a lot more competition for some of these guys. And so people have asked, is it easier recruiting here? No, it’s harder recruiting here. Who you’re recruiting against, there’s so much parity. It’s much harder.”

Here are a few more pieces of news from Petersen’s signing-day press conference:

Two-way potential

As has always been the norm for Petersen-led teams, the Huskies have a number of recruits who could be used in more ways than one. This year, that doesn’t even stick to the football field. Defensive back Byron Murphy, the highest-rated of all of Washington’s signees, has expressed interest in walking on to UW’s basketball team.

What does Petersen think of his chances?

“I’m telling you, that guy is very, very athletic … I haven’t studied him as a basketball player, but as a football player, there’s no doubt in my mind he can play either side of the ball with probably just as much success,” he said. “You just want to feel like a guy can be successful and you’re not putting too much on his plate. And the one thing that they have to go through is to come here and see how much is on their plate, and sometimes those aspirations change a little bit.”

The freshman effect

The Dawgs received big contributions from running back Myles Gaskin, quarterback Jake Browning and offensive lineman Trey Adams in their true freshman years last season, and the impact may have been felt past their play on the field.

Petersen said having true freshmen in big roles was likely a factor in bringing in the recruits that the Huskies did.

“They know the depth chart. We show them that,” he said. “They know we’re going to play the best guys, and if you’re one of the best guys coming in you’re going to play. It’s really that simple. We live in the here and now. So, if you’re the guy that can make us better right now, you know we’ll give you that chance.”

Notes

• Washington’s recruiting class is made up of seven players from California, five from Washington, three from Texas, two from Arizona and one from Oregon. According to Petersen, the “footprint” of future UW classes will look very similar.

• Petersen showed his comedic side when asked what the secret was to keeping committed players from de-committing. “It’s really a unique and secretive deal, so I hesitate to say it • it’s just called honesty.”