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Steffon McKnight

Reports on the internet surfacing that Washington is no longer first but fourth for the four-star receiver from San Diego (Calif.) Mira Mesa. UCLA's apparently taken over the top spot followed immediately by Cal, Arizona State, Washington and then Nebraska. We've confirmed that's the case.

Fortunately, McKnight told us recently that one of the only reasons Washington was no longer the front runner (he hadn't said fourth at the time; only that they were not necessarily his favorite) was he had not had the chance to visit. He still does plan to visit Montlake so we'll see how things play out.

Profile: Steffon McKnight

Isaac Garcia

Just as we posted about one Bellevue standout today -- Isaiah Gilchrist -- let's update our understanding of Isaac Garcia, the four-star defensive end. He's no longer committed to USC, having parted ways with the Trojans, and that's opened the floodgates in terms of interest from other Pac-12 programs.

Washington had never shown more than cursory interest and the Dawgs still don't seem to be stepping into this pool too deep, for whatever reason. Others like Utah, Arizona State, Oregon and Arizona are starting to eye Garcia a bit more, inquiring about his situation and standing.

We're of the impression that Washington's never fallen in love with Garcia and he had seemed to acknowledge that it wasn't likely he would develop much of a relationship with the Huskies -- this on the basis of what he told us a couple of months ago. But we'll have to wait and see in the days and weeks ahead.

Isaiah Gilchrist

Isaiah Gilchrist has added an offer from Oregon and the Ducks figure to surely be among the Huskies' main competitors for the four-star Bellevue athlete.

Washington has long been considered a favorite for the defensive back but the local school has seen others catch up primarily because Gilchrist is just now starting to look to the horizon and get a taste for what else might be available. A source close to Bellevue has told TDR, "He definitely still likes (UDUB)," but it's not the sure thing some may have supposed earlier.

Damon Johnson

Damon Johnson is a long snapper from Glendora, Calif., and a teammate of Matt Fink, the quarterback committed to USC who had seriously considered Washington.

With A.J. Carty greyshirting I'm not sure how likely it is that this guy would get a look, either as a scholarship or preferred walk-on guy, but he's talking to the Huskies and is likely to attend a specialist camp this summer. USC, North Carolina, Alabama and others are in on him.

Steffon McKnight

Four-star receiver Steffon McKnight is one of the players that Washington has a chance to make a big splash with.

Earlier this year he tweeted that Washington was his top choice. When I caught up with McKnight just recently I asked whether the Huskies are still in that top spot on his leaderboard. His response?

"Not certain until I take my visit."

However, for what it's worth, I've spoken with sources close to McKnight's end and Washington's end and the consensus is you should still feel upbeat here.

Here's the previous tweet.

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Parkinson adds offer....

This week California 2016 tight end Colby Parkinson added his second offer, from Tennessee. Washington was the first school to offer. As we've reported before Parkinson was born and lived his first few years in Bellevue, so he's got a connection to the area. But he left when he was fairly young and hasn't been back a ton. Still, the fact that Washington got into the mix so early means he thinks very highly of the program and is getting to know the program a lot better.

"Feeling wanted" is one of the biggest factors for Parkinson and Washington's coaches have definitely made him feel wanted.

"I love Washington," Parkinson told me this week. "I love the area and love the campus. Actually, I haven't been to the campus but I have heard great things about it. I remember great things about (Seattle) as a kid. I left before kindergarten but I still have great memories."

Garrett Rand...

I briefly connected with four-star Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton defensive tackle Garrett Rand and he indicated that Washington is indeed one of the schools he is giving consideration to and when I asked if or when he might visit he responded, "Most likely during the summer."

The 6-foot-2, 275-pound lineman is the nation's No. 17 defensive tackle and No. 150 overall in the Rivals250.

Shelton to the Browns

Danny Shelton was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 12th pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Cleveland was one of the teams most commonly linked to Shelton and most mocks had the franchise taking him with either their first or second mock, as our draft preview indicated this morning. Apparently Cleveland liked Shelton enough that they decided not to wait until their second pick of the round.

Marcus Peters and Shaq Thompson still on first round watch.

Junior day wraps up

Junior day ended just a little while ago, per sources and some recruits that were there. Byron Murphy, Sean McGrew and Michael Eletise were among the biggest headliners.

McGrew has already told me, just now, that UW is definitely one of his top choices and will be right up until the end. They see him as the 'lightning' half of a thunder/lightning backfield they want to build. Eletise's teammate, Parker Higgins, emphasized that they were most impressed with how family-oriented the staff at UW is. Said the same thing about Oregon State, too.

There were 15-20 recruits in attendance overall so not the blockbuster event that was once expected but still several four-stars and a high quality crew.

Petersen gave his standard 'five pillars' and 'built for life' speech and the players were able to watch practice. The facilities were a big hit. Staff might not be as flashy in some respects as some other places but I get the impression in those smaller recruiting settings they do a great job.

Wattenberg commits!

This might be the kind of breakthrough, somewhat unexpected news item that gets the ball rolling on a huge class.

Four-star offensive lineman Luke Wattenberg has committed to Washington. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times first reported it and we can confirm through a source on the player's side. It's been accepted by the coaches obviously, as Petersen tweeted the standard "Woof!"
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