Husky Stadium Delivers: Top Recruits Fired Up After Washington’s Electric Win Over USC
Inside Recruits' Reactions to Washington's Win Over USC: Atmosphere, Coaching Impressions, and Future Huskies
For the Washington Huskies, Saturday’s thrilling win against USC wasn’t just another conference game—it was also a major recruiting moment. Dozens of top recruits made the trip to Seattle, taking in the electric atmosphere at Husky Stadium and seeing firsthand how the program battles against another top-tier West Coast football program.
From committed players who are eager to wear the purple and gold, to high-profile prospects weighing their options, many walked away energized by the experience. I spoke with several of these recruits to get their impressions from their visits. Here’s what they had to say.
Commits
2025 TE Vander Ploog (Troy - Fullerton, CA) said one of the highlights of his gameday visit was “getting to continue talking to the coaching staff about how they see [him] developing as a player and as a man.” He appreciated hearing from the staff about “the role they think [he] can play” in the team’s offensive system. Ploog made back-to-back gameday visits to Oregon and several recruiting experts are predicting that he will flip his commitment from Washington to Oregon.
2025 QB Dash Beierly (Mater Dei - Orange, CA) told me that he thought “the fanbase was lit and that the energy was way up.” He was impressed by Washington’s defense who he thought “played tough.” He was also in Seattle for the Huskies’ win over Michigan. After the USC game, he said “it’s always good to talk with the staff, players, and coaches” and that “can’t wait to rock that purple and gold.”
2025 DE Caleb Smith (A.H. Parker - Birmingham, AL) said the environment “was electrifying.” He “loved how the team battled all the way until the end,” emphasizing that this was the type of team he “want[s] to surround [him]self with to win games.”
2026 RB Ansu Sanoe (Lakeridge - Lake Oswego, OR) enjoyed his gameday visit, remaking that he “loved being there and watching a game in [his] most favorite condition to play in . . . rain.” He appreciated the opportunity to his teammate from last season, who is now starring for USC, tight end Joey Olsen.
2025 ATH Hunter Solwold (Fallston - Fallston, MD) called his gameday visit “incredible.” He said the “atmosphere was electric” and it made him “so excited to play for the Dawgs next season.”
Recruits
2023 WR Kenneth Moore III (St. Mary’s - Stockton, CA) said he “loved the energy of the home crowd from the beginning to the end of the game.” Moore has a scholarship offer from Washington and a handful of other West Coast schools. He recently helped lead his St. Mary’s team to a league championship in California.
2026 Bralan Womack (Hartfield Academy - Flowood, MS) relayed that the “the energy and atmosphere was great” and that the “feeling” and “scenery” of Husky Stadium “was like no other.” Womack is the No. 1 ranked 2026 safety per 247 Sports. Alabama, Georgia, Louisiville, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and over two dozen other schools have offered scholarships to Womack.
2026 Wide Receiver Terrance Saryon (Evergreen - Vancouver, WA) returned to make another visit to Washington, after attending the team’s last home game against Michigan. Saryon enjoyed “seeing how locked in all the players were before the game.” He also “loved” seeing how “the players and even the coaches deal[t] with adversity” during the team’s game against USC. Saryon, who holds an offer from Washington, also has an offer from Oregon — he visited Eugene the previous week.
2026 QB Donivan Dixon (Cactus Shadows/psh - Cave Creek, AZ) said “the staff” and “the fans” make you feel “like you belong there.” He called his gameday visit “outstanding.” Dixon holds an offer from Utah. Along with Washington, Montana State and Iowa State are showing interest in Dixon.
2026 QB Maika Eugenio (Bishop Gorman - Las Vegas, NV) is another quarterback receiving interest from Washington. He visited Washington last summer and said he loved the coaching staff when they were at Arizona. After “see[ing] the team compete . . . grind it out, perform, and execute, [it] just makes [him] want to play for UW and Coach Fisch.” Eugenio holds offers from Arizona State, Florida Atlantic, North Alabama, and UNLV.
Eugneio’s teammate, 2026 WR Kaina Watson (Bishop Gorman - Las Vegas NV) said that the favorite part of his visit was having the opportunity to catch up with his former teammate, Washington freshman wide receiver Audric Harris. He also noted that he “loved” how “packed” Husky Stadium was for the game.
A contingent of recruits from Tustin high school in California traveled to Seattle for a gameday visit. 2026 Safety Trey Brown (Tustin, CA) loved witnessing the end of the game and seeing Washington’s “defense holding it down for the W!” Brown holds offers from BYU, Cal, Florida, Penn State, and a host of other schools.
2027 DL Cooper Cook (Tustin, CA) highlighted “the atmosphere” and noted that “no matter how hard it was raining or how windy it [was], the fans still stayed.” 2027 Safety Jackson Perez (Tustin, CA) also highlighted the “great atmosphere.” He was impressed by the speed of Washington’s defense and its ability to create turnovers. 2027 WR/TE Rufai Azeez (Tustin, CA) was impressed by how the team’s offense gets tight ends involved and characterized Washington as “a big time school that [he] could see [himself] at.”
2027 LB Taven Epps (Tusin, CA) said it was his second visit to Seattle and that “it didn’t disappoint one bit.” He added that it was his first time seeing the campus and that he “loved it.”
Local recruits from Bothell high school took in the game on Saturday. 2025 ATH Eliandry Ozuna said, “the coaching staff was extremely welcoming.” 2025 WR Mason Kim said the favorite part of his gameday visit was seeing the support from UW’s students and fans during the game. 2025 QB Jaylen Viars said the highlight of his visit was getting a tour of Washington’s weight room. Bothell recently won the 4A KingCo championship and is gearing up for a state playoff run.