Pac-10 football recruiting wrap-up and ranking Part I

---

I’ve sifted through much of the information and went on to rank the 2010 recruiting classes.

Let me start off by saying I do realize these rankings mean very little and the kids will have to prove themselves on the field. Many of them may not have an impact for the next year or two.

So let’s get on with the rankings.

10) Washington State
Coach Wulff has a long way to go before the Washington State Cougars are going to be competitive again in the Pac-10. But each year it helps to get some fresh meat on the team who just might make an impact on the turn-around.

This season it’s C.J. Mizell out of Florida. Mizell is a four-star linebacker and  I was really surprised when the Cougs announced his letter of intent. A kid like Mizell will do wonders for the Cougs defense — that is if he’s around long. Seems the kid has had some real issues in the past including legal and academic.

Mizell originally signed with the 2009 Florida State recruiting class.

9) Oregon State
No real surprise here as the Beavers generally rank low when it comes to recruiting. But you know what? I don’t think the Beavs really care where they rank in recruiting as long as they put a solid product on the field that wins.

The Beavs didn’t have any really eye-popping recruits sign, but again, that’s just not the Beavers way typically.

The one who was committed that may hurt them is defensive tackle Happy Iona as it looks like he’s going to end up at a junior college due to academics.

The one who wasn’t committed and really hurt the Beavs is defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa. He’s an Oregon native who had Oregon State, along with Nebraska and UCLA, on his short list — he chose UCLA.

Linebacker Shaydon Akuna is Hawaii’s number one rated high school player. And let’s face it, Hawaii puts out some big, tough kids that come to play.

Arizona
This is another recruiting class that just doesn’t have many big names. The Wildcats really needed to fill some holes — mostly on defense. And that’s what it looks like they were trying to do.

There is one “name” in the class — it’s McKnight. As in USC running back Joe McKnight’s younger brother, Jonathan. Jonathan is a cornerback and doesn’t seem to be quite the athlete Joe is.

7) Arizona State
The Sun Devils went out and signed 26 players for the 2010 class. Of those 26 there were six junior college transfers. That’s right, six. Dennis Erickson needs to win right away and doesn’t have to for player development. This could be the year that Erickson is really in the hot seat his team doesn’t make some noise in the Pac-10.

Of those six j.c. transfers five are on the offensive side of the ball. Makes sense to me since the Sun Devils offense ranked ninth in the conference last season. Oh, and the 20 kids who aren’t j.c. transfers — 15 of them are on the offensive side of the ball as well. Do you see the pattern here?

6) Washington
How can anyone not like what Steve Sarkisian is doing with the Huskies? He’s bringing a winning attitude back to the once proud purple and gold and getting the fans, administration and Huskies players to buy in to what he’s teaching. More importantly (because it’s the future) he’s able to get potential recruits to buy in to him and the system as well.

It’s been a few years since the Huskies have really seen a class so well-rounded — and with talent — roll in to town.

Unlike Arizona State, which had six j.c. transfers, Washington has zero. And it’s a big class, too, with 30 total new recruits. Sarkisian is really making his mark with this class.

Yes, Jake Locker is returning for for the 2010 season. And that bodes well for one of the young QB recruits — Nick Montana. Montana is Washington’s future and having a year to learn under Locker will do wonders. Oh, and did we mention Nick is the son of NFL great and Hall of Famer Joe Montana? Yeah, that probably doesn’t hurt.

It sounds as though the Huskies are expecting safety Sean Parker to get plenty of playing time right away and get into the starting lineup.

For numbers five through one be sure to check out Pac-10 football recruiting wrap-up and ranking Part II.