The Hotline is delighted to provide West Coast fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Phoenix-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Dec. 18 …
It was a season of change for the Pac-12 legacy schools.
The two remaining either fired their coach (Oregon State) or lost their coach (Washington State) as they welcome six new schools to the rebuilt conference.
Three of the four California schools will welcome new head coaches themselves (Cal, Stanford and UCLA) after a spring firing (Stanford), a September firing (UCLA) and a late-season firing (Cal).
The dean of West Coast coaches, Kyle Whittingham, is stepping down at Utah after 21 seasons, handing the keys to coach-in-waiting Morgan Scalley, the Utes’ longtime defensive coordinator.
Arizona State and Washington still have their head coaches, Kenny Dillingham and Jedd Fisch, respectively, though both have been linked to numerous jobs this offseason.
And let’s offer kudos to the new co-dean of the West Coast coaches, Dan Lanning, who is wrapping up his fourth season at Oregon with a second playoff berth. (USC’s Lincoln Riley is finishing his fourth season, as well.)
Here is a look at the best position group each school has secured for their high school recruiting class of 2026.
Arizona
Offensive Line: Whether it was signing in-state standout Malachi Joyner, a four-star prospect from Gilbert, or heading to Texas to secure four-star tackle Justin Morales, the Wildcats strengthened their offensive line in this class. The success stands as a tip ‘o the cap to offensive line coach Josh Oglesby, who has a knack for evaluation and development.
Arizona State
Backfield: The Sun Devils signed four-star quarterback Jake Fette from Texas — he’s an Elite 11 finalist — and stayed in Texas for a four-star running back, Cardae Mack. Given the transfer of quarterback Sam Leavitt and graduation of Jeff Sims, plus tailback Raleek Brown’s entry into the NFL Draft, don’t be shocked if either Fette or Mack pushes for playing time early next season.
Cal
Offensive line: Famika Anae, the Bears’ line coach, made a strong case to be retained by new coach Tosh Lupoi with his recruiting prowess. The Hawaii native went to the Aloha State for two stellar linemen in Esaiah Wong and Kamo’i Huihui-White and got a steal in Elisha Faamatuainu. But the headliner of Cal’s class is Daniel McMorris from Oklahoma, a former Minnesota commit who is a Top247 prospect and stuck with the Bears even through the firing of Justin Wilcox.
Colorado
Linebacker: While the Buffaloes signed just 12 players, they did quality work with the front seven. Texas linebacker Carson Crawford is their lone Top247 prospect while outside linebacker/edge rusher Domata Peko Jr. is a top-10 junior college prospect (and the son of CU’s assistant defensive line coach Domata Peko, a longtime NFL veteran). Georgia linebacker Rodney Colton and Washington’s Colby Johnson round out this unit.
Oregon
Secondary: Five-star prospect Jett Washington is the No. 1 safety in the country and the nephew of NBA legend Kobe Bryant. An elite playmaker who has first-round potential as a linebacker, he’s a ball-hawker at safety. Florida safety Devin Jackson and California cornerback Davon Benjamin are each top-100 recruits from the defensive backfield for Chris Hampton, who will take over as the Ducks’ defensive coordinator with Lupoi off to Berkeley.
Oregon State
Receiver: It’s no surprise that new head coach JaMarcus Shephard sees the need to improve OSU’s wideouts. The top commitment is a longtime pledge, Archbishop Riordan’s Cynai Thomas, who stuck with the Beavers through the uncertainty of a coaching change. But Shephard was able to land Jameson Powell on signing day, convincing the longtime Mississippi pledge to come to Corvallis from Sacramento. Then Shephard added Folsom’s Jayden Padgett a day later while also adding Jesse Legree from prep power St. Frances Academy in Maryland.
Stanford
Receiver: Tyler Osborne has quietly been one of the best recruiters in the region since coming over from Sacramento State. His work flipping Michigan commit Zion Robinson gave the Cardinal their headliner in the class (and a top-20 receiver nationally). Daylan Sharper has NFL bloodlines, and Stanford beat UCLA and USC, as well as Arizona State, for Sharper while going to Georgia for Atticus Joseph and New York for Jacob Butler.
UCLA
Linebacker: While neither Matthew Muasau or Malaki Soliai-Tui are rated extremely high, UCLA’s history of taking lightly recruited linebackers, letting them loose and turning them into NFL draft picks has been impressive (like former walk-on turned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner Carson Schwesinger, or Muasau’s older brother, Darius, now with the New York Giants). Both recruits come from prep powerhouses who played tough schedules and good competition and were multi-year anchors for those defenses.
USC
Receiver/tight end: Whether it was the No. 1 tight end in the country, Mark Bowman — he’s the top tight end the Golden State has produced since Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers — or elite receivers Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, who they flipped from Ohio State, or even Ethan “Boobie” Feaster from Texas, the Trojans didn’t go wrong. Still, our money is on the electric Trent Mosley, who went nuclear on opposing defenses once he was fully healthy and helped Santa Margarita win the state title. He could end up being the best college player from this group.
Utah
Offensive line: The Utes are likely to have a pair of first-round draft picks from their offensive line in the spring, including Outland Trophy winner Spencer Fano. Yet it was another former first rounder, ex-Utes star Jordan Gross, who made the greatest impact on Utah’s top signee: Kelvin Obot, the No. 1 recruit in Idaho, who plays for Gross at Fruitland High School. Utah also flipped mammoth in-state standout Mataalii Benjamin from Minnesota, then went to New Mexico for the top recruit in the state, interior lineman Moses Sparks Jr.
Washington
Receiver: Kevin Cummings has a knack for recruiting — while at Arizona, he signed Tetairoa McMillan — but the collection of wideouts he landed at Washington this year may be his best yet. Cummings flipped two-time Navy All-American receiver Jordan Clay from Baylor, flipped Trez Davis from Tulane, snagged Mason James out of Oklahoma and then landed Blaise LaVista from Illinois.
Washington State
Secondary: Though they lost coach Jimmy Rogers to Iowa State on the final day of the early-signing period — and could still lose a few more players to ISU, as well — the Cougars did well in the defensive backfield: seven of their signees play cornerback or safety. They hit the junior college ranks hard, with Willie Breland Jr. and Bryce Heckard, a pair of cornerbacks who will be expected to play early.
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