UW Football Well Positioned to Capitalize on Proposed NCAA Rule Change

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When the Washington Huskies' coaching staff hits the recruiting trail, Jedd Fisch will have six more personnel visiting various high schools across the country.

Last Thursday, the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee approved a blanket waiver to increase the number of coaches each school is allowed to have for off-campus recruiting during the spring evaluation period from April 15 to May 23 from ten to 16, a significant change that follows a recent amendment to the number of coaches schools can hire.

In a press release from the NCAA last week, the limit of ten coaches out recruiting remains the same, but up to 16 coaches can be designated, which implies that Fisch could opt to rotate who comes and goes, potentially testing out who would be a beneficial recruiter in a full-time coaching role.

Among the choices at Fisch's disposal to send out on the road recruiting are director of recruiting Marcus Griffin, director of high school relations Jaleel Wadood, director of college scouting Silas Clapham, defensive quality control coaches Martell Irby and Austin Karr, new special teams analyst Brett Arkelian, and grad assistant Kekoa Crawford, to name a few.

With the upcoming spring evaluation period set to overlap with when UW holds spring football practices scheduled to begin April 2, the likelihood of being a combination of assistant position coaches—for example: Korey Rush as an assistant defensive line and edge coach under defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi—and one or two personnel assistants, since the staff will still need bodies in the building to host recruits on unofficial visits and help facilitate the normal operations at practice.

The oversight committee is scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss who is deemed eligible to be designated as recruiters, which could end up forcing Fisch and every other coach's hand when it comes to who they select as the additional six.

If Griffin, a former standout defensive lineman at Bellevue High School who went on to play college football at Arizona from 2015-17 before he finished his career at Central Michigan in 2018, is able to go off-campus this spring it could prove consequential down the line for both the 2027 and 2028 classes as one of the most well-connected staffers that has been instrumental in building relationships with numerous recruits since coming to UW with Fisch in 2024.

Irby is considered a rising star after joining the Huskies program prior to last season, following the departure of Armond Hawkins, who left to become a full-time coach at North Carolina with ex-UW defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, and could be in line for a similar move in the coming years as he continues to progress under Fisch as a coach.

Whichever six are designated as the addition half dozen coaches the Huskies can have out on the recruiting trail in April, Fisch will remain in Seattle as per NCAA rules, which prohibit the head football coach from participating in off-campus recruiting during the window.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: UW Football Well Positioned to Capitalize on Proposed NCAA Rule Change

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