It was the perfect end to a perfect plan for the Washington Huskies as gunslinger Jeff Lindquist of Mercer Island High School pulled the trigger. He officially pledged himself to become a Washington Husky next year selecting his home town school over Stanford and a host of others who highly recruited him.
All along these past few months it appeared it could go either way. Jeff had made it clear it was close.
With his brother already set up down on “The Farm” it looked like Stanford had a real shot at the academically talented QB from Mercer Island.
In the end it was close but the allure of being a part of the continued rebuilding process at Montlake was just too much of a pull.
“Ultimately it was a very close decision. But the combination of academics, the coaching staff, being close to home, and to play for a program I have always loved was too much to turn down,” said Lindquist.
His commitment came in a quiet fashion without bravado and cameras. There was no selection of hats or any of that.
“My Mom and Dad and I went to see Coach Sark and just made it official. I told him I would be ready to get to work,” added the gifted QB.
That prompted a group hug and the Coach Sark, as he is so often done, to jump on Twitter and pop off a couple of “Woofs” to send the howl of victory across Husky Nation.
What has him and everyone who have seen Jeff play so excited is the many similarities to now NFL #8 pick Jake Locker.
Jeff is 6’3″ and 225 pounds and has great foot speed and a cannon for an arm. He has terrific ability to read the field and is a two way threat. Just like Jake.
In fact he announced his intentions and verbal commitment to Washington a couple of days ahead of time and less then 24 hours after Locker was drafted into the NFL.
Beyond Mercer Island High Jeff has proven he is an elite QB. At every camp and combine he has wowed analysts and his name is always amongst the best of the best in the post event wrap ups.
That said he is unassuming and quiet. He knew what he wanted and went for it. He could have easily rode the recruiting wave and had a host of National suitors.
His commitment allows Coach Sark and his staff to check one off the list of needs and focus on other guys. It does something else too.
Most importantly it is going to activate Lindquist as a recruiting juggernaut in a year where Washington as a State is one of the deepest in the Nation.
There can be no doubt that Jeff will be in touch with Zach Banner (Lakes) and Joshua Garnett(Puyallup) who are both in the Seattle-Tacoma area and rated amongst the Top 5 O’linemen in the country.
Add to that list Michael Rector (Bellermine Prep WR), Cedric Dozier (Lakes Ath), and KeiVarae Russell (Mariner RB). They all know Lindquist and as the Huskies continue their climb back to the top the message seems to be clear.
“Come Be A Part Of This” is the chant that has been echoing across Puget Sound these past few seasons. And local phenoms like Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Kasen Williams, just to name a few, have been answering the call.
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