One player Husky fans do not need to worry about as far as his commitment to Washington is Lawndale (Ca.) DB Makell Esteen.
One day after Chris Petersen's sudden resignation, Esteen spoke to Dawgman.com and said while the news caught him off guard, he knows the program is in the right hands.
"At first, I was like 'what is going on?', but after a little bit, I talked to coach (Jimmy) Lake and to coach (Will) Harris and they told me what was going on and not to be worried and that the direction of the program is still on the way up," Esteen said. "Obviously, I have gotten to know coach Lake really well throughout the process and coach Harris too, those are my guys, and I think coach Lake is going to be a great coach and I am excited about being part of their future."
Esteen had dabbled with a few other schools, thinking about his choice of where to spend the next four or five years, but he said it really came down to one thing, relationships.
"The relationships I have with the people there, the coaches, the players, that's what really sold me on being a Husky," Esteen said. "I love the tradition there, but a lot of schools have great traditions and programs go up and down with wins and losses, stuff like that, so when you're choosing a school to sign with, it's about football obviously, but it's about a lot more and I think that's what separates a guy who signs with Washington from other guys.
"We sign up for it all -- school, development, football, brotherhood -- and I just don't think there's any place better than Washington at offering the whole package.
"Like I said, I am excited about the future there and I can't wait to get up there to get to work and win a championship."
As a senior this past season, Esteen helped lead Lawndale to the second round of the CIF state championships and he said he could tell the difference in how he played this season compared to his junior campaign.
"My mobility, my reads, my explosiveness, they were all much better this season," Esteen said. "I played with confidence and I felt like I was a leader for my team and we did some great things together."
Esteen and his friend and teammate, Elijah Jackson, are both set to sign with Washington on December 18th and he had a message for Husky fans.
"We got this," Esteen said. "Coach Pete is a great man and a great coach, so he'll be missed, but coach Lake and the staff there is great and they'll do well and my class, we're expecting championships, so be excited about the future."
Esteen was rated three-stars and received a 0.8714 in the 247Composite as a safety.
He'll be used as a slot/safety once he gets to campus this summer.
He’s going to end up as an outside corner lol.
He's definitely plenty good enough to. I still think he'll end up the clear top DB from this class, even with Covington.
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