There’s a hashtag pinned to the top of Jalen McMillan’s profile page on Twitter.
Actually, scratch that. It’s not a hashtag. It’s not a marketing gimmick. It’s a movement.
And it was conceived at the four-star Washington football commit’s dinner table during a conversation with his dad.
“My dad comes and says, ‘You should make your own hashtag,’” McMillan told The Times on Monday. “I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Something to go by when you recruit on Twitter.’
“It just popped in my head. #CALIREIGN. #PURPLEREIGN. I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s see if it works.’”
News flash: it works. McMillan — the No. 4 wide receiver and No. 31 overall prospect in the 2020 class, according to 247Sports — tweeted the hashtag for the first time on July 2, exactly a week after the Fresno, Calif., native verbally committed to UW. He tagged six Husky targets from the state of California — wide receivers Logan Loya, LV Bunkley Shelton and Troy Franklin, center Myles Murao, outside linebacker Jordan Banks and defensive back Makell Esteen — on the message as well.
Besides the hashtag, he added an eyeball emoji and two words — an open invitation.
Who’s next?
The answer was ultimately Murao — 247Sports’ No. 2 center and No. 77 overall recruit in 2020 — who pledged to UW on the Fourth of July.
But according to a mysterious McMillan, #CALIREIGN hasn’t finished reeling in fish.
“It’s going to be really cool to watch this next week,” he said, teasing another imminent commitment.
In the nine days since he first tweeted it, #CALIREIGN has started rolling — gaining traction with both recruits and fans on social media.
“Yeah, I’m fricken surprised about it,” McMillan said with a laugh, of the hashtag’s sudden surge in social media popularity.
“I’m definitely going to bring a lot of guys, especially from Cali,” said McMillan, who added that he is completely committed to UW and has ceased communications with all outside coaching staffs.
“I feel like if we get the right dudes we will be competing for a national championship in the next coming years. So yeah, I’m definitely going to be recruiting.”
This kid is the fucking man. Not only is he an elite WR who will likely get his 5th star, he is repping UW and recruiting this class like he was born and raised in Seattle.
This kid is the fucking man. Not only is he an elite WR who will likely get his 5th star, he is repping UW and recruiting this class like he was born and raised in Seattle.
I don't care who commits the rest of the way. This kid is my favorite recruit by a long shot. Someone has raised him the right way about football being a team first rather than a me first sport. It's not often you get a team leader at the WR position but this kid has got leadership qualitities in spades.
Sawyer has always been a fucking WR you autistic pieces of shit. He was recruited by the WR coach, says he wants to play WR, and his best film by FAR is at WR.
Sawyer has always been a fucking WR you autistic pieces of shit. He was recruited by the WR coach, says he wants to play WR, and his best film by FAR is at WR.
Jesus
The hope was that he plays LB because we didn’t want him taking a WR spot away from a guy like LVBS.
When one position is being recruited really well (WR), another not so well (LB), and you get a kid who can play both... you hope that he ends up playing at the position you’re struggling to fill with high end talent
Sawyer has always been a fucking WR you autistic pieces of shit. He was recruited by the WR coach, says he wants to play WR, and his best film by FAR is at WR.
Jesus
The hope was that he plays LB because we didn’t want him taking a WR spot away from a guy like LVBS.
When one position is being recruited really well (WR), another not so well (LB), and you get a kid who can play both... you hope that he ends up playing at the position you’re struggling to fill with high end talent
LB recruiting was fine last year and LBs are not really the problem in our system unless you consider buck/de LB
Sawyer has always been a fucking WR you autistic pieces of shit. He was recruited by the WR coach, says he wants to play WR, and his best film by FAR is at WR.
Jesus
The hope was that he plays LB because we didn’t want him taking a WR spot away from a guy like LVBS.
When one position is being recruited really well (WR), another not so well (LB), and you get a kid who can play both... you hope that he ends up playing at the position you’re struggling to fill with high end talent
LB recruiting was fine last year and LBs are not really the problem in our system unless you consider buck/de LB
WR leaves a lot to be desired.
It's almost like our past WR recruiting fucked us years down the line, because recruiting results don't bear fruit instantly.
Sawyer has always been a fucking WR you autistic pieces of shit. He was recruited by the WR coach, says he wants to play WR, and his best film by FAR is at WR.
Jesus
The hope was that he plays LB because we didn’t want him taking a WR spot away from a guy like LVBS.
When one position is being recruited really well (WR), another not so well (LB), and you get a kid who can play both... you hope that he ends up playing at the position you’re struggling to fill with high end talent
LB recruiting was fine last year and LBs are not really the problem in our system unless you consider buck/de LB
WR leaves a lot to be desired.
It's almost like our past WR recruiting fucked us years down the line, because recruiting results don't bear fruit instantly.
The QB recruiting really screwed us more than any LB or WR
Sawyer has always been a fucking WR you autistic pieces of shit. He was recruited by the WR coach, says he wants to play WR, and his best film by FAR is at WR.
Jesus
The hope was that he plays LB because we didn’t want him taking a WR spot away from a guy like LVBS.
When one position is being recruited really well (WR), another not so well (LB), and you get a kid who can play both... you hope that he ends up playing at the position you’re struggling to fill with high end talent
LB recruiting was fine last year and LBs are not really the problem in our system unless you consider buck/de LB
WR leaves a lot to be desired.
It's almost like our past WR recruiting fucked us years down the line, because recruiting results don't bear fruit instantly.
Or that by simply making a coaching switch at a position of weakness we could see immediate improvement AND still get development.
Sawyer has always been a fucking WR you autistic pieces of shit. He was recruited by the WR coach, says he wants to play WR, and his best film by FAR is at WR.
Jesus
You have a weird obsession with Sawyer. His best film is at linebacker.
Sawyer is a big bodied WR. We're not in the business of taking a bunch of undersized linebackers who will struggle to maintain weight at 220. Bruener is enough in that regard. It is what it is.
Comments
Shoutout to @MikeVorelDawg for the article
This kid is the fucking man. Not only is he an elite WR who will likely get his 5th star, he is repping UW and recruiting this class like he was born and raised in Seattle.
We were on fire a week ago, and now we are shit again. Motherfucker.
Jesus
...Yeah I got nothing. FYL
When one position is being recruited really well (WR), another not so well (LB), and you get a kid who can play both... you hope that he ends up playing at the position you’re struggling to fill with high end talent
WR leaves a lot to be desired.