Trufant Seals the Deal

Desmond Trufant took his time with the recruiting process, and still had time to play a game of pool before announcing his decision. Scout.com spoke Sunday with the athlete from Wilson High School in Tacoma, Wash., who confirmed his verbal commitment to play football for the Washington Huskies.

"It was a long time to wait, but I wanted to make sure what I wanted to do," Trufant said about his decision. "I didn't want to rush into anything. But it was the right place for me. I just felt the intensity of all the coaches and the passion they have for the game and how they want to turn the program back around and make UW into the best program it can be."

So on Saturday, Trufant and his family found themselves at Jillian's - a local gaming hangout on Westlake - with the rest of the recruiting party, and decided to get in on the action.

"We were talking at Jillian's and playing pool and eating," Trufant said. "All these guys were committing. There was this one guy from Federal Way, a big guy (Andru Pulu), and two quarterbacks (Keith Price and Josh Moten), and a lot of defensive linemen and a wide receiver...I guess everyone was just feeling it. So I talked to my parents about it and then I had a meeting with coach (Sarkisian) and I told him I was committing. He was very excited.

"There were 12 people or so on the trip, and at least 10 of them committed, so that shows everyone was feeling it."

But with Arizona State very much in play and Trufant's older brother Marcus a legend at Washington State, the Huskies were far from a sure thing. In fact, when Tyrone Willingham was fired, Trufant was unsure about what he would do. That changed with the hiring of Sarkisian.

"I've always liked UW, but once they got all their new coaches, that's what sparked it," he said. "It's close to home, so all my family and friends can see me play."

Jermaine Kearse was Desmond's host. "He told me that the speed is very intense from high school," Trufant said. "You get used to it once you get in the mix."

And as has been a common theme among visitors, the Saturday evening activities floored Trufant. "I was shocked by what they did," he said of the Huskies' locker room spread and what they showed the recruits. "They acted like it was a real game and they had smoke (in the tunnel) and we ran out of the tunnel. It was nice."

Expect a grand entrance, complete with smoke from the tunnel, to be a regular occurrence this fall. "I can't imagine they would do it for us and not do it for the team," Trufant said.

Desmond Trufant Scout.com Profile