Simone: 'We're here for the long haul'

Interesting story by Bud Withers of The Seattle Times this evening, detailing the travails of recruiting for Gino Simone, Nolan Washington and Darren Markle, who each committed to the Cougs before last season's disaster.

In a nutshell? Other teams came hard after these guys, and Simone even wavered a bit, taking a well-publicized trip to Oregon State. But all feel good about their decision now, and are committed to the rebuilding process.

My favorite passage?

"Once I committed," [Washington] says, "a lot of coaches were calling my [Kennedy] coaches, saying, 'What is he doing? He needs to rethink.' "

Washington won't get specific about programs that wanted him to reverse field before signing date, but it's clear the University of Washington was one.

"It was my decision," Washington said. "It was for me, not for them. They can say what they want, but I'll see them on the other side. That's all I'm going to say. I can't wait for that day, when I see them on the other side."

Neither can we, Nolan. Neither can we.