Washington State received some massive recruiting news on Monday evening when Walnut Creek, Calif., receiver Isaiah Hodgins verbally committed to the Cougars.
"First, I would like to thank God, my family and my teammates for helping me throughout this whole process," Hodgins tweeted following his commitment. "After exploring all my options and talking it over with my family, I've decided to take my talents to... WASHINGTON STATE."
@IsaiahHodgins decision pic.twitter.com/x9NxAW23JL
— James Hodgins (@JamesHodgins42) May 3, 2016
Hodgins, a 24/7 Sports composite three star, is also rated four-stars and ranked the No. 41 receiver and No. 243 overall prospect in the country by Rivals.com. He chose WSU over offers from Boise State, Oregon State, Utah, Washington and, most recently, Michigan and Nebraska. The 6-foot-3, 187-pounder is also ranked the No. 13 receiver in the West by Scout.com and the No. 40 overall prospect in California by 24/7 Sports.
Area recruiter Jim Mastro, the Cougars' running backs coach, led the Berean Christian's recruitment. Hodgins, listed at 6-foot-3, 187-pounds has already taken two unofficial visits to Washington State with the first visit coming just before the WSU's junior day event and the second coming for the Crimson and Gray game held in Spokane two weekends ago.
Hodgins joins an already impressive 2017 recruiting class for Washington State, including four-star offensive tackle Dontae Powell three-star defensive back Tayari Venable and four-star quarterback Connor Neville, who seems to be pretty excited about his future wide receiver joining the fold.
we gon be something special! https://t.co/NZIsZZgpVF
— Connor Neville (@ConnorNeville3) May 3, 2016
Brian Anderson's Take:
Hodgins is a really exciting prospect. His route running is extremely polished -- he's a decisive runner, in-and-out of his breaks quickly, and he has good speed. Hodgins' hands are his most impressive attribute. He has excellent body control in 50/50 situations, and a real knack for high-pointing jump ball propositions. His high school highlights are primarily underthrown vertical attempts he outright wins over two or three defenders. Great sideline and endzone awareness with his footwork too.
Did we mention he has great hands?
Here's another where he uses body position to screen defenders, a skill receivers take a long time working on.
And here's just one of many highlights where he finds a way to get a foot down after a jump ball.
Whether it's the NFL draft or some recruiting article like this, the tendency is to compare a younger player's skill-set to someone well known. Isaiah Hodgins looks like a bigger version of high school Gabe Marks. Gabe might not be the tallest, strongest, or fastest receiver on the field, but regularly beats a defense with body position and route running. And he might have the best hands in college football next season. Hodgins is in that same mold. He's a great route runner with speed that can burn you if you get out of position, and has an incredible ability to win contested passes.
Hodgins has the skills to be The Guy making plays in the Wazzu offense in a couple years, you should be really excited to watch him play.