Washington state top recruit Josh Conerly Jr. kicks off college tour
SEATTLE — Heavily-recruited Rainier Beach High School offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. was among the 108,345 packing University of Michigan’s “The Big House” Saturday night as the home team Michigan Wolverines throttled the Washington Huskies 31-10. Maize and blue are only one of many potential uniform color combinations the top-rated football player in Washington state may be sporting as he begins a promising collegiate career next season.
Michigan is the first of four official visits the five-star lineman will take before deciding between a distinguished list of a dozen suitors who covet his considerable girth and gifts, including his Seattle hometown Huskies, Alabama, Oregon and Oklahoma. Conerly left Ann Arbor impressed with the experience.
“I had a meeting with (Head) Coach (Jim) Harbaugh. Me and him and my parents had more like a conversation,” Conerly shared with WolverwinesWire. “(He wasn’t) trying to throw Michigan at me, promise me a bunch of things. (We) had a real conversation like real people.”
Harbaugh, like any other college coach, would absolutely love to have the 6 foot, 5 inch, 275-pound Conerly anchoring their team’s O-line for the next several years. The 18th-ranked overall recruit in America, Conerly is slotted nationally as the No. 2 rated tackle. His impressive 6’ 10” wingspan has helped make him a standout on the Vikings prep basketball team, as well. He is being compared to NFL rookie Rashawn Slater, who was the first round draft pick of the Los Angeles Chargers out of Northwestern in this year’s college draft.
Conerly is being touted by scouts for his athleticism, length, long arms and exceptional footwork, all essential to quality performance for an offensive lineman at the next level of competition. Particularly adept at opening up running lanes and pulling, Conerly is highly regarded for his ability to fluidly change direction, displaying impressive balance, nimbleness and burst in open space. Able to expertly use he his hands, Conerly establishes position rapidly as a pass blocker, with a strong capacity to realign, anchor, and reset center of balance. Considered to be in top shape, the feeling is that he must put on added weight and muscle to stave of college defensive opponents, but that he has the ideal body structure to succeed in doing so.
While Conerly has yet to pick the program which will almost assuredly gain from his gridiron greatness, there are specific must-haves the blue-chipper has made clear to all who come a callin’.
“(I want) a real brotherhood on the team and a real culture-a winning culture, I really need somewhere where I feel comfortable on and off the field and get my degree and thrive.”
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