There was a lot of theorizing by Husky fans on who the first commit of the 2027 class would be with most of them leaning towards local QB Sione Kaho, but it was actually a different local prospect; WR Braylon Pope from Sumner HS.
The Recruitment: Kevin Cummings strikes first for the class landing Pope over Miami, Oregon, and USC among others. Pope was one of the earliest 2027 offers from the staff after they arrived from Arizona. They prioritized him the entire time and was able to get him on campus multiple times over the past year and a half.
Recruiting Ranking: Pope is rated as the 44th best WR in the country and is the third highest rated player in the state by 247. Rivals/On3 are very high on him and have him rated as the 110th best prospect in the nation, the 19th best WR, and the top player in Washington.
Scouting Report: At 6’3 195 Lbs. Pope knows how to leverage his size to easily win jump balls and contested catches over defenders. While he may not be the fastest on the field, he also knows how to use that to his advantage as a route runner. He can lull you to sleep before using his sudden burst of acceleration on cuts and change of direction to create separation. It isn’t very common to have blocking highlights for receivers, so it isn’t clear where his abilities are for that skill. There truly isn’t much to critique about his game other than the standard thing you would give to almost every HS prospect; he will need to continue to get faster and stronger. As a personal challenge to him, I would love to see him become a dominant run blocker.
Roster Impact: UW has been blessed with extremely talented big receivers for the past few years between Rome Odunze and Denzel Boston. The staff clearly recognized the importance of that when they went after and flipped Jordan Clay from Baylor before signing day and they continue to add size with Pope as well. UW has a very talented WR room, but when Pope arrives on campus he would be tied as the tallest WR in the room and that trait could lead him to seeing the field early despite all the talent in front of him.
Overall Thoughts: What a massive player to get in the boat early. He may not be ranked the highest, but neither was Denzel Boston and look how he turned out. Kevin Cummings has shown he can develop bigger receivers and for him to get someone he prioritized early as an impact player can’t be understated.
Film: