THE FRONT ROW with Mark Nelke Dec. 5, 2013
For high school athletes, the fun part of recruiting is being fawned over by colleges, getting wined and dined on their campus visits (OK, bottled water and dined), and for the most part, getting to choose where they go to college - and get some, if not all, of their school paid for.
Then there are those athletes who commit to a school, look forward to playing there - then see the head coach leave before the athlete even steps on campus for real.
Today's example: The University of Washington football team, which lost coach Steve Sarkisian to the same job at USC on Monday, and the two Coeur d'Alene High standouts who have verbally committed to the Huskies, lineman Matt James and tight end Chase Blakley.
On Monday, after the Sarkisian news broke, James said the coaching change "definitely doesn't change my decision to go to the University of Washington."
U-Dub makes sense to James, no matter who the coach is. He plans to study nanotechnology there, and hopes to follow his father, a doctor, into the medical profession.
Blakley said earlier in the week he was "going to wait for things to settle down" before commenting on the coaching change.
Which is understandable. Who knows if the new head coach is going to come from the current Husky coaching staff, or from somewhere else.
JAMES SAID he "really liked Sarkisian, thought he was a great guy." He was recruited by Husky defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who, depending on what you read, is either following Sark to USC, or succeeding him as Washington coach.
James said during the recruiting process, several coaches were honest with him, saying they might not be at that school the next year, so at least seeing this happen wasn't a complete shock to him.
Verbal commitments are non-binding, by either the player or the school.
Letters of intent, which are binding, can be signed in early February.
And James said he still plans to sign with the Huskies at that time, no matter who the coaches are there.
"Unless they tell me that they don't want me," James said.
* One more note on James.
He played a key role in Coeur d'Alene's emotional ride to a state football title last month, and he is a two-time state placer in wrestling.
Last Monday was the first day of wrestling practice - three days after the football title game. James said Viking wrestling coach Jeff Moffat told the football players/wrestlers they could take a day or two off before starting wrestling.
But James and the other football players/wrestlers would have none of it.
"We all just showed up that Monday and wrestled," James said.
* Two teams that Lake City High played in football are playing for state titles in Washington this weekend.
Eastside Catholic of Sammamish, Wash., coached by former Sandpoint High standout Jeremy Thielbahr, is playing national power Bellevue for the 3A title Friday night at the Tacoma Dome. Eastside Catholic scored late to beat Lake City 34-30 on Sept. 20.
Bellevue, which destroyed Shadle Park 66-0 in the semifinals last weekend, has won 53 straight games.
Chiawana of Pasco, Wash., plays Camas for the state 4A title on Saturday in Tacoma. Lake City beat Chiawana 33-26 at home Oct. 18.
* Soccer star Timmy Mueller of Post Falls picked up another honor recently.
Mueller was named to the all-state high school boys soccer team, as selected by the Idaho High School Soccer Coaches Association.
Mueller was the only North Idaho player picked; nearly all of the selections were from the Boise area.
Players of the year were senior Tyson Fox of Rocky Mountain (boys) and sophomore Raimee Sherle of Rocky Mountain (girls).
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.