Castro sticking with Pac-12
Jeremy Castro had four major reasons why he committed to Washington on Tuesday and gave the Huskies another four-star prospect in its 2012 recruiting class.
"First, the coaches are fantastic and the coaches are stable there," Castro said. "Second, they're going to have a winning program. They're bound to win the Pac-12 in the next couple years when I'm there.
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"Third, you have the academics which are outstanding. Fourth, it's a wonderful place with wonderful people to surround yourself with. It was a good fit for me."
The coaching staff at Washington was another big seller for Castro, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound weak-side defensive end from Murrieta (Calif.) Vista Murrieta who also had Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, LSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, UCLA and many others involved.
"Coach (Steve) Sarkisian, all of them are really energetic," Castro said.
"For instance, when I went to one of their spring practices the coaches were actually participating. They were running around wearing gloves and hats and they were working out in the practice as well. That was pretty cool. I really liked that."
Castro, rated No. 20 at weak-side defensive end nationally by Rivals.com, had said multiple times that Oregon was his favorite but two things swayed him away from the Ducks.
One was the recent controversial news surrounding the Ducks' program and recruiting services and the other was that Oregon's coaching staff had significantly slowed down talking to him in recent weeks.
He decided in the end that Washington would have been the better fit.
"(The recent news) played a factor and because of the contact I made the decision," Castro said. "They hadn't been showing as much contact and showing as much interest anymore."