Byron Murphy pulled off the first shocking announcement of the recruiting season, committing to Washington on Thursday afternoon.
The four-star cornerback from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro picked the Huskies over hometown Arizona State and Texas A&M in a ceremony. The nearby Sun Devils had been considered the favorites, having already landed No. 1-rated wide receiver N’Keal Harry and four-star athlete Chase Lucas, whom Murphy had expressed an interest to play with at the next level.
Each finalist had at least one representative swing through Murphy's basketball game earlier this week to state their final case, and Huskies assistant Jimmy Lake managed to steal a prospect that should make an impact immediately next fall.
“Coach Lake is really a good guy and I love everything he does," Murphy told Rivals.com recently. "And with coach (Chris) Petersen, it's not just about football. It's about life and everything else. That was a big plus for me.
"Facilities and the players -- I text with them, too -- they're like my brothers. I feel good with them."
Murphy visited Texas A&M (Oct. 16) and Arizona State (Nov. 20) during the season with Harry, but the trifecta was not meant to be. The Sun Devils were long considered the frontrunner in the race for Murphy, the No. 4-rated cornerback and No. 40 overall prospect in the Rivals100 for the 2016 class, but two trips to Seattle were enough to convince him to head up the coast.
Murphy visited Washington the weekend of Sept. 25 after camping with them during the summer as well.
Landing the 5-foot-11, 167-pound Murphy is a major coup for Petersen, whose defense led the Pac-12 Conference in many statistical categories last season. On the other side, it's a blow to Todd Graham, who failed to keep the state’s top prospects home in recent recruiting cycles, most notably losing Murphy’s former teammate Christian Kirk to Texas A&M last year.
Murphy was due to visit USC last weekend, but after the departure of recruiting coordinator Peter Sirmon, those plans fell through.
The versatile athlete had an interception in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl earlier this month, and was credited with 52 total tackles and seven picks this past season. He also starred on offense, hauling in 88 receptions for 1,733 yards and 21 touchdowns to help Saguaro to its third consecutive state crown.