Washington moves up for Mathis
Joe Mathis had been committed to Washington early in the recruiting process but backed away soon after and has seen his recruitment take off.
The Upland, Calif., four-star defensive end visited with the Huskies this past weekend and they're seriously involved again as Mathis said Washington, Nebraska and Michigan make up his new top three.
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"It was cool," Mathis said. "I saw their new facilities and I heard the fans cheering my name at the spring game so that was pretty cool.
"They didn't pressure me to commit or anything. They said they want me really bad though. Coach (Steve Sarkisian) wants me back and I was mainly talking with coach (Tosh) Lupoi."
Those conversations played a big influence for Mathis, a 6-foot-4, 254-pound recruit who's rated as the ninth-best strong-side defensive end and No. 93 prospect in the 2013 class.
Mathis and Lupoi sat down and the four-star was pleased not to hear big recruiting pitches. Rather, it was a blunt and honest conversation about what Lupoi expects from his players and the Upland standout liked it.
"We had a real man-to-man talk and I was spending a lot of time with him," Mathis said. "I think they're going to be in my top five and they're in my top three right now."
Lupoi is a big reason why Mathis likes Washington so much.
"Tosh is real," Mathis said. "He said, 'I want you really bad but I'm not going to say I'm just going to give you a spot. You're going to have to work for it. If I'm recruiting you this hard and you're as legit as you are on film then you'll have a good chance to start here.'
"He's keeping it real. He's not telling me I'm going to start automatically. I want to work for it. That's why he has so many dudes in the NFL because he's a hard coach but he's a really good coach."