Washington's 2013 class highlighted by WRs

Even though it wasn't a full class and lacked the star power of recent years when the Huskies landed the likes of Shaq Thompson, Kasen Williams and Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the overall depth could be the best since Sarkisian arrived.

"I believe this class is in the upper echelon of our conference in a year where our conference did a really nice job of recruiting," Sarkisian said. "But I believe this class is right up there with the best ones in our conference."

The highlight for Sarkisian was the trio of wide receivers Washington put together. The Huskies landed 6-foot-4 Darrell Daniels out of Pittsburg, Calif.; 6-foot-3 Damore'ea Stringfellow out of Paris, Calif.; and 5-foot-11 speedster John Ross from Long Beach, Calif. Sarkisian said he would put that trio of receivers up against any other group of receivers that signed with schools Wednesday.

"We felt like we needed a group that could come in here and score touchdowns, not just in the red zone but from a distance," Sarkisian said. "We didn't want three of the same guys. ... I can honestly sit here and say these are the three wide receivers we targeted that we felt were the top three in this class that could have an impact on our program."

Washington also made a commitment to seek more length and speed on defense in an effort to help stop the spread offenses that have chewed up the Huskies in recent years. That desire to get bigger bodies on defense was reinforced when Sarkisian got a chance to attend some Seattle Seahawks practices last summer before the Huskies season began. Watching Seattle's longer linebackers and bigger defensive backs made finding some similar bodies for the Huskies a priority.

Cornerbacks Patrick Enewally (6-1), Jermaine Kelly (6-2) and Kevin King (6-2) all fit the mold Sarkisian wanted. Among the linebackers, Sarkisian said 6-1, 210-pound Keishawn Bierria might be the most talented even if he's the smallest of the four signed.