Washington no doubt knows the way to San Jose — and Milpitas and Atherton, as well.
Wednesday the Huskies secured their second defensive commitment from the west side of the Bay Area, landing Sacred Heart Prep linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven.
One day earlier the Huskies got a commitment from big Milpitas end Jason Scrempos.
"I'm ecstatic," Burr_Kirven said Wednesday night by phone from his home in Menlo Park. "It's not only a great feeling to commit, but to also get all of the recruiting stuff out of the way and to be able to just enjoy my senior year and my last year of Pac-12 football before I play in the Pac-12."
Burr-Kirven said a Husky coach came to SHP in February and he made an unofficial visit to Seattle in June to visit the Washington campus and football facility.
"I felt like I wanted to be there and I love the coaching staff and also looking at their roster it's a place I feel like I can contribute early,Burr-Kirven said. "The coaching staff is amazing -- you can't get any better than coach (Chris) Peterson and what they have going on up there."
Burr-Kirven, a 3.7 GPA student, said he was also taken by the beauty of Seattle and the campus with Mount Ranier in the distance, as well as the plethora of things to do in the bustling city.
By about mid-evening on Wednesday night, Twitter was alive with mentions of the Gator star's commitment and Burr-Kirven couldn't help but be excited.
"My phone is blowing up right now," he said.
Tweeted SHP senior quarterback Mason Randall after his teammate’s commitment: “Gotta start telling the Oregon coaches to watch out for @benbk25#huskies#UW “
Said Randall to Prep2Prep: “It’s pretty cool. I didn’t really hear until I saw the tweets. Ben is kind of modest that way. It’s cool that he’s going to Washington. I know he had some other big-time offers. He’s one of the biggest players on our team and also one of the fastest and he’s also a hard worker.”
Farther south, in Milpitas, the Scrempos household has been jubilant. Sandy Meinikoff-Scrempos, mother of Jason, spent part of Wednesday morning posting stories about her son's commitment to Washington on a social media site.
“We are excited about his commit!" she wrote to Prep2Prep. "UW has a great academic and football program and is the right fit for Jason. All the coaches are awesome!”
As for Burr-Kirven, he's had a calf injury this season and has not played yet and won't play Friday against Salinas, he said. The SHP standout said the target gate for his return from the high Achilles strain is Oct. 4 anight gainst Woodside. Lucky Wildcats.
Last season as a hard-hitting linebacker and productive running back, Burr-Kirven led SHP to the NorCal title and a berth in the state playoff bowl title game. He had 15 tackles in the championship game in Carson, though the Gators fell short of the title.
He injured the area around his Achilles and calf last spring and re-injured it in late summer and was in a boot for a while, languishing on the sideline while the Gators won their first two non-league games.
"It's the worst being on the sideline during my senior year," Burr-Kirven said. "But all I can do is rest it and not re-injure it. It's the hardest thing."
The 6-foot, 200-pound linebacker had offers from Washington, Arizona and Arizona State of the Pac-12, as well as Boise State.
Scout and 247 both call the Gator standout a 3-star player, with 247 listing him as the 24th-best inside linebacker in the nation and Scout rating him No. 47.
