The Washington Huskies will take part in the program's most important game in more than two decades on Saturday, as Chris Petersen's bunch takes on the Alabama Crimson Tide in a College Football Playoff Semifinal match-up at the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Prior to that, however, Petersen and his staff were making news on the recruiting trail, and it came in the form of landing a pledge from 2018 linebacker Jackson Sirmon.
Sirmon, who ranks as a four-star inside linebacker according to 247Sports, has ties to the Huskies program that likely made a difference to some degree in his decision. His father, Peter, was on the staff at Washington as the linebackers coach in 2012 and 2013 and his cousin, 2018 QB Jacob Sirmon, has already pledged his allegiance to the Huskies as a heralded prospect.
However, Jackson Sirmon did pass on actually playing for his father, as his dad is currently the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. That relationship led some to believe that the Bulldogs could be the leader for his services, but Jackson Sirmon passed on schools like Wisconsin and Memphis (he hails from Brentwood, Tenn.) in order to head to the Pacific Northwest.
Between now and the 2018 college football season, the Sirmon family name might become a bigger draw and, now, two of the family members are headed to play for Chris Petersen.
