Jermaine Kelly plans to keep an open mind during his trip to Seattle this week.
The 6-foot-1, 171-pound UCLA commit (Los Angeles/Salesian) will take an official visit for Washington’s Thursday game against No. 8 Stanford.
He wants to see how the Huskies go through their pregame preparations. He wants to experience the on-campus environment. He wants to get a better sense for what Washington has to offer.
What will it take for Washington to sway the senior away from the Bruins?
“That’s a tough question,” Kelly said. “I really like UCLA. I like Washington a lot, too. As of right now, I don’t really know what’s going to be that one thing that’s going to send me over the top. Right now, I just want to get out there and see what it is.”
When Kelly committed to UCLA in July, he thought he could take a break from the recruiting process. However, Arizona State, Boise State and others have continued to contact the two-way standout.
“I thought the recruiting process was kind of going to slow down a little bit but, apparently, it picked up,” he said.
Salesian has a bye this week, allowing him to take the visit. However, while he is excited about the trip, he remains focused on his senior season.
“I’m just going to keep enjoying our season, stay close to my team,” Kelly said. “I want them to know I’m here to win a CIF championship.”
Kelly has the size the Huskies covet at cornerback, but is also a very capable receiver. He has watched as true freshmen like Shaq Thompson and Jaydon Mickens have played their way into starting roles with Washington and the potential to play right away is an attractive option for the three-star recruit.
“I know they do start true freshmen, so that’s always good,” Kelly said. “That means any freshman, if you’re good, you can go right in and play. But you’ve got to prove yourself. I love being very competitive, so I love the competition aspect of it.”
He knows Mickens and follows him on Twitter. The receiver raves about the program in his tweets and Kelly can sense the excitement. He wants to experience it in person.
“I’m going to go out there and see if I love it the same way he does,” Kelly said.