Connor O’Brien didn’t hesitate. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound athlete (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita) called his official visit to Washington “the best week of my life.”
The senior, who committed to the Huskies in April, was in Seattle with teammate and fellow Washington commit center Dane Crane. After watching Washington beat Stanford, 17-13, O’Brien said the win confirmed what he already knew.
“I saw what I’ve seen the whole time,” he said. “They have, obviously, the potential. They’ve got a lot of great players, great coaching staff, a young coaching staff that is all fired up.
“Just the environment I was in, seeing it all unfold, it was awesome. I know they’ve got a great team in front of them.”
During his visit, sophomore lineman Mike Christe and freshman linebacker Cory Littleton were O’Brien’s hosts. O'Brien, who projects as an outside linebacker in college, also spent a lot of time talking to freshman defensive back Cleveland Wallace.
“The other best part was just hanging out with the guys on the team, getting to know them, getting to know my future teammates,” O’Brien said. “They’re all a bunch of great guys, solid dudes and I’m looking forward to playing with them.”
In addition to watching the win and getting to know his future teammates, O’Brien spent some time talking to the other official visitors -- USC commit Chris Hawkins (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga), UCLA commit Jermaine Kelly (Los Angeles/Salesian) and Johnny Johnson Jr. (Fresno, Calif./Central East) -- trying to gauge their interest in Washington.
“They said they really liked it,” O’Brien said. “Hopefully, good things happen, because they’re all three great players. We’d love to have them on our team.”
There was a moment during Thursday’s game when O’Brien started thinking about the future. He pictured himself on the field, wearing Washington's gold helmet. He called it “a great feeling.”
He can’t wait to build on the best week of his life and get his college career going.
“I’m fully committed, fully a Dawg and I’m really happy with my decision,” O’Brien said.