Top recruit Marquis Spiker headlines Huskies’ highly rated wide receiver class

Spiker is listed as the No. 29 overall recruit in the Class of 2018, and the No. 5 receiver.

By Adam Jude

The Seattle Times

They started watching Washington football games together last year during the Huskies’ march to the College Football Playoff. As they watched from afar, Marquis Spiker and Austin Osborne pictured themselves doing some of the same things they were seeing from the Huskies’ two star wide receivers, Dante Pettis and John Ross III.

“We would say, ‘That’s going to be us some day,’” Spiker recalled this week.

Today, Spiker and Osborne are scheduled to fly together from Southern California to Seattle. They are two of about 10 recruits set to make their official visit to UW this weekend — and two of the most highly rated wide receivers to ever commit to play for Chris Petersen.

As things stand, Spiker is on track to be the highest-ranked prospect that Petersen has recruited in Petersen’s 12 years as a head coach. In the latest recruiting rankings from Rivals.com, Spiker is listed as the No. 29 overall recruit in the Class of 2018, and the No. 5 receiver. He’s ranked No. 51 overall by 247sports.com.

He plans to sign a National Letter of Intent with UW next Wednesday during the start of the new early signing period.

Listed at about 6-feet-3 and 188 pounds, Spiker last month broke the California prep record for receiving touchdowns, finishing his career at Murrieta Valley High School with 72 touchdown catches. As a senior this fall, he had 83 catches for 1,490 yards and 27 touchdowns.

He broke the record during a dramatic 59-56 playoff victory over Santa Margarita on Nov. 10, a game in which he had 13 receptions for 284 yards and four touchdowns.

Spiker and Osborne, a 6-3 receiver from Mission Viejo, Calif., are both four-star prospects. Osborne is ranked as the nation’s No. 115 overall recruit by Rivals.