Good news today from California:

In an announcement this afternoon at his high school, consensus 4-star RB prospect Sean McGrew of St. John Bosco H.S. publicly committed to the University of Washington over offers from UCLA and ASU. Others that had offered included Arizona, Cal, Colorado, WSU and Colorado State.

This marks an important recruiting win for Chris Petersen and the UW staff. McGrew had long been a heavy UCLA lean, but the Huskies were persistent and effective in their pitch, including having Petersen himself directly handle McGrew's recruitment. That, combined with some uncertainty in McGrew's mind about how well UCLA fit with his intended major (Business) and perhaps the Bruin staff taking him for granted just a bit opened the door for Washington.

McGrew is a smaller back at a listed 5'8", 175 lbs. He's got the explosiveness you'd expect for a highly-rated RB at that size, but what's surprising in watching his film is just how tough of a runner he is - he'll break tackles and doesn't fear contact. Like the best runners of his size (Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacquizz Rodgers) he uses his size to his advantage - he has a strong lower half and very quick feet, and combined with his lower center of gravity he shows terrific balance and quick change of direction and that appears to make him a harder target to tackle. Check out his Junior season highlights: