The Washington Huskies have been heavily pursuing four-star quarterback Brady Smigiel from Newbury Park High School in Southern California for quite some time, and they’re not alone. That’s why his decision to decommit from coach Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles came as no surprise.
I was just trying to hold on because I really like it over there,” Smigiel told Joe Curley of the Ventura Country Star. “Things have changed for me since I committed. Now, I don’t think it’s the best opportunity for me to be successful at the next level.”
“The hardest part is he really likes Coach Norvell and [quarterbacks] coach Tony [Tokarz],” Smigiel’s father and head coach at Newbury Park, Joe, added. “I think they’re looking at something different, too. I think everybody is relieved.”
Ranked as the nation’s No. 5 quarterback and No. 63 overall player in the 2026 class by the 247Sports Composite, Smigiel was quick to recalibrate and name six standouts from the 33 schools that have offered him: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, South Carolina, UCLA, and Washington.
The Huskies have been a major player for Smigiel for a while. He took two unofficial visits to Montalek in 2024, once for spring practice and the second in December, flanked by his high school teammate and recent UCLA commit, three-star wide receiver Shane Rosenthal. Jedd Fisch and his coaching staff also took a trip to Newbury Park to see the top signal-caller shortly after the contact period opened in January.
Smigiel also mentioned that on his new top list, coach Deshaun Foster and the Bruins are serious contenders after Rosenthal, who was initially Ivy League-bound, decided to take his talents to the Big Ten.
“It’s eye-opening,” he said. “I think it turns heads in my family, it turns heads in my group because Shane’s a special player.”
As Fisch’s coaching staff continues to push to add Smigiel to its 2026 class, which currently ranks No. 23 according to 247Sports, it appears that it’s in a good position with him, but there’s still a lot of work to do.
Read Joe Curley’s full conversation with Smigiel here.
