Huskies

It's not every recruiting battle that comes down solely to the two in-state Pac-12 schools.

But for Bellevue High offensive lineman Jake Eldrenkamp, that was the final choice.

Ultimately, Eldrenkamp sided with the team closest to home, announcing on Tuesday night that he had committed to the Huskies and will sign with Washington on letter-of-intent signing day on Feb. 1.

Eldrenkamp becomes the 20th known public commitment for UW's Class of 2012, and the third offensive lineman, all from in-state, joining center/guard Cory English of Auburn and tackle Nathan Dean of Juanita.

Eldrenkamp, listed at 6 feet 5, 295 pounds and projected as a guard, had visited both UW and Washington State in the last two weeks and also hosted in-home visits with coaches Steve Sarkisian and Mike Leach earlier this week. Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff said Eldrenkamp liked both coaches and schools "but at the end of the day, his heart was with Washington."

He becomes the first player from perennial power Bellevue to sign a letter of intent with the Huskies since running back J.R. Hasty and linebacker E.J. Savannah in 2005.

UW had missed out on a pair of standout Bellevue High linemen in recent years in Stephen Schilling (Michigan) and David DeCastro (Stanford). But they were able to keep Eldrenkamp, who also had offers from the likes of Oregon State and Purdue but visited only UW and WSU.

"We've had a lot of good linemen go on to have success in college," Gocharoff said, "and I think Jake will be another guy that does."

Elredenkamp was a Seattle Times Red Chip selection and is the seventh in-state player to commit to UW .