Keith Price, the 6-foot-2, 193-pound three-star quarterback from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif., originally committed to Washington during the summer but reopened his recruitment after coach Tyrone Willingham was fired.
"Coach W had it rough there," Price said. "It had to be tough for him because he's a great coach. He was a big reason I committed to Washington in the first place."
Price admits the coaching change at Washington created additional stress he was hoping to avoid by committing early. "That's why I committed so early," he said. "I wanted to get it over with so I wouldn’t have any distractions. School and football are enough to handle…I didn't want to add college to that."
Unfortunately, Price was forced to reevaluate everything. "It was in the back of my head," he said. "And I just thought I should check out some other schools just in case."
He ended up taking an official visit to Oregon on Nov. 15 and was very impressed with the Ducks. "I really loved the facilities there," he said. "Plus, I like their offense and their style. I also really like coach Don Pellum. He's a great guy. He's always suited and booted and always dressed real well."
But the Ducks haven't offered Price yet. "But they should be offering soon," he said. "Coach Pellum said they are just waiting on my transcripts and that once they get that, I should be good to go."
Price, Scout.com's No. 48 quarterback, also just visited Arizona State on Dec. 12.
"I loved it," he said. "It was real good. It's just like Cali over there. I didn't realize they recruit Cali so much…most of their team is from California.
"And they had great facilities too," he said. "The indoor facilities was real nice and everything is new there."
Price's player host was (freshman athlete) Clint Floyd. "I had a great time with all the guys," he said. "They were fun and showed me a good time."
So how serious is Price about the Sun Devils now? "I was very serious about them," he said. "That's why I wanted to visit them, but I'm still committed to Washington and they know that.
"I had a great talk with coach Dennis Erickson about that," he said. "And he said that he's never recruited a dual-threat quarterback like me before. He told me he plans on incorporating a lot more spread next year and mix things up a bit on offense and that I could play a big part."
Price says he plans on sticking with the Huskies despite his excellent experience in Tempe. "Right now I'm pretty solid to Washington," he said. "It's definitely over 90 percent."
Price will be visiting the Huskies officially on Jan. 23 and will be hosting new head coach Steve Sarkisian in his home on Dec. 18. "I've talked with coach Sarkisian a few times before and can't wait to talk to him in person.
"I really like how he's a young guy and is from my area," he said. "He'll be able to relate well with me and knows where I'm coming from. I also like the kind of offense he runs and think he'll be able to develop me into a NFL quarterback."
Another thing that has impressed Price about coach Sarkisian is that he's also recruiting his good friend and teammate (two-star safety), Will Shamburger. "Washington wasn't recruiting Will until coach Sarkisian took over," he said. "I'm really impressed with how he's just hit recruiting hard right away. He's really jumped on top of it."
The Huskies haven't offered Shamburger yet but Price is hopeful. "If they offered him that would be great," he said. "It would be awesome to play together again. I know he was committed to Boise State but he's still looking around so you never know."
In addition to Washington and Arizona State, Price also has offers from Nevada, Utah, San Diego State and Washington State.
Price finished his senior season with 2,264 yards passing for 24 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He had a 71.5 percent passing average, completing 143 passes out of 200 attempts.
He also rushed for 579 yards on 118 carries and 10 touchdowns.
"I can buy time with my legs," he said. "I move around well and can make plays. Some people say that I resemble Dennis Dixon, but they say that I'm a better passer at this point than he was. I'm a dual-threat."
Price admits he'd like to improve his coverage reading ability. "That way I'd be able to get the ball out quicker," he said. "I want to make faster decisions."
He says he can bench 215 pounds, squat 350 and claims a 32-inch vertical jump.
Price says he wants to major in sports psychology and reports a 2.6 core GPA. He took the SAT in November and the ACT on Dec. 12.