DawgmanRadio: On the record with Sav'ell Smalls

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds spoke Tuesday afternoon with Washington signee Sav'ell Smalls for the first time a while, and a LOT has changed.For the freshman outside linebacker, it's still all about doing his schoolwork despite obviously not being at school. Everything is done via Zoom conferencing nowadays, and Smalls talked about the tricky nature of trying to keep on top of everything when his schedule can literally change from day-to-day.Grinolds asked Sav'ell about his beginnings as a football player, when he first started playing, the decision to attend Kennedy Catholic to start his high school career, his move to Garfield, and then the move back to Kennedy for his senior season. They also talked about the people that were part of Sav'ell's circle at Kennedy, including head coach Sheldon Cross.Washington was the first team to offer Sav'ell, and it happened right before they were set to play Alabama in the CFB Semifinal. They talked about the moment he got the offer, and what it meant going forward.They also talked about the importance of social media and Sav'ell's take on what it all means, not just in general, but also within the recruiting process. Twitter can be a rough place, and Smalls was candid in his assessment of how he felt about comments that were made to him in the middle of his recruitment, especially when he was thinking about leaving the area to play.Smalls then outlined the events that took place in the process that eventually saw him change his mind and view UW in a different light. And, as you'll find out, sometimes those events aren't really events at all but can be simple, little things that turn into something more profound.Grinolds and Smalls went into Sav'ell's decision to commit to Washington, the first person he told, and his version of how events unfolded during his Under Armour All-America jersey unveil at Kennedy, the ceremony where he also revealed his decision to become a Dawg.Then they spoke about how Sav'ell's life has changed since the decision to stay home and also his take when Chris Petersen decided to step down and how important it was to him that Jimmy Lake was the man tasked with taking over the UW program.Lastly, Smalls gave a scouting report on some of his Kennedy teammates, including 2021 UW quarterback commit Sam Huard, as well as issued a special challenge to top prospect J.T. Tuimoloau if he becomes a Husky. He updated us on his current workout regimen, diet, and his plans to get at the ideal weight the UW coaches want him at before the start of the season.