Washington Lands Westlake’s Holcomb

Westlake High’s Erik Holcomb, who ranks fifth on the all-time Southern Section list for touchdown receptions, committed Thursday to Washington.

The 6-foot, 165-pound receiver chose the Huskies after visiting USC last weekend and talking to Washington Coach Don James on Wednesday. Holcomb canceled a trip to Cal.

Holcomb was not offered a scholarship by USC and still held hope that he would earn academic acceptance at UCLA. The Bruins recruited Holcomb but the school had not offered him admission despite his 880 score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Still, the lure of the Huskies was a strong one.

“How do you say no to the No. 1 team in the country?” Holcomb’s father Buzz said Thursday. “Erik’s out now buying all his Huskies clothes.”

An outstanding sprinter who plans to run track in college, Holcomb caught 29 career touchdown passes to rank fifth in Southern Section history. Last fall, he caught 60 passes for 1,032 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has clocked 48.42 seconds over 400 meters.

He is the second area player to commit to the Huskies, joining Sylmar running back Tobaise Brookins.