The West of the Rest: A College Football Recruiting Podcast

This's weeks episode of West of the Rest touches reminiscences on the old days of National Signing Day, the hallowed day of the first Wednesday in February, talks about one remaining four-star from the 2026 class set to make his announcement, recaps a flurry of Junior Days from the weekend and some 2027 commits and waxes poetic on the return of Pac-12 football, with some key commitments of their own... 

This's weeks episode of West of the Res touches on some of the recent 2027 commitments, previews the Thursday announcement of Goodyear (Ariz.) Desert Edge 2027 receiver Zerek Sidney, who will choose from between Arizona State, Oklahoma and Washington and looks ahead to Arizona State, Oregon, UCLA and USC hosting elite visitor weekends before the dead period kicks in.

This's weeks episode of West of the Rest takes one final look at the 2026 Polynesian Bowl, key recruiting updates coming from the 2027 recruits in the game, looks at some of the upcoming Junior Days scheduled this month and bids adieu to the 2025 college football season with thoughts on Indiana moving forward...

The birthplace of the idea of the West of the Rest took place at the 2018 Polynesian Bowl. So naturally, Blair and Huff were back in the Aloha State for this week's 2026 Polynesian Bowl. And what better place to record this week's episode than from where it all started? They touched on who has stood out from the first three days of practice, particularly from the Western prospects at the game, touch on the big news of Utah's No. 1 prospect in 2026, Salesi Moa, entering the transfer portal from Utah and where he could end up plus other 2026 and 2027 recruiting notes from players in the game.

This's weeks episode of West of the Rest previews the 2026 Navy All-American Bowl and the two Western announcements coming live in San Antonio, previews the 2026 Polynesian Bowl in Honolulu, the birthplace of the West of the Rest and touches on the transfer portal.

Blair and Huff put a nice bow on the 2025 season and 2026 classes before the Holidays. With the 2025 calendar year coming to a close, the two take a road trip throughout the West, breaking down the classes at each of the FBS schools in the region (save Hawaii, saving that one for the Polynesian Bowl), from the Big Ten to the Big 12 to the Pac-12 to the ACC to the Mountain West and a couple of notable Big Sky classes while recommending which brewery to hit when in each town. Finally they break down their top players, games and plays they saw in the high school football season throughout the West region.

Blair and Huff recap a wild week of the early signing period, the Winners and Losers from the class of 2026 signing day, new coaches at Cal, Stanford, UCLA and Washington State and the GM of Overtime, Hunter Mandel joins us to preview Wednesday's Overtime Nationals between Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon and Baltimore (Md.) St Frances Academy on ESPN2 and tell us how the game came to be.

Blair and Huff touch on how recruiting at California is going on the heels of Justin Wilcox being fired. They preview the Washington-Oregon game at Husky Stadium and the Arizona State-Arizona game at Mountain America Stadium and the recruiting impact of both. They break down the state playoffs in Arizona and the section playoffs in Southern California where both saw games over the weekend. Plus they talk some key flips and some major recruitments to watch down the stretch. And they preview what the next week will look like with the early signing period next Wednesday.

Blair and Huff talk about this weekend's USC-Oregon game in Autzen Stadium and the high recruiting stakes the game will produce. They touch on Oklahoma continuing to build momentum in the region, with commitments from a pair of 2027 recruits in California running back Jaxsen Stokes and Arizona cornerback Mikyal Davis. And they break down the state playoffs in Utah and the section playoffs in Southern California where both saw games over the weekend.

Blair and Huff talk about playoff action getting underway across the West and while the season came to an end for Kaysville (Utah) Davis quarterback Tradon Bessinger, so too did his recruitment with his commitment to Iowa. Alabama hosted several top recruits from out West for their win over LSU and they'll have more there this weekend when they meet Oklahoma so they highlight those. They also preview the announcement this weekend from 2027 four-star safety Khalil Terry while touching on the decommitment of his Tustin (Calif.) teammate, 2027 linebacker Taven Epps.