Washington director of player personnel Courtney Morgan has been especially busy this off season. In fact, he may have taken up popping antacids after Lincoln Kienholz flipped to Ohio State just before signing day and Sam Huard announced his departure a week ago Tuesday.
Beginning December the 5th the NCAA opened a 45-day period where players can transfer to a new school free of a penalty or waiver. January 18th the window closes.
Huard may be reunited with his old Kennedy Catholic coach Sheldon Cross now the offensive coordinator at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. Huard’s high school teammate Junior Alexander is in the transfer portal.
“Washington is sitting on two scholarship QBs in Michael Penix and Dylan Morris,” said RealDawg.com’s lead scout, Trevor Mueller. “While the number is startling there have been umpteen QBs in the portal since the end of the season and there will be more by the end of spring football.”
Mueller went on to say that there’s no need to act out of desperation and take a warm body to fill a roster spot.
“It also means that Morris will be benefit greatly with reps he might have normally split with Huard or another roster QB,” he said.
On the flip side, this off-season, Washington added two running back transfers. First Arizona State Daniyel Ngata committed then Mississippi State’s Dillon Johnson announced he’d be a Husky, as well. Those moves were preceded by Jay’veon Sunday’s departure. Ngata is already on campus with Johnson joining the team for Spring Football.
ASU edge defender Joe Moore was supposed to be a Husky, along with Sioux Falls University’s Zach Durfee. However, Moore and the Huskies have parted ways but Durfee is already on campus.
The Huskies had offensive lineman Vic Curne also hit the portal, but have not added a veteran lineman from the portal.
“The Huskies have recruited the position quite well before DeBoer’s arrival,” Mueller noted. “Washington will spend this off season continuing with the sculpting the current linemen into more athletic linemen who suit DeBoer’s offensive style.”
DeBoer also got rising star tight end Josh Cuevas from Cal Poly a while before Huard announced his departure. Tight end Caden Jumper is currently in the portal.
Defensive back Cam Williams went into the portal at the end of the season. Taking his spot, along with graduate Alex Cook’s spot are transfers Jabbar Mohammad and Thaddeus Dixon. In all there are 5 newcomers to UW’s defensive backfield. The others are 2023 signees Diesel Gordon, Caleb Presley, and Leroy Bryant.
It appears that the Huskies are at 87 scholarship players and will need to be down to 85 by the opening of Spring Football in a couple of months. The portal reopens from May 1-15 giving the Huskies the ability to add QB depth from a fresh round of portal entrants.
