Dermaricus Davis 3rd QB in 5 Years to Go From UW to UCLA

The freshman quarterback didn't make it to the end of Husky spring ball.

Dermaricus Davis watches Will Rogers fire off a pass. / Skylar Lin Visuals

It's possible the cold, wet weather in Seattle in April made him yearn for the more moderate climate of his native Southern California. He might have felt threatened by the make-something-happen little guy who came in with him and was always under foot.

A more likely scenario is former University of Washington quarterback Dermaricus Davis just got tired of watching after he slid into the No. 3 spot at his position behind Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers and fellow freshman Demond Williams Jr. during spring football practice.

Whatever the reason, the 6-foot-5, 187-pound Davis revealed on Monday he will join UCLA out of the transfer portal after spending three and a half months in school in Seattle and just three weeks with Husky spring football practice.

The 4-star recruit from Etiwanda High School and Rancho Cucamonga, California, probably didn't know this, but he's part of a tradition of the Husky quarterback who regularly flees Montlake for Westwood -- three in all over the past five years.

Dermaricus Davis looks for a receiver at UW spring practice. / Skylar Lin Visuals

In 2019, 6-foot-4, 226-pound quarterback Colson Yankoff from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, transferred from the UW to UCLA after redshirting and not appearing in any games as a freshman, and the Bruins converted him into a wide receiver, a special-teams player and a running back before he used up his eligibility last season.

Ethan Garbers came next. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound signal-caller from Newport Beach, California, redshirted as a freshman for the Huskies during the 2020 season, didn't see any game time for Jimmy Lake's staff and relocated to UCLA, where he's started seven games in three seasons behind center, six last season. He's entering his senior year.

Now the player known as Mar Mar has followed this position pathway. He originally signed with Kalen DeBoer's Husky staff, specifically drawn to then-offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb; entered the portal once DeBoer left for Alabama and Grubb for the Seattle Seahawks; returned to the Huskies and decided to give it a try with the new Jedd Fisch staff and didn't make it through spring ball to the end.

It would have been entertaining to see Davis and Williams compete for the UW starting quarterback job in 2025, but it seems no one these days in college football is willing to go the patient, developmental route any more.

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