Inside The Huskies

Armon Parker Turns to Transfer Portal, No Word on Twin

The defensive tackle enters college free agency after appearing in eight games this past season.
Dan Raley|
Armon Parker got eight games in before he was lost for the season by the Huskies.
Armon Parker got eight games in before he was lost for the season by the Huskies. | Dave Sizer photo

While the Parker twins have been a package deal for the University of Washington football team all along, Armon turned up in the transfer portal on Friday night, according to On3, and he did this alone.

It was hard to tell which was more surprising: that the 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive tackle from Detroit had taken this route at all after trying so long to get healthy or that he had done it without his sibling.

This Parker had battled back from three years of injuries and no game time to get on the field for the Huskies for eight outings before he got injured again and was lost for the season.

Maybe he's leaving to simply try and change his luck.

As for his brother Jayvon, a 6-foot-3, 330-pound defensive tackle, there was no immediate indication of whether he planned to play on in Montlake without his brother or try his luck in the portal, as well.

To be real honest, and this is no reflection on their talent level, but those two would have a difficult time finding another FBS school that would take them both on.

Jayvon drew just three plays over the past season and a half at the UW, and they were spent teaming with his brother for a sentimental moment against Michigan in their home state in a 24-7 loss in front of family members.

He had suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in 2024 at Rutgers and then was hurt again this fall while trying to return.

"I thought it was important for them to go out there together, back at home, and give them a chance," Husky coach Jedd Fisch said.

Armon Parker suffered a season-ending knee injury before he ever got to the UW as a freshman in 2022, hurt while playing pick-up basketball at home.

He sat out the 2023 and 2024 seasons, too, nicked up and idle, before getting on the field for the first time as a Husky against UC Davis this past September.

Armon Parker was looking to stay healthy after a spate of injuries.
Armon Parker was looking to stay healthy after a spate of injuries. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Armon came up with a sack against Washington State in the Apple Cup, 3 tackles against Rutgers and his Michigan moment with Jayvon, and then suffered another season-ending injury in practice leading up to the Purdue game. He finished the year with 8 tackles, or one a game.

The thing about the Parkers is they have been virtually inseparable as football players, playing the same position, wearing comparable numbers and carrying the same weight mass.

Yet the UW has kept them apart on the football field more than anything else so maybe that's made it easier for them to go different directions with their football careers.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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