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Inside The Huskies

Cummings' Reputation Continues to Grow With Each New Commit

The Huskies receivers coach is a hot streak in getting things done.
Dan Raley|
Receivers coach Kevin Cummings makes his point in spring ball.
Receivers coach Kevin Cummings makes his point in spring ball. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Kevin Cummings walked into Husky Stadium two years ago as the wide receivers coach at a considerably lower octave level than his predecessor, who could be heard all the way across Lake Washington at times.

Yes, Cummings had been acquainted with the ebullient JaMarcus Shephard, now the Oregon State head coach.

Ever so casually when he first met with Seattle media members inn 2024, this new University of Washington receivers coach hire showed confidence and competitiveness when it came to replacing Shephard.

"I've got big shoes to fill," Cummings said, before adding, "but we produced at a high level at those places I've been."

With many, many recruiting successes in hand entering his third UW season, Cummings is building a burgeoning reputation in Montlake, more so than any other coach on Jedd Fisch's staff.

Two weeks ago, Cummings turned up No. 5 on a Top 10 list of nationwide receivers coaches that was put together by a group called Roc Boys Football. The 247Sports website has him at No. 8 on its latest ranking. In recent days, Matrix Analytical selected him as the second-best Big Ten receivers coach, behind only USC's Dennis Simmons.

This recruiting cycle, he has helped coax four receivers to commit to the UW, with three of them holding a 4-star ranking. Among the current group of four freshmen pass-catchers who took part in spring ball, three of them brought 4-star labels with them.

Kevin Cummings has been building a reputation as the UW receivers coach.
Kevin Cummings has been building a reputation as the UW receivers coach. | Dave Sizer photo

While Cummings is a decidedly different personality than Shephard, they have one thing in common -- Oregon State.

Shephard is the new coaching leader there now while Cummings was a Beavers wide receiver from 2011 to 2013.

While what you see is what you get from Shephard, who has endeared himself to the Oregon State administration and fan base with his fun-filled style, Cummings brings a deceptive approach.

He has a soothing, comfortable manner in which to convince receiver recruits to join him at the UW.

Yet in practice Cummings can take it up a few levels in a hurry if needed to get someone's attention to do the job right.

The first time he did that this past spring, impatiently demanding excellence from one of his highly regarded freshman pass-catchers, it was almost disarming how quickly and piercing his message was delivered.

So as the Huskies head into a new season, Cummings is the coaching staff member really on the rise, building a sterling reputation, taking a huge professional jump.

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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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