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Inside The Huskies

Decker DeGraaf Maintains High Freshman Ranking

The Husky tight end appears on PFF's top 10 of graded first-year players.
Dan Raley|
Decker DeGraaf celebrates his second UW touchdown catch.
Decker DeGraaf celebrates his second UW touchdown catch. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Following an Apple Cup loss to WSU, the University of Washington football team slid out of the coaches poll, yet not everyone in Montlake lost his high regard this week.

Decker DeGraaf went through his first of three Husky games without a touchdown catch, but the first-year tight end from San Dimas, California, appeared once more on Pro Football Focus' list of highest-graded true freshmen -- ranking sixth in its top 10.

He finds himself in heady company. With a 81.3 grade based on a PFF analyst reviewing each of his plays on Saturdays, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound DeGraaf trails only Texas wide receiver Ryan Wingo (90.6), South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart (85.9), Vanderbilt defensive lineman Glenn Seabrooks III (84.0), Nebraska wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr. (83.6) and North Carolina running back Davon Gause (82.6).

"It's been a huge addition," UW offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll said of DeGraaf. "We kind of thought he would be able to perform like this."

The newcomer from Southern California came highly regarded to the Huskies, but he's been thrust into a much bigger role at tight end than anticipated following senior Quentin Moore's debilitating injury, possibly a knee, in the season opener against Weber State.

On his first Husky game snap, DeGraaf memorably caught a 33-yard scoring pass in the 35-3 victory over the Big Sky team. He found the end zone again the following week, with a 41-yard TD catch against Eastern Michigan, plus he added a 9-yard catch in the 30-9 victory.

The Cougars kept DeGraaf out of the end zone, but he finished with a 21-yard reception in the 24-19 setback to keep his catch per game streak going.. Another touchdown can't be far off.

"We've had him for a long time now, getting all of the spring practice, too," Carroll said. "it's great he's developing the way he is."

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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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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