Inside The Huskies

UW Fresh Start (No. 89): Green Goes On Daily Hike, Needs to Stay the Course

This Husky has a unique skill set that runs deeper than most think. He tackles people, too.
Dan Raley|
UW Fresh Start (No. 89): Green Goes On Daily Hike, Needs to Stay the Course
UW Fresh Start (No. 89): Green Goes On Daily Hike, Needs to Stay the Course

In another sport, Jaden Green is the relief pitcher who comes in to face one batter. The pinch-hitter with a lone at-bat. The basketball player sent in to foul, take one for the team and sit back down.

His competitive moments always are brief, but no less important to the overall outcome of University of Washington football games. 

Green is the Huskies' long snapper, a scholarship guy, a player with a talent unique to nearly everyone else on the roster.

He's an Arizona native who typically gets in only on fourth down to do his thing, though some field-goal attempts and his requisite skill set are summoned sooner if the clock is involved. 

In 2021, the 5-foot-10, 210-pound Green drew 97 plays, which, broken down, meant delivering the ball to teammates for 54 punts and 43 place-kicks. Over a 12-game season, he averaged eight plays an outing.

He generally goes unnoticed unless he has a bad snap, which, in that case, everyone immediately knows who he is and what he did. This sort of unfortunate misstep happened to him in the 2020 season opener in Husky Stadium against Oregon State ... on the very first play of his college career.

A little overeager in his debut moment, Green rifled the snap over punter Race Porter's head, where it ended up some 40 yards behind the line of scrimmage, was retrieved by Porter and a harried punt was blocked.

It should be noted that Green does not head for the sideline or sit down on the field once he hikes it and merely watches everyone else finish off the play.

Green often is in on the tackle. Last season, he came up with 7 of them, 3 unassisted, which ranked him 27th on the team in tackles. That's one reason he carries 200-plus pounds on a compact frame.

Jaden Green has this chore down to a science.

Jaden Green has a unique skill set.

Jaden Green waits to be summoned on fourth down.

Jaden Green usually has a kicker behind him, not the Seattle skyline.

Jaden Green keeps himself in top shape.

With spring practice underway, we're offering intel and observations gathered on the UW football personnel in a series of stories on every scholarship player from No. 0 to 99. We'll review each Husky's previous starting experience, if applicable, and determine what comes next under new coach Kalen DeBoer.

As is the case with any coaching change, it's a new football beginning for everyone, including the Huskies' No. 89.

Green just needs to keep doing what he's been doing. He spends most spring practices on the East field, away from most of the team, working on his game with the Husky kickers and punters.

In the weight room, he jumps right in with everyone else and a month ago and turned in a 500-pound squat, which was impressive for an athlete his size.

Football runs in Green's family, though long snapping is a trait all to his own. He is the son of former Arizona State running back Gerald Green (1998-99).

This younger Green, however, has shown off skills similar to dad. At Mesa High School as a senior, he finished with 97 yards rushing and 4 TDs on 20 carries, and 25 receptions for 219 yards and 2 scores for the Jack Rabbits.

Still just a sophomore, Green takes his football duties seriously. Before UW spring drills began, he spoke to the players at his old high school and offered them encouragement. While he's not pulling regular scrimmage time, he's found a niche that suits him. 

UW Starter or Not: As long as he stays healthy, Green is the accredited UW snapper. There is no competition. He's the only one on scholarship doing what he does, but he still can't get complacent about it. He needs to keep sharpening his skills because there are jobs in the NFL that require his talents, which is an ample motivator.

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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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