How Former Huskies Have Fared Elsewhere This Season

Jackson Sirmon's college football career ended prematurely with a torn biceps muscle that required surgery. Sam Huard set a school passing record that stood for more than two decades. Jay'Veon Sunday leads his team in rushing.

These are just some of the developments for nearly two and a half dozen former University of Washington players who are performing elsewhere this season.

At California, former UW linebacker Jackson Sirmon, played in six games for the Bears (4-6, 2-5), including a 59-32 loss to the Huskies in Seattle, before he suffered his season-ending injury against Oregon State. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Sirmon, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2022, finished his senior season with 50 tackles, including 3 TFLs and a sack. He's vowed to pursue an NFL career.

Former Husky wide receiver Taj Davis, who teamed with Sirmon at Cal and caught a touchdown pass against his old teammates in the Seattle game, has 32 receptions for 351 yards and 3 scores.

With Sam Huard's first season at Cal Poly coming to a close on Saturday, here's how it's worked out for him: last weekend for a 3-7 team in a major rebuild, he broke the school record for completions with 37 (n 58 attempts) that had stood for 23 years in a 41-30 loss to Sacramento State. He earlier threw 6 touchdowns in a game against Lincoln. Overall, he's completed 168 of 271 passes for 2,048 yards and 16 touchdowns, with 8 interceptions.

Not only has the losing been tough, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Huard missed a midseason game because he went into concussion protocol. He's one of three former UW quarterbacks taking snaps elsewhere his season.

Jacob Sirmon, Jackson's cousin and a sixth-year senior who spent three years with the UW before first transferring to Central Michigan, started the first eight games at quarterback for 0-10 Northern Colorado before giving way to a redshirt freshman quarterback.

Along the way, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Sirmon went head to head with Huard in a midseason game. He has season passing totals of 123 completions in 236 attempts for 1,355 yards and 8 scores, with 9 interceptions.

At UCLA, one-time Husky Ethan Garbers started three midseason games and directed the Bruins (6-4 overall, 3-4 Pac-12) to a pair of victories before an injury knocked him out of the lineup. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior has a season stat line of 64-for-94 passing for 786 yards and 6 touchdowns with 3 interceptions.

For the Bruins, Garbers teams with a pair of former Huskies in first-team 2022 All-Pac-12 edge rusher Laiatu Latu and multi-purpose player Colson Yankoff.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Latu, a senior and an All-America candidate, has been the most successful of all of the former Huskies spread out through the college football landscape. He's enjoyed a superb season with 11 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss among 39 tackles, plus an interception return for 25 yards.

Yankoff has played quarterback, tight end, wide receiver and now running back for the Bruins in a reserve role, as well as special teams. This season, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound senior has rushed 13 times for 83 yards and a score, caught a pass for a 2-yard loss and returned 11 kickoffs for 235 yards.

At USC (7-4, 5-3), one-time UW cornerback Jacobe Covington appeared in five of the Trojans' first 6 games, drew a start against Arizona, got injured and hasn't played since. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior has 8 tackles and an interception.

Former Husky linebacker Daniel Heimuli started the first five games for Arizona (7-3, 5-2), including a 31-24 loss to the UW, but has assumed a reserve role in the past five outings. The 6-foot, 230-pound junior has 15 tackles, including 2 TFLs, and a fumble recovery.

Linebacker Josh Calvert, who spent two years at the UW, has played in all 10 games for Utah (7-3, 4-3) this season, including last weekend's 35-28 loss to his former teammates. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior has 2 tackles mostly as a special-teamer.

At Oregon (9-1, 6-1), senior defensive tackle Taki Taimani has 17 tackles, including 1.5 TFLs, and a fumble recovery in a reserve role. The 6-foot-3, 330-pound Taimani, a two-year starter for the Huskies, picked up a half sack in a 36-33 setback to the UW.

Edge rusher Sav'ell Smalls, looking for a change of pace after three UW seasons, joined Deion Sanders and Colorado (4-6, 1-6) this fall but hasn't made many inroads. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound junior has appeared in just four games and collected 2 tackles.

Ole Miss (8-2) welcomed former UW offensive tackle Victor Curne, a 16-game starter and 2020 All-Pac-12 honorable-mention pick, and the 6-foot-4, 320-pound senior has opened all 10 games this season for his SEC team.

San Diego State (3-7) has struggled this season even with three former Huskies in the starting lineup in tight end Mark Redman, edge rusher Cooper McDonald and offensive tackle Myles Murao.

Redman, a 6-foot-6, 255-pound senior, leads the Aztecs with 32 catches for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns. McDonald, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound senior, has 37 tackles, including 3 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. Murao, a 6-foot-3, 320-pound junior, has started all 10 games.

For Utah State (5-5), former Husky linebacker MJ Tafisi leads the team in tackles with 108, which includes 6 TFLs. The 6-foot, 250-pound senior had 69 tackles the season before in eight games before a season-ending injury.

Hawaii (4-7) starts a pair of former UW defenders in safety Meki Pei and defensive tackle Kuao Peihopa. Pei, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior, has 44 tackles, including 3 TFLs, and Peihopa, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound sophomore, has 19 tackles.

Tim Horn, who spent two years at the UW, is the place-kicker at Rice (4-6) for a second consecutive season. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior has converted 5 of 9 field-goal attempts, with a long of 48, and all 39 extra-point tries.

Running back Jay'Veon Sunday, unable to make inroads in Kalen DeBoer's UW offense, dropped down to Abilene Christian (5-5) and the 6-foot, 201-pound sophomore leads the FCS team in rushing with 590 yards on 108 carries and he's scored 3 touchdowns, including breaking an 82-yard run.

Wide receiver Austin Osborne, who spent two seasons at the UW, has 22 catches for 238 yards and no scores for Bowling Green (6-4) as his college career winds down. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior counts 88 catches for 803 yards and 2 scores in his career for the MAC school after catching just one pass for the Huskies.

After sitting out the 2022 season at Montana with a knee injury, former Husky wide receiver Sawyer Racanelli is a starter for the Grizzlies (9-1). The 6-foot-3, 204-pound junior has 10 catches for 130 yards and a score.

At Portland State, former UW wide receiver Marquis Spiker has come off a redshirt season in 2022 to become a starter and has 12 catches for 222 yards and a score for a 4-6 team.

Former Husky cornerback Zakhari Spears joined rebuilding Connecticut (1-9), coached by ex-UW linebacker and one-time Seahawks coach Jim Mora. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound Spears, after a pair of inactive seasons in Seattle, made his college football debut as a sophomore last weekend in a 44-6 loss to James Madison.

Safety Cam Williams, a 10-game starter at the UW, transferred to Georgia Southern this season, played in four games, started two and chose to take a redshirt year. The 6-foot, 210-pound senior had 11 tackles and an interception for the Eagles (6-4).

Former UW tight end Caden Jumper has appeared in eight games and started once for Murray State (2-8). The 6-foot-3, 253-pound sophomore has a catch for 13 yards.

Among other ex-Huskies, running backs Emeka Megwa at Oklahoma and Aaron Dumas at UTEP, wide receiver Lonyatta Alexander Jr. at Montana State and safety Demario King at Old Dominion either are sitting out as transfers or haven't played.

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