Huard's Departure Adds to UW's Quarterback Tale of the Well-Traveled Tape

With Sam Huard's admittedly agonizing decision to enter the transfer portal, the tale of the University of Washington quarterback, past and present and temporary, continues to take all sorts of interesting twists and turns.

No one rightfully would have guessed that Huard, the one-time 5-star recruit and UW legacy player, would come and go in Montlake in 21 months and throw just 44 passes in five games.

Yet there he in the portal, finally putting his competitiveness ahead of any sentimental tug to keep waiting for an opportunity to run the Husky offense that was widely projected but never assured.

Huard moved on because he hasn't played much at all in three seasons now, going back to his junior year at Kennedy Catholic High School because of the COVID pandemic and getting beat out. He was faced the stark reality of watching others play the position instead of him for yet another season.

The lingering questions for this left-hander from Bellevue, Washington, are where will he land and will he ultimately realize that mountain of hype he carried into the collegiate level?

Huard was asked if he might consider playing for Cal Poly, dropping down a level to the Big Sky, only because his Kennedy Catholic coach Sheldon Cross was hired last week as the Mustangs offensive coordinator. He said it was too soon to tell. He's better than that, though.

Huard, of course, found himself in this tight squeeze for playing time because of the arrival of Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr. and his fellow lefty's wildly successful first season for the Huskies.

“I know how big he is for this program and how great of a player he is,” Huard said of Penix. “As you can imagine, him coming back definitely had an effect on this decision, because he’ll be the starter next year, and it’s his team right now.”

Michael Penix

Penix's impressive achievements were his 4,641 passing yards in a season, directing the Huskies to an 11-2 season with wins over Michigan State, Oregon and Texas, and helping make them the nation's eighth-ranked team in the final Associated Press poll. Most of all, this 6-foot-3, 213-pound graduate transfer from Tampa, Florida, played in all 13 UW football games, more than double his outings in any of his four years in Indiana, each marred by a season-ending injury. Rather than put his name in the NFL draft, Penix surprised everyone by announcing he would return for a second Husky season, presumably bent on making a concentrated run at both a national championship and a Heisman Trophy while enjoying his continuing good health in Seattle, which boded well for everyone except Huard.

Lincoln Kienholz

For six months, UW coaches had to smile when considering a future quarterback competition between the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Kienholz, who made a non-binding oral commitment to the Huskies, and the 6-foot-2, 193-pound Huard. Now the program has neither player, which are good reasons for frowns and the Husky QB hunt to step hunt. Kienholz, who hails from South Dakota same as DeBoer, couldn't flip his pledge fast enough when Ohio State lost a pair of quarterback recruits and came in on him late.

Jake Haener

A UW reserve player for two seasons and four games, Haener remains the big one who got away. He finished up at Fresno State this season as the first-team All-Mountain West quarterback after passing for 9,013 careers yards and 67 touchdowns at his second college stop. Word circulating is Chris Petersen's coaching staff grew to regret picking Jacob Eason as the 2019 starter over the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Haener, which caused the latter to flee Seattle. Haener currently is projected as a third-day NFL draft pick, which was what Eason was.

Jacob Eason

Speaking of Eason, he continues to wander through the NFL, looking for a place to land after getting cut loose by the Indianapolis Colts, the Seattle Seahawks, the Carolina Panthers and just last week the San Francisco 49ers. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Eason has played in only two NFL games, both against the Los Angeles Rams, once coming for the Panthers this past season. He has career pro passing totals of 5 completions in 10 attempts for 84 yards, with a pair of interceptions. Dating back to Georgia and the UW, this guy with the rocket arm has been on a continued quest to prove himself as something special and not been able to.

Dylan Morris

Three years ago, much was made of the 6-foot, 197-pound Morris winning a four-man quarterback battle, leading to back-to-back seasons as the UW starter. Yet after taking a lot of blame for a 4-8 season and leading the Pac-12 in interceptions with 12 in 2021, he lost a three-man competition last August, with Penix's presence sending him from 363 passing attempts in 2021 to just 16 this past fall. The Puyallup, Washington, product doesn't seem likely to abandon the UW such as Huard, even with the prospect of a second season of watching the other guy perform.

Ethan Garbers

After spending the 2020 season redshirting at the UW, Garbers has experienced two largely inactive years at UCLA, starting just once in 2021. He holds Bruins passing totals of 57 completions in 88 attempts for 599 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 4 interceptions. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Garbers from Newport Beach, California, should be a leading candidate to replace the departing Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the starter, yet he didn't get a vote of confidence when UCLA went out and picked up Kent State quarterback Collin Schlee, who played against the Huskies this past season.

Jacob Sirmon

Playing for his third college team, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Sirmon assumed a back-up role for 3-8 Northern Colorado, a Big Sky team, after spending a year at Central Michigan. The Bothell, Washington, product completed 52 of 93 passes for 595 yards and 4 scores, with a pair of interceptions, this past season. His big moment came against Wyoming when he caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from one of his wide receivers. He has a year left to play.

Colson Yankoff

Where's Colson is a lot like Where's Waldo? After a year at the UW, he showed up as an aspiring quarterback for UCLA, converted to wide receiver and followed last season with stints at running back and special-teamer. He put up season totals of 34 rushes for 174 yards and a touchdown, and caught 7 passes for 52 yards and two TDs. And, no, he hasn't thrown a pass in a game for the Bruins. A four-year player at UCLA, he has a pandemic-permitted season of eligibility remaining.

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