Huskies' 10 Greatest Junior College Transfers
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With the transfer portal commanding much more attention these days and high school recruiting still a necessary evil, the junior-college transfer notably has faded to the background across the Power 5 football landscape.
The Juco, which almost sounds like a card game, or the CC player, which seems to indicate academic prowess, has become an ignored option for some trying to put together an FBS roster.
Yet at the University of Washington, this sort of football combatant hardly has turned into a lost art. While the Huskies have cut back in numbers, they still continue to find the one- or two-year JC player who comes in and makes a difference.
Kalen DeBoer's staff will start one at center in Corey Luciano, formerly of Diablo Valley College in the Bay Area, and has another, newly arrived Demario King from Cerritos College in Southern California, competing hard for inside linebacker minutes and appearing in the accompanying video.
This weekend, the Huskies will host yet another player from the JC ranks in edge rusher Sekai Asoau-Afoa from College of San Mateo, also a Northern California school, and someone originally from Fife, Washington.
With DeBoer maintaining this manpower connection, we thought it might be timely to reveal the UW's top 10 junior-college imports — and it's an overly impressive list.
Two Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees and possibly a third. Two Rose Bowl Most Valuable Players. Three guys who went on to appear in the Super Bowl.
UW's 10 Greatest Junior College Players
Hugh McElhenny (32) was a first-team All-American in 1951.
Raley
1. Hugh McElhenny, RB, 1949-51, Compton Junior College
The Huskies landed possibly its greatest player in program history in this big, fast back who came to them after a single season at Compton JC in the Los Angeles area following a year as an ineligible player at USC. McElhenny rushed for 2,499 career yards and still holds the school record for most rushing yards in a game, 296, against Washington State. He was selected as a 1951 first-team All-American running back, was a first-round NFL draft pick and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970. He churned out 5,281 yards rushing and 3,247 yards receiving in the pros.
Warren Moon was MVP of the 1978 Rose Bowl.
Rose Bowl photo
2. Warren Moon, QB, 1975-77, West Los Angeles College
Moon spent a season at West L.A. College before Don James made him his Michael Penix Jr., bringing him in as an insurance-policy quarterback for the coach's first year at the UW. After a rough two seasons, Moon was named Pac-8 Co-Player of the Year and led the Huskies to a 27-20 victory over Michigan in the 1978 Rose Bowl, where he was named Most Valuable Player. He played six seasons in the CFL, where he won 5 Grey Cups for Edmonton and threw for 21,228 yards and 144 touchdowns, and 17 NFL seasons, where he threw for 49,323 yards and 219 scores. He entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
New England Patriots
3. Corey Dillon, RB, 1996, Garden City Community College, Dixie State College
Dillon played at Kansas and Utah junior colleges before joining the Huskies for one monstrous season. He rushed for a school-record 222 yards and caught an 83-yard scoring pass in just one quarter against San Jose State and didn't play again in the game. He rushed for 1,695 yards and scored 24 touchdowns in his lone campaign at the UW. In the NFL, he rushed for 11,241 and 82 TDs over his career. He broke rookie and all-time records with rushing games of 246 and 278 yards, respectively, which have since been surpassed. He played for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX, a 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. He may yet become a hall of famer.
George Fleming was co-MVP of the 1960 Rose Bowl.
Dan Raley
4. George Fleming, RB, 1958-60, East Los Angeles College
A native Texan, Fleming wanted to play for UCLA in the worst way and the Bruins stashed him at East L.A. College. With the Bruins dragging their feet in adding him to their roster, he stayed just one season in the JC ranks and took a UW offer. In his second season with the Huskies, he was a big factor in a 44-8 victory over Wisconsin in the 1960 Rose Bowl and he was named co-Player of the Game. He shared in a pair of Pasadena victories, also taking part in a 17-7 win over No. 1-ranked Minnesota. He later played in the AFL and CFL. He died in December at 83.
Ben Davidson played in Super Bowl II.
Dan Raley collection
5. Ben Davidson, DL, 1959-60, East Los Angeles College
Davidson played alongside Fleming at East L.A. College, yet he stayed two seasons because he didn't play high school football and had to learn the game. The hulking defensive lineman, who grew to be 6-foot-8 and 275 pounds in the pros, likewise helped the Huskies capture back-to-back Rose Bowls. Though starting just two college games during a time of one-platoon football, he was the highest-drafted UW player from those Pasadena-bound teams, a fourth-rounder. He became the first Husky to appear in the Super Bowl, playing in the second one for the Oakland Raiders against the Green Bay Packers. He died in 2012 at 72.
6. Dave Browning, DL, 1976-77, Spokane Falls Community College
Raised on an Eastern Washington farm, Browning played high school football in relative obscurity, which forced him to spend a couple of seasons at Spokane Falls in order to get noticed. He became a two-year starter for the Huskies and served as a game captain for the 1978 Rose Bowl against Michigan. In the NFL, he played in Super Bowl XV for the Oakland Raiders, who beat Philadelphia 27-10. Later, he appeared in the 1985 USFL championship game for the Oakland Invaders, giving him a rare trifecta of showcase football outings.
Tom Scott was Sonny Sixkiller's top target in 1971.
Dave Eskenazi collection
7. Tom Scott, WR, 1971-72, College of San Mateo
The Huskies combed the junior-college ranks looking for receivers for prolific passer Sonny Sixkiller and they found Scott in this school south of San Francisco. Scott had two-year totals of 46 receptions for 1,104 yards and 8 scores as he provided his high-profile quarterback with a deep threat. He played 11 seasons in the CFL, where he caught 649 passes for 10,837 yards and 88 touchdowns, won 5 Grey Cups with the Edmonton Eskimos and was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 1998.
8. Charles Mincy, CB, 1989-90, Pasadena City College
The defensive back came to the UW from Pasadena and ended his college career there as a starter for the Huskies in the 1991 Rose Bowl, a 46-34 victory over Iowa. He used that momentum to play nine seasons for four teams in the NFL, where he intercepted 23 passes and returned three of them for touchdowns, and returned a fumble for a fourth defensive score.
9. Jim Krieg, WR, 1970-71, Taft College
The Huskies found the speedy Krieg at this two-year school near Bakersfield, California, and he became Sixkiller's primary target in 1970, catching a then school-record 54 balls for 738 yards and a pair of scores. In a two-year UW career interrupted by injuries, he also was a feared special-teams players by returning three kickoffs for touchdowns, covering 95, 97 and 99 yards. He later spent time in the NFL and in the WFL. He died in 2018 at 69.
Harvey Blanks
UW Athletics
10. Harvey Blanks, RB, 1967-68, Shoreline Community College
The Huskies brought Blanks in from Chicago and stashed him for a year at Shoreline CC, north of Seattle, where played for eventual UW defensive coordinator and head coach Jim Lambright. In his first start for the Huskies in 1968, he rushed for 121 yards against Rice. The following week, he returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown and a kickoff 83 yards that didn't go the distance at Wisconsin. He later ran for a 62-yard touchdown against Idaho. However, his career never really got off the ground. Blanks was injured most of first season in 1967 and he then broke his ankle in spring practice in 1969, plus he was suspended that last season during racial strife that surrounded the team. He played briefly in the WFL for the Chicago Fire. He died in February at 74.
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