Huskies Are In Good Hands With Kean Hiking The Ball

UW Roster Review: The long snapper is highly dependable in delivering the football.

Ryan Kean is back for his second season as the UW snapper. | Dave Sizer photo

Special-teams players for the University of Washington football team are a lot like Tom Hanks in the film "Castaway." They can go months without seeing civilization. They might even feel like building a raft and floating out onto Lake Washington.

When Jedd Fisch's position players practice in Husky Stadium, the UW kickers, punters, snappers and holders immediately head for the solitude of the East practice field to get their work in, and vice versa.

Ryan Kean must wonder if he'll ever be found again.

The senior long snapper is one of just two UW special-teamers to return this season out of a half-dozen -- and the only one to retain his job.

Transfers, eligibility and performance dictated all of the change.

"Having the roster spots to bring in one of the best kickers who was available, one of the best punters who was available and being able to keep Ryan here as the snapper who's super efficient, and then you're able to add guys," Petrilli said. "Yeah, it was kind of an overhaul of the group."

Snapper Ryan Kean (33) is shown with former Huskies Ethan Moczulski (37), Trevor Allen (38) and Grady Gross (95). | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

Kean, a 6-foot, 214-pound senior snapper from Corona, California,, transferred to the UW last season after three years at Utah Tech, an FCS program set to join the Big Sky this year.

He was ultra dependable on 105 snaps on field goals, extra points and punts, handling all except one for the Huskies in 2025. In the LA Bowl against Boise State, he stepped aside for walk-on Hunter Sowald to get in a late snap in a lopsided game. Sowald since has transferred to Florida.

Ryan Kean (33) celebrates Kade Eldridge's TD run with Eldridge (44), Quentin Moore (88), Dylan Robinson (6). | Dave Sizer photo

The life of a Husky special-teamer is, indeed, different from the rest of the team.

For the 13th spring practice, Kean and the others arrived anywhere from 45 minutes to 25 minutes early before any position players wandered out.

Kean appeared 35 minutes before practice began carrying his jersey and shoulder pads. He threw a football with an equipment manager who was happy to oblige.

He next lay on his back, on top of a black tube that he rolled back and forth on. He then switched to his stomach and rolled some more.

Kean and the others were left to entertain themselves for the next two and a half hours, working on their craft, with no kicks scheduled during the team play that afternoon.

While they were the first to arrive, the UW special-teamers likewise were the first players to head for the locker room once everything was over.

What he's done: Kean has 36 games of college snapping and was named all-conference in 2023 as a redshirt freshman for Utah Tech. In high school in Southern California, he was both a wide receiver and a snapper.

Starter or not: Except for redshirting in 2022, Kean has been a highly dependable snapper for the past three seasons in Utah and Montlake. With his reliability, he should get an NFL shot.