Huskies Looking To Tap Into Talented TEs Once More

This week, the University of Washington football team has been working overtime to settle on a starting offensive line. To make Demond Williams Jr. mistake-free. To get Landen Hatchett healthy for the first time in nearly a year.

The Huskies haven't had to mess with their tight ends at all.

The top three in Decker DeGraaf, Baron Naone and Kade Eldridge represent the most consistent and productive position group up and down the lineup through an uneven season (3-2 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) with the Iowa Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-1) coming to to town on Friday night.

In last weekend's 25-21 loss to USC, the tight ends scored all of the Huskies' points, with each of those three players finding his way into the end zone.

"It was pretty cool," UW coach Jedd Fisch said. "I can't think of a time we scored three touchdowns and they were all by a different tight end. No receivers, no running back, no quarterback scoring a touchdown. That would definitely be a first for me."

There was a certain amount of awareness to this feat among the guys who pulled it off, but no time for them to sit around and celebrate or gloat while it was happening.

"During the game, I would say we all knew we had the touchdowns, but that's not something we were thinking about," the 6-foot-4, 260-pound Naone said. "We were all sort of locked into the game just trying to get the ball to the other guys and get into the end zone."

Actually, the lead and the momentum shifted immediately once the Huskies tried to go back to that deep-rooted tight-end connection one more time in the third quarter.

Decker DeGraaf motions for the Husky offense to follow his lead. | Dave Sizer photo

With the UW leading 21-16, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. was trying to get the ball to Eldridge again he was hit and fumbled, with USC's 6-foot-5, 295-pound Jahkeem Stewart scooping up the loose ball and running 48 yards for a touchdown that put the Trojans ahead for good.

Before that, the Huskies used their tight ends masterfully to make things happen. In the first quarter, Naone was standing all alone in the end zone when he caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck to put his team ahead 7-3.

In the second quarter, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Eldridge lined up in the backfield, took a direct snap and scored on a 1-yard plunge, giving the UW a 14-10 advantage.

Kade Eldridge (44) celebrates scoring a 2025 touchdown with his Husky teammates. | Dave Sizer photo

Barely a minute and a half into the third period, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound DeGraaf caught a ball in the right flat, broke two hapless tackle attempts by the Trojans and lumbered 42 yards for a score and a 21-10 lead.

Naone, a sophomore and a year younger than each of his position peers, has played exceptionally well in his second tour of the Big Ten.

"Honestly, guys are bigger, stronger, faster; nothing that I didn't really expect," he said. "I just have to go to work, stay comfortable and make plays."

It seems to be a Husky tight-end mantra.

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