Jack Westover Is a Money Player Now — Huskies Put Him on Scholarship
Jack Westover turned down scholarships from Eastern Washington and Montana State to show he could play as a walk-on for the University of Washington football team, certain he could convince the Huskies to pay for him.
The combination tight end and H-back, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound sophomore from Bellevue, Washington, was right about that.
Husky coach Jimmy Lake, on his radio show on Wednesday night, disclosed that he has made Westover a scholarship player.
Westover redshirted in 2018 before appearing in all 13 games last season. While known as a solid blocker, he caught 3 passes for 9 yards for a touchdown.
He paid for those first two years out of pocket. No more. He'll get a scholarship check now, same as sophomore inside linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio, who was elevated from walk-on to a player with financial aid last winter.
Westover brought an overly physical approach to the Huskies. He backed down from no one.
Against Oregon, Westover and the Ducks' Troy Dye, a linebacker and first-team All-Pac-12 selection, engaged in a rather heated exchange at Husky Stadium, going face mask to face mask.
Westover wasn't heavily recruited because he played for three Seattle-area high schools — Issaquah, O'Dea and Mount Si — and was injured at times. At the final stop, he broke his collarbone in his second football game as a senior and was done, hence the Huskies' reluctance at offering him.
"The issue we had with Jack was staying healthy in high school," former UW coach Chris Petersen said. "He didn't have a lot of tape on him. We wanted to make sure he could stay healthy so he could develop."
Westover is part of a deep collection of players at one of Washington's traditionally elite positions, joining junior Cade Otton, a two-year starter and honors candidate and shown in the video; sophomore Devin Culp, possibly the best pro prospect; and incoming freshmen Mark Redmond, Mason West and Jack Yary.
The walk-on's breakout moment came in the Huskies' 51-27 victory at Arizona. He hauled in a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Eason in the third quarter to give his team the lead for good at 21-17 lead. He came back a short time later to lead the blocking on Salvon Ahmed's 4-yard TD run, not only providing a lane but pushing his running back into the end zone.
