Husky Roster Review: Green's Spring Return Was Incomplete

The University of Washington football scrimmage was going so well last August, with Husky Stadium full of fans out for an early look at Jedd Fisch's team, when play suddenly stopped and trainers ran onto the field.

After several minutes, wide receiver Kevin Green Jr. was helped up and led off, with the Arizona transfer unable to put any weight on his left knee.

He was done two weeks before the opener against Weber State, with the rebuilding Huskies losing out on an experienced player when it could ill afford to go without anyone who had previous game time.

This spring, the wiry 5-foot-11, 165-pound Green was cleared to play again, started off a bit slow, got into a receiving groove and then missed the final practice and the Spring Game with some kind of unspecified injury.

So he's not quite all the way back yet.

Kevin Green Jr. missed all of the 2024 season with an injury. | Skylar Lin Visuals

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 this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

When spring began, Green dropped the first scrimmage pass thrown to him by freshman Dash Beierly. He primarily ran with the second-unit receivers as he got his football feet back under him.

It wasn't until the fifth practice that he caught a scrimmage pass from starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. Running well in practice No. 7, he hauled in his longest pass of the spring, a diving 30-yarder from Kai Horton.

Green began having memorable battles with cornerback Leroy Bryant -- 0 vs. 0 -- all of which didn't go unnoticed by the coaching staff.

"It's great to have Kev back," receivers coach Kevin Cummings said. "Kev is a huge competitor. That's the part I love about him is he loves the game, he studies the game and, when he's on the field, he wants to compete."

However, in the 13th practice, Green came up limping, possibly pulling a muscle or re-aggravating his old injury. He took off his helmet and tried to walk off the discomfort before leaving Dempsey Indoor for the training room with an hour and a half remaining in practice.

He sat out the 14th practice and Green was out of uniform for the Spring Game, standing among fellow receivers Denzel Boston, Rashid Williams and Penn State transfer Omari Evans, all dealing with spring issues. Each is expected back for fall camp.

Green has to be as anxious as any of them to get back on the field and show what he can do.

KEVIN GREEN JR. FILE

What he's done: Before sitting out last season for the Huskies, Green from Mission Hills, California, appeared in 14 games over two years at Arizona, starting two of them. He came up with 8 catches for 97 yards for the Wildcats in 2023, with a 26-yarder against Oregon State his career long.

Starter or not: In 2023, Green started for Arizona in a 42-18 win over Utah and in a 38-24 victory over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, so he's done it, been a good luck charm, all of that. He could easily win a game-opening spot with only Boston considered an untouchable receiver starter.

The Huskies, in fact, say Green is their trend-setter on the team in terms of running the fly sweep. He just needs to get and stay healthy.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Breaking Down All the Husky Position Battles

Had There Been Spring MVP, It Would Have Been Clark

Interceptions and Young Players Highlight Spring Game