Inside The Huskies

Husky Roster Review: Gross Only Kicking-Game Specialist Who Came Back

Six others departed the UW program during the offseason, leaving just the place-kicker.
Dan Raley|
Grady Gross lines up a field-goal attempt.
Grady Gross lines up a field-goal attempt. | Skylar Lin Visual

The University of Washington team within the football team -- those who kick, punt, snap and hold the ball -- typically huddle by themselves before each game and share in their roles as specialists who are always required to be precise and brief.

Following spring practice, however, place-kicker Grady Gross was the only one of these guys from last season who remained on the roster.

Punters Jack McCallum, Adam Saul and Troy Petz left for Purdue, Ball State and points unknown, respectively.

Long snappers Caleb Johnston and Cameron Warchuck moved to California and an undetermined destination, respectively.

Back-up kicker Sam Finnegan finally got his shot to line up a 29-yard field goal during the Spring Game, only to have Petz bobble the snap and the kick never happen, and he departed the team not long after that.

That leaves just Gross, who's not going anywhere until his eligibility is used up.

"This is an incredible place, the fans and the city," said Gross, who served as a team captain last season and enters his senior year. "I'm pretty loyal."

Grady Gross stretches out during spring ball.
Grady Gross stretches out during spring ball. | 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.

Gross is a 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior from Scottsdale, Arizona, who played for the Horizon High School Huskies, came to Montlake as a walk-on and earned a scholarship. He enters his final season with the UW and his third as the No. 1 place-kicker.

He's mostly enjoyed success yet went through a rough patch last season.

Gross was highly dependable in 2023 by converting 18 of 22 field goals, which included a walk-off game-winner against Washington State in the Apple Cup.

Grady Gross accepts congratulations after a Husky game.
Grady Gross accepts congratulations after a Husky game. | Skylar Lin Visuals

This past season, he inexplicably faced some adversity at midseason by missing 7 of 10 kicks over four games and temporarily looked out of sync for the first time in his college career. He bounced back by making 9 of his final 10 three-pointers to close the season.

"it was obviously tough," Gross said. "Stuff like that happens in every sport to every player and you're not always going to play your best. I think through all of those experiences i've grown into a much stronger person and kicker. This is as strong as i've felt kicking the ball in my career. i feel confident in my ability and feel real confident that's behind me."

GRADY GROSS FILE

What he's done: Gross has been busy with the Huskies. He's appeared in 40 games and converted 36 of 48 field-goal attempts in his career, with a long of 47 yards. He's made all 93 of his extra-point kicks. He's also kicked off 40 times over three seasons.

Starter or not: Gross is the only specialist remaining after a pair of new special-teams coordinators arrived during the offseason in Chris Petrilli and Greg Froelich and the resulting position group house-cleaning took place. He's trustworthy enough to retain his job.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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