Inside The Huskies

Husky Roster Review: Simmons Shows He Belongs In Spring Ball

The freshman tight end from Oregon picked up things fast after he was a late roster add.
Dan Raley|
Austin Simmons heads upfield in ball on the East field.
Austin Simmons heads upfield in ball on the East field. | Skylar Lin Visuals

The plan for Austin Simmons during University of Washington spring football practice was to get noticed, to fit in, to show he belonged.

After all, the 6-foot-5, 238-pound freshman tight end from Albany, Oregon, was a late add to the 2025 Husky recruiting class after flipping from Washington State to replace Vander Ploog, a tight end who jumped from the UW to Oregon.

Simmons probably felt he needed to show Jedd Fisch's staff it should have recruited him instead of the 4-star Ploog the first time.

Midway through spring ball, it was mission accomplished.

After just six practices, tight-ends coach Jordan Paopao rubber-stamped the early enrollee as someone who came ready to play.

"The guy who's really jumped out has been Austin Simmons," Paopao said. "How fast he's been able to take this offense. How fast he's been able to grow -- he's starting to get a lot more confidence. How we see more physicality. You see a lot more speed at the line of scrimmage. I've been really, really happy with his progress."

Austin Simmons changed his appearance during spring ball.
Austin Simmons changed his appearance 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.

Simmons first showed himself in scrimmage play at the end of practice 5 when he caught a Dash Beierly pass for 11 yards near the left sideline, where former Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren was standing, waiting to speak to the Huskies.

In practice No. 10, Simmons showed really good speed when he got downfield to pull in a 15-yard pass from Kai Horton.

In the 12th practice, he and Beierly hooked up for a 5-yard completion.

For the Spring Game, Simmons pulled in a Demond Williams Jr. pass for the first time in a scrimmage situation, covering 6 yards in the first half, and then caught a short one, a 2-yarder from Beierly, in the second half.

Running routes and catching passes were not all that he did. For the final three spring practices, he changed his appearance.

After arriving in Montlake with a full head of hair, with long locks reaching his shoulders, Simmons cut it all off. He finished up in a crewcut.

That was noticeable. No explanation was given for the timing or motivation behind his new look. But he did it.

AUSTIN SIMMONS FILE

What he's done: For West Albany High School, he caught 80 passes for 1,470 and 15 touchdowns over two seasons. His physicality stems from him playing linebacker, as well.

Starter or not: Simmons certainly appears on his way to starting someday. However, the position is stacked with veterans Decker DeGraaf, Quentin Moore and Kade Eldridge in the front of the line for playing time. He's off to a good start.

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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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