Husky Roster Review: Wyrsch Adds Weight, Still Waiting to Get Feet Wet
Robert Wyrsch hasn't appeared in a football game, college or high school, since 2019. In fact, he's played in just 11 contests total since he first began pulling on pads and a helmet on the Central California coast.
One of the things that went wrong during Jimmy Lake's brief tenure as the University of Washington football coach was he took a lot of chances in recruiting.
He offered scholarships to more than one guy who was relatively new to the game, had barely played in high school because of injury or had gone on a retreat somewhere. Potential was everything and experience didn't matter.
Siaosi Finau, Maurice Heims and Robert Wyrsch were just a few of the names who fit the risk-reward category.
While Finau couldn't make the jump, Heims looks like a budding star in due time.
And Wyrsch?
The offensive lineman remains in development, grinding away, putting on weight and trying to determine his football future.
The good thing about Wyrsch, in terms of Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff, is he came to the UW with a fairly solid second opinion attached to him — DeBoer's Fresno State recruiters offered a scholarship to the big California kid, as well.
Going down the roster from No. 0 to 99, Wyrsch, who wears No. 75 all to himself, is next up in a series of profiles about each of the Huskies' scholarship players and assorted walk-ons, summing up their spring football performances and surmising what might come next for them.
THE WEIGHTING GAME
Wyrsch, as a junior at Soquel High School in the Santa Cruz area, played on the offensive and defensive lines and as a tight end, and was an all-conference selection. His senior season, however, was scrubbed because of the global pandemic.
Since that time, he's scrambled to learn the game's little nuances while steadily putting on weight, currently topping out at 290 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame, which is 20-25 more since he arrived in Montlake.
UW offensive-line coach Scott Huff indicated he's fairly satisfied with Wyrsch's progress.
"He had the COVID thing and didn't get to play," Huff said of the lineman's final high school season. "But, as you can see, he's big and athletic and he's figuring it out. So I've been pleased with how he's been."
Huff isn't the only one who's excited about the sophomore, as left tackle Troy Fautanu also took some time to rave about his teammate in the spring. "He's next up," Fautanu said during a post-practice media session. "He's improving every day and he still hasn't come close to reaching his ceiling."
Entering his third season in the program, Wyrsch likely has come to a career crossroad as a sophomore. He spent the entirety of the recent spring football practice as a back-up player, mostly on the right side behind fellow sophomore Roger Rosengarten, the returning starter.
Wyrsch needs to make sure the coaching staff now feels comfortable in using him should Rosengarten or Fautanu need a replacement for whatever reason this coming season. The versatile Geirean Hatchett, while best suited for guard, also took a lot of snaps at offensive tackle, seemingly just in case.
Then there's the new class of five offensive linemen coming in and who's to say if one or more of them will come in ready to compete right away and rearrange the depth chart. The competition never goes away.
Wyrsch looks extremely solid with his bigger body. It's up to him to throw his weight around now.
ROBERT WYRSCH FILE
Service: Wyrsch enters his third season in the program in pursuit of his first Husky game time. It's tough for a lineman to be patient. Just this past spring, sophomore center Owen Prentice and sophomore offensive guard Myles Murao decided they'd had enough and left the program. Wyrsch and Prentice came in together.
Stats: The stats for Wyrsch would come down to his 20- to 25-pound weight gain since arriving in Montlake. He's got himself up to close to 295 pounds during summer workouts and it appears he's trying to eclipse the 300 mark.
Role: He's currently a back-up player, trying to hang onto that while waiting for the starters, Rosengarten and Fautanu, to use up their eligibility.
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