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Jumper Reportedly Becomes Fifth UW Player to Enter Transfer Portal

The redshirt freshman tight end was compared to Will Dissly by former coach Jimmy Lake.
Dan Raley|
Jumper Reportedly Becomes Fifth UW Player to Enter Transfer Portal
Jumper Reportedly Becomes Fifth UW Player to Enter Transfer Portal

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Washington Huskies

Caden Jumper was going to be another Will Dissly.

That's what Jimmy Lake promised exactly two years ago on signing day. Of course, Lake also suggested that he was going to be the University of Washington football coach for longer than 13 games, too.

Demonstrating how one player might fit one coaching staff's vision but not another, Jumper on Wednesday entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports, beginning with 247Sports and followed by The Athletic. 

The 6-foot-3, 253-pound Jumper from Eatonville, Washington, at the base of Mount Rainier, didn't seem long for Kalen DeBoer's program because he was more of a power-oriented than a finesse tight end, which is what the Grubb/DeBoer offense demands.

A redshirt freshman, Jumper recently made his first Husky game-day appearance, drawing snaps at the end of the UW's 54-7 victory over Colorado. Previously, he traveled for the first time but didn't play at California, a move necessitated by injuries to others.

Asked if Jumper had been making a breakthrough to land on the Cal trip, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said no, only that he needed another body.  

Lake had a totally different view of this rangy player, using his Dissly comparison for Jumper in December 2020 while announcing the new Huskies.

"This guy is one of the tougher guys I've seen on film," the former UW coach said at the time. "What you guys should think about is Will Dissly. That's Caden Jumper. ... He'll mash people on the run game and release and make big-time catches."

Instead, Jumper becomes the fifth UW player to enter the portal since the regular season ended, joining junior safety Cam Williams (Georgia Southern), redshirt freshman cornerback Zakhari Spears (Connecticut), redshirt freshman defensive tackle Kuao Peihopa (Hawaii) and redshirt freshman wide receiver Lonyatta Alexander Jr. 

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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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