Inside The Huskies

McCree Joins Cougars -- First Game Will Be Against Huskies

The former UW offensive tackle will move across the state to finish up.
Dan Raley|
Max McCree played against WSU and now will play for the Cougars.
Max McCree played against WSU and now will play for the Cougars. | Skylar Lin Visuals

In and out of the University of Washington football lineup the past two seasons, Max McCree was healthy enough to play in both games against Washington State.

He came off the bench against the Cougars at Lumen Field and in Pullman.

The man formally known as Maximus must have liked what he saw in the Crimson and Gray because on Monday he signed with WSU out of the transfer portal.

Max McCree (77) and Kahlee Tafai (71) warm up for the 2024 Apple Cup against WSU.
Max McCree (77) and Kahlee Tafai (71) warm up for the 2024 Apple Cup against WSU. | Skylar Lin Visuals

The 6-foot-6, 302-pound McCree entered the day as one of five former Huskies in the portal and not committed to anyone, but he will play his last season of college football across the state.

By the way, his first game for the Cougars will come next Sept. 5 -- in the Apple Cup against the UW at Husky Stadium.

Funny how that works out like that.

The Cougars are getting a guy who started five UW games in 2024 against Northwestern, Rutgers, Michigan and Iowa, and after breaking a thumb on the first series against Iowa, he returned to open the Sun Bowl against Louisville.

This past season, McCree opened games against Maryland, Rutgers and Michigan, before getting hurt against the Wolverines and missing the rest of the season.

The Maryland game was a reunion of sorts much like the next Apple Cup will be -- he played two games for the Terrapins in 2022 before leaving school. He went home to support his family, with both of his parents becoming unable to work.

Max McCree drew his third UW start at left tackle against Michigan.
Max McCree drew his third UW start at left tackle against Michigan. | Skylar Lin Visuals

With 14 games played for the Huskies, McCree brings a seasoned player to the Cougars. In 2024, he held his own in the UW's 27-17 victory over Michigan at Husky Stadium.

With Carver Willis using up his eligibility, the Huskies are in need of a new left tackle as they enter spring football , but McCree apparently didn't receive the assurances he needed that it would be him.

UW coach Jedd Fisch, in fact, publicly declared that he expected 5-star incoming freshman Kodi Grreene to come in and become an instant starter as John Mills did last season at left guard.

On top of that, the Huskies signed Kolt Dierterich from Sam Houston State out of the transfer portal to compete for that job.

So McCree will head to the Palouse to finish up in the newly formed Pac-12 that will comes into place this coming fall.

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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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