UW Fresh Start (No. 19): McCutcheon Is Football Name That Can't Be Overlooked
Dyson McCutcheon wasn't more than a few minutes into his first University of Washington football practice last August when he became the first injury casualty.
The then-freshman cornerback pulled up lame while trying to cover wide receiver Terrell Bynum, presumably suffering some sort of hamstring strain though Husky injuries are never spelled out.
Either way, McCutcheon would be subjected to riding an exercise bike and gingerly reclaiming his football health over the next few weeks and ultimately submit to redshirt status.
Now it's a new season with a new coaching staff and there's a pressing need for two new UW starting corners after Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon declared for the NFL draft, where both could become first-round picks..
Enter McCutcheon, who's not the only Husky player to hail from a NFL family — consider also Adams, Bruener, Huard, Irvin, Memmelaar, Moore, Pelluer and Sirmon — but he brings one of the richest pro football lineages to the roster.
His grandfather is Lawrence McCutcheon, who went to five Pro Bowls and became the Los Angeles Rams' all-time leading rusher during a 10-year career that involved multiple teams, and his father is Daylon McCutcheon, an eight-year cornerback for the Cleveland Browns.
The third-generation McCutcheon finds himself as one of four California-produced defensive backs who were Husky newcomers last fall. Just one, Davon Banks, received game time before he, too, preserved his redshirt season.
The goal for all four, who also include Vincent Nunley and Zakhari Spears, will be to join the cornerback mix and see if they can become serious job candidates for Kalen DeBoer's staff. Speed certainly is a defining element for McCutcheon.
A month and a half until DeBoer's first spring practice as the newly installed coach, we're offering our intel and observations gathered on the UW football personnel in a series of stories on every scholarship player from No. 0 to 99. We'll review each Husky's previous starting experience, if applicable, and determine what comes next for him under DeBoer.
As is the case with any coaching change, it's a new football beginning for everyone, including the Huskies' No. 19 on defense.
McCutcheon last played in a regulation football game in 2019 as a junior for Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, California. He opted out of his senior season, which was delayed until last spring, which was big news for everyone in the high-school ranks back then.
Daylon McCutcheon, who serves as the Bishop Amat defensive coordinator, released a statement explaining his son's decision: "We've been debating this throughout quarantine, but I believe at this point it's in Dyson's best interest to focus on the next level. Therefore, he will not be playing for Amat this spring. I am disappointed because I don't believe the Amat fans actually got to see the best of Dyson, but we are fortunate for his time as a Lancer!!!"
A little smaller than the older generations of McCutcheons, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Dyson chose the Huskies over Arizona, California, Boise State and BYU. His grandfather played his college football at Colorado State, while dad was was an All-Pac-10 selection for USC.
It's now the son's turn to add to the football family tree exploits.
UW Starter or Not: McCutcheon should get a good look at cornerback, as will most of his fellow defensive-back classmates. He likely will be among the back-ups to the more experienced and polished candidates such as Jacobe Covington, Mishael Powell and Jordan Perryman. Yet the McCutcheon family genes someday should make him a Husky secondary mainstay.
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