Inside The Huskies

Moczulski Goes From Illinois to UW Back to Illinois

The Spokane product spent just the 2025 season at the UW kicking off.
Dan Raley|
Next kicker Ethan Moczulski (37) is shown with punter Trevor Allen (38), kicker Grady Gross and snapper Ryan Kean (33).
Next kicker Ethan Moczulski (37) is shown with punter Trevor Allen (38), kicker Grady Gross and snapper Ryan Kean (33). | Dave Sizer photo

Playing in the Apple Cup for the University of Washington football team, Ethan Moczulski found himself 75 miles from Spokane, just a quick jaunt up US 195 from Pullman to his hometown.

Yet this week, the machinations of the transfer portal have sent the well-traveled place-kicker to Illinois -- for a second time.

It's funny how all this works now.

On Wednesday, Moczulski signed with the Illini, the team he played for in 2024.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound senior left the Huskies because he wants to be more than a kickoff man only -- which is how he's spent much of his college career -- and apparently he couldn't get any assurances that would happen at the UW following the graduation of Grady Gross and the portal addition of Tyler Robles from Texas State.

Here's how crazy all of this team swapping is, especially for this particular Northwest-produced kicker.

Moczulski is joining Illinois as a replacement for David Olano, for whom he backed up in his previous stint there.

Olano left the Illini immediately following the Music City Bowl, where he kicked a game-winning 29-yard field goal to beat Tennessee 30-28 at the end.

Olano signed with Texas A&M -- where Moczulski played in 2022 and 2023.

Moczulski kicked off 74 times for the Huskies this past season, this after performing this same duty 70 times for Illinois the season before.

What he's trying to do is make a break-through as a full-service kicker, which hasn't happened for him.

In four seasons, Moczulski has attempted just two field goals for Illinois -- yet making a 59-yarder against Central Michigan -- and just one extra point for Texas A&M.

While he certainly has a big foot, he no doubt has accuracy issues that have held him back at three different schools in the Big Ten and SEC so far.

Yet Illinois seems open to giving him another opportunity in his final college season to win its kicking job.

At the UW, Robles, who was 19 for 21 at Texas State, will enter as the No. 1 kicker, with new punter Hunter Green from San Diego State fully capable of kicking off the tee, as well.

At Colorado State, Green kicked a dozen field goals over two seasons, making 50- and 53-yarders.

Pivoting to San Diego State in 2025, Green handled all punting chores and also kicked off 20 times for the Aztecs, which makes him a candidate ... to replace Moczulski at the UW besides doing his other job.

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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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