The Race is On: Will Huskies' Porter Hold or Punt? Or Do Both?
It's hard to say whether Race Porter considers his hands or his foot more valuable to him as a University of Washington football player.
As a walk-on from Seattle's O'Dea High School, he's made a nice career for himself as a special-teams jack of all trades.
Porter has used his sure hands to get on the field as a holder for 37 games, turning the laces in the right direction for three different kickers.
His strong right foot has enabled him punt 22 times in reserve, rocketing three of his boots 56, 58 and 63 yards.
Out of a kicking formation, he has one carry for a yard and one tackle. He does it all, if only in very small doses.
Barring any clock hurry-up situation, he sees the field only on fourth down.
Porter has been a flawless holder and, considering his distance, possibly the best back-up kicker in college football.
As he enters his senior season at Washington, what more could a guy want?
For starters, Porter likely would welcome a full season as the starter at punter. To make that happen, he would have to beat out newcomer Triston Brown, who has been advertised as the nation's No. 1 junior-college punter though he hasn't played since 2018.
"We're just trying to give Race a chance to do something different and give the returners something that's hard to handle," Bob Gregory, the UW special-tems coach, said of Porter's punting prospects.
In his overly creative Husky career, Porter has been one of four players called on to punt, taking his turns among two-and-a-half-season starter Joel Whitford, who's used up his eligibility; and departed quarterbacks Jake Browning and Jacob Eason, who performed the occasional and proverbial pooch kick.
Porter pulled eight games as the UW's No. 1 punter in 2018 when Whitford was hobbled by a persistent injury. He averaged an admirable 41.9 yards per kick on 18 of them.
While he has sufficient distance, Porter's drawback has been his a frequent propensity to launch the line-drive kick, which is a death knell for coverage teams.
He came to the Huskies from O'Dea High, where was he close friends and teammates with Myles Gaskin, who became the UW's all-time leading rusher and now plays for the NFL's Miami Dolphins.
Always a versatile athlete, Porter and Gaskin teamed up on their high school 4x100 relay team to finish second in state. Porter played on an O'Dea basketball team that finished second in state. And he caught 24 passes and punted for the football team.
Over the past year, Porter has brought attention to his personal struggles with depression and anxiety, prompting him to create a Heart On My Sleeve (HOMS) T-shirts and donating proceeds to organizations treating these maladies.
Personal issues aside, he's definitely a get-it-done multi-tasker.
So which is it? Holding? Or Punting?
One thing to remember is Porter is the only one on theWashington football team who doesn't get in trouble when he gets called for holding.
SUMMARY: If he could get a little more hang time on a consistent basis, JC transfer Triston Brown might be forced to redshirt.
GRADE (1 to 5): Porter gets a 3. His range of talents has made him a valuable special-teams player for the Huskies.
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