The Story Behind Will Haskell's Transfer to the UW

On the day Kalen DeBoer established himself as the University of Washington football coach, with a decisive victory over Michigan State at Husky Stadium, Will Haskell and San Diego State went opposite ways.

Considered the Aztecs quarterback of the future, Haskell entered a scoreless road game at Utah that Saturday night as an injury replacement, took three snaps and unceremoniously was pulled from the game for a third QB.

The following Tuesday, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Haskell met with San Diego State coach Brady Hoke, apparently didn't like what he heard and quit the team with the season just three games old.

Haskell became the fourth scholarship quarterback to leave the Aztecs program in seven months, prompting media members to question Hoke's handling and development of quarterbacks.

"I think that's a bad statement by you and an unfair statement," an indignant Hoke told a reporter, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. "I think guys want to play and if they're not playing, they're not staying. And I get that."

On Wednesday, Haskell began his college football comeback by joining the Huskies for their first fall practice.

He wore No. 14, a jersey not claimed by a Husky scholarship quarterback since Eric Bjornson (1990-94). He will sit out as a transfer, with pandemic freebies a thing of the past. He looked extremely fast with the football in his hands on Wednesday, faster than Michael Penix Jr. and the rest of the UW signal-callers on hand.

"We were aware of who he was and his skill set," DeBoer said. "You think long term, [though] long term is relative, but beyond even this year. You see a guy who can compete."

Haskell earned the San Diego State backup job as a redshirt freshman in 2021, traveling all season and appearing in three games. He completed 4 of 7 passes for 47 yards, and rushed 6 times for 31 yards and a score — the points coming on a 7-yard run against a DeBoer-coached Fresno State team.

In his abbreviated 2022 season, Haskell played in just those first three games, backing up Virginia Tech transfer Braxton Burmeister and remaining ahead of freshman Kyle Crum in the rotation until that night Salt Lake City. He completed 3 of 6 passes for 11 yards in his short stint.

Haskell was summoned to play against Utah after Burmeister got poked in the eye. He handed off the ball twice and completed a short pass as the Aztecs went three-and-out. Crum replaced him for the rest of the game and San Diego State went on to lose 35-7.

When quizzed about the seemingly questionable handling of the Aztecs quarterback situation that night, Hoke pointed to Haskell's decision-making for him getting yanked, though three plays wasn't a whole lot to go on.

DeBoer described Haskell as athletic enough to become a wide receiver should he not work out as a quarterback, which is what happened to Bjornson three decades before at the UW, a move that enabled him to play in the NFL.

Yet moving forward, Haskell likely will compete with veteran Dylan Morris and newly arrived freshman Austin Mack for the starting quarterback job in 2024.

Before adding him to the team, DeBoer's coaching staff needed to build a relationship with Haskell and carefully check him out, apparently concerned that he had abandoned his team so early in the season over playing time.

"We asked him to do a few things before we'd have him here in the program," DeBoer said. "He met all of those steps."

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