UW, UC Davis Share a Few Football Connections

The University of Washington and UC Davis will meet on the football field for the first time next Saturday night at Husky Stadium, but they've had a few people in common over the past decade.

Chris Petersen, Jordan Perryman and Roice Cleelend, for instance.

UC Davis ultimately sent Petersen, one of the school's most storied quarterbacks, to the coaching ranks and he directed the Huskies for six successful seasons through 2019 -- and took them to the College Football Playoff for the first time.

Perryman, a two-time All-Big Sky cornerback for the Aggies, transferred to the UW and became a starter in 2021 to help ease the loss of NFL-bound Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon, brought to town by Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff.

And, finally, former Husky legacy player Roice Cleeland, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound sophomore offensive guard, joined UC Davis for this season, accompanying his brother Treynor, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound freshman quarterback from Portland, to the Northern California school.

Petersen, 60, emerged from his hometown of Yuba City, California -- where he played for the Yuba City High Honkers -- and from Sacramento City College, to start at quarterback for UC Davis in 1985 and 1986.

It went well.

Petersen was at the offensive controls for 9-2 and 10-1 seasons, losing only to Boise State 13-9 in his first game and to North Dakota State 31-12 and to South Dakota 26-23, both in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

He was named 1986 team MVP and a first-team All-Northern California Athletic Conference selection, and inducted into the UC Davis Hall of Fame in 1993.

Chris Petersen celebrates s 2018 Apple Cup victory in Pullman. | James Snook-Imagn Images

As a senior, Petersen completed 250 of 354 passes for 2,965 yards and 23 touchdowns, with 8 interceptions. He came up with five 300-yard passing games, topped by a 29-for-37, 372-yard, 4-TD effort agaisnt Chico State.

As a junior, he hit on 191 of 279 passes for 2,590 yards and 19 scores, with 8 interceptions. He threw a 92-yard touchdown pass to teammate Frank Bispo against Humboldt State.

Petersen, of course, still lives in Bellevue, Washington, in coaching retirement, just a short car or boat ride from Husky Stadium.

Jordan Perryman of the Huskies chases down Washington State's Nakia Watson (25) in the 2022 Apple Cup. | James Snook-Imagn Images

Perryman, 26, played and started 10 games for the 11-2 Huskies. He suffered a leg injury in his first outing against Kent State and missed the next three games. Yet the cornerback was able to return, play through a couple more injuries and finish up strong in the Alamo Bowl in a 27-20 victory over Texas.

Going undrafted, Perryman went to training camp in 2023 with the Las Vegas Raiders, got waived, and joined the CFL's B.C. Lions and played in 10 games. This past summer, he was cut in training camp while trying to return for a second season in Vancouver.

Roice Cleeland hits the blocking sled for the Huskies in 2024 spring ball. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Cleeland, the son of former Husky and NFL tight end Cam Cleeland and from Vancouver, Washington, came to the UW as a walk-on player and spent a season with DeBoer's staff and another with Jedd Fisch's coaches.

While he didn't appear in a UW game, he was credited with helping get the Huskies through a trying and shorthanded 2024 spring football, pulling a lot of practice snaps when Fisch had just seven scholarship offensive linemen available.

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