UW Welcomes 11 Football Scholarship Additions Over the Weekend
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Their fellow students don't arrive for until September, but 11 incoming University of Washington football players showed up over the weekend to launch their Husky careers.
The newcomers included seven freshmen, three portal transfer players and a junior-college pick-up, plus five assorted walk-ons.
They have less than six weeks to get acclimated to the university and athletic facilities, and be ready to join in Kalen DeBoer's fall camp, which begins the first week of August.
New faces are true freshmen in wide receiver Denzel Boston, tight end Ryan Otton, safety Tristan Dunn, cornerback Jaivion Green, edge rusher Lance Holtzclaw and twin defensive linemen Armon and Jayvon Parker; transfers in linebacker Kris Moll (UAB), wide receiver/running back Will Nixon (Nebraska) and running back Wayne Taulapapa (Virginia); and a JC transfer in defensive lineman Sekai Afoa-Asoau (College of San Mateo).
They were joined by walk-on players such as Bellarmine Prep defensive back Tristan Warner, who is shown with the other Tristan, Dunn, in an accompanying photo.
Of the freshmen, the 6-foot-4, 188-pound Dunn from Sumner, Washington, might be the most physically ready to draw game time this fall, especially with DeBoer's staff introducing a new secondary position called the Husky, which is a hybrid safety and linebacker role.
The arriving freshmen will join first-year offensive lineman Parker Brailsford, who graduated from his Arizona high school early and took part in spring practice in April.
Among the transfers, the Huskies have gone heavy on adding running backs. Taulapapa and Nixon will join Aaron Dumas, formerly of New Mexico, who took part in spring drills. Expect one or two of them to play a lot immediately.
Moll beefs up a linebacking corps that added Cam Bright, formerly of Pittsburgh, who came to Seattle in the spring. Moll was a 21-game starter at UAB, Bright a 20-game starter for his ACC team, and both are ready-to-play defenders.
Afoa-Asoau becomes the second JC player added to the roster, joining linebacker Demario King, who was a spring participant. Each should stands a good chance to play right away, likely as reserves.
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