Inside The Huskies

Vines-Bright Latest Husky Reportedly Headed for the Transfer Portal

The freshman receiver started seven games for the UW and was considered integral part of the receiving corps.
Dan Raley|
Raiden Vines-Bright gets brought down by an Ohio State defender.
Raiden Vines-Bright gets brought down by an Ohio State defender. | Dave Sizer photo

The first seven University of Washington football players to reveal their intentions to see where the transfer portal would take them either were reserves or players who had lost starting roles this past season.

The eighth, however, will cut into the potential Husky starting lineup moving forward, with freshman standout Raiden Vines-Bright reportedly now transfer-bound, according to On3.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound pass-catcher from Tempe, Arizona, played in 12 games and started seven times.

Vines-Bright finished the season as the UW's fifth-leading receiver with 24 catches for 234 yards and a lone touchdown that came on a 3-yard scoring toss from Demond Williams Jr. in Saturday's 38-10 LA Bowl victory over Boise State.

Either the pulverizing Seattle rain finally got to him or a better football offer, with UW coach Jedd Fisch indicating before the bowl game that teams were openly talking to his players and trying to pry them loose.

Vines-Bright becomes the eighth UW player to choose to leave with sophomore wide receiver Audric Harris, sophomore linebacker Deven Bryant, senior nickelback Dyson McCutcheon, redshirt freshman center Davit Boyajyan, sophomore cornerback/nickel Leroy Bryant, junior defensive tackle Bryce Butler and sophomore safety Vince Holmes.

With the Huskies promoting a youth movement this past season, Vines-Bright was one of six true freshmen who started, and he was one of two first-year players who opened at wide receiver with Dezmen Roebuck.

Dezmen Roebuck (81) and Raiden Vines-Bright (7) were two of six UW freshmen who started this season.
Dezmen Roebuck (81) and Raiden Vines-Bright (7) were two of six UW freshmen who started this season. | Dave Sizer photo

If he had any complaints, he wasn't as frequently targeted as leading receiver Denzel Boston or Roebuck, even though all three of them each caught a touchdown pass against Boise State.

His season high was 4 catches against Illinois and he had four other outings of 3 receptions.

Vines-Bright also had a scary moment against Purdue, when he caught a ball, took a hit and was left sprawled on the Husky Stadium turf with a concussion.

He was taken away strapped to a stretcher by a Medic One emergency vehicle that drove onto the field and delivered to a hospital for further examination.

Vines-Bright started seven of the first nine Husky games, but none of the final four while dealing with his injury and sitting out against UCLA in favor of now departed sophomore Audric Harris, getting replaced for a second tight end twice in senior Quentin Moore or swapped out by senior Omari Evans.

Maybe he envisioned a bigger role in the passing game and that's why he's moving on.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Published
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.

Home/Football