Inside The Huskies

Where's Audric? Harris Merely Was Trying To Redshirt

The Husky wide receiver sat out trying to preserve another year of eligibility.
Dan Raley|
Huskies wide receiver Audric Harris (13) had 29 and 61 yard catches against Purdue.
Huskies wide receiver Audric Harris (13) had 29 and 61 yard catches against Purdue. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

After all this time, Audric Harris was simply doing what his linebacker teammate Jacob Manu is attempting to do -- purposely sit out in an effort to redshirt and gain another season of eligibility.

University of Washington coach Jedd Fisch revealed as much about his sophomore wide receiver from Las Vegas following the Huskies' 49-13 victory over Purdue on Saturday in Montlake.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Harris made everyone wonder where he's been after catching 2 balls for 90 yards against the Boilermakers, including a 61-yard touchdown throw -- the UW's longest pass play of the season.

"We made a decision with Audric that we were going to let him play three games and then save a fourth if we needed it, and still have an opportunity for him if he chose to use this year as a redshirt year," Fisch explained. "With the injury to Denzel [Boston], it was the week we could call on Audric."

So now what?

Harris has played in his four-game maximum allowance to preserve the year, with regular-season outings against UCLA and Oregon remaining, and the Huskies' receiving corps greatly thinned down with injuries to freshman Raiden Vines-Bright against Purdue and Boston the week before at Wisconsin.

Vines-Bright was taken off the field in a Medic One emergency vehicle with what appeared to be a collarbone injury, though no official determination was offered.

Boston, a junior, leads the UW with 52 catches for 730 yards and 8 touchdowns and is dealing with a severe ankle sprain.

"With the injury to Denzel, it was the week we could call upon Audric," Fisch said. "Audric has been phenomenal."

As a freshman in 2024, Harris appeared in eight games and caught a pass against Iowa for 9 yards and another for 8 yards against Louisville in the Sun Bowl.

This season, the Huskies used him throughout the non-conference part of the schedule against Colorado State, UC Davis and Washington State before sitting him down in the effort to redshirt him.

He has 4 catches for 100 yards in his limited time on the field this season.

Now everyone will have a tough decision to make on his eligibility push if the Huskies are without Boston and Vines-Bright going forward.

"He's done a great job of being ready," Fisch said. "We called upon him, we needed him and he's done a great job for us."

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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.

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