Huard Returns to FBS Football, Will Transfer to Utah

The former University of Washington quarterback has two seasons of eligibility left.

Sam Huard looks a for a UW receiver. / Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Sam Huard, after a trip to the minors, is back in the big leagues.

On Tuesday, the former University of Washington quarterback and one-time 5-star recruit announced he will transfer to Utah, where he will have two seasons of eligibility remaining in the Big 12 Conference to live up all that hype that has followed him since he first began throwing footballs.

The son and nephew of former Husky and NFL quarterbacks Damon and Brock Huard, respectively this 6-foot-2, 200-pound left-hander heads for Salt Lake City after spending a season in the Big Sky Conference with a 3-8 Cal Poly team.

In nine games for the often overmatched Mustangs, Huard threw for 2,247 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging 249.7 passing yards per game that ranked second in the Big Sky.

Huard now heads to a highly competitive situation in which the Utes eagerly await the return of Cam Rising, their 2022 first-team All-Pac-12 QB and Pac-12 championship game offensive MVP, from a knee injury that forced him to sit out all of last season.

Utah also has four other quarterbacks on the roster in senior Luke Bottari, who started against Colorado last season; freshman Isaac Wilson, a 4-star recruit and Utah's Mr. Football; junior Macloud Crowton, who once played for Idaho; and sophomore Brandon Rose, who hasn't played in his two seasons.

In two seasons at the UW and following in the footsteps of his family members, Huard never really got his college career going. As a freshman, he backed up Dylan Morris in 2021 until starting the Apple Cup against Washington State and throwing 4 interceptions in a 40-13 loss, all of this coming after coach Jimmy Lake and offensive coordinator John Donovan were fired.

With a new Husky coach in Kalen DeBoer, Huard actually regressed as the new staff brought in Michael Penix Jr. from Indiana to run the offense, made Morris the back-up and moved Huard to a third-unit role. He appeared in just one UW game in 2022 and transferred.

Now he joins Kyle Whittingham's Utah football program, where he'll have to wait his turn behind Rising but surely will receive a fair shot to be the starter in 2025. Along the way, he will have the chance to learn from well-regarded offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, who has been the OC twice for Utah, and for Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, San Diego State, Oregon, Fresno State and, giving him and Huard a common denominator, at Cal Poly.

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