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Arizona Kicker Will Join Huskies as Walk-on

Grady Gross was part of an Arizona 5A state championship team.
Dan Raley|
Arizona Kicker Will Join Huskies as Walk-on
Arizona Kicker Will Join Huskies as Walk-on

Grady Gross will do it the way that Chuck Nelson, Jeff Jaeger and Peyton Henry begin their University of Washington football careers — as a walk-on kicker.

If he mirrors their efforts, he'll have a scholarship in no time and plenty of follow-up success.

On Wednesday, while the UW and other schools were promoting their newly signed players who will be paid for, Gross took part in a ceremony held for him at Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Gross signed paperwork that will make him part of Kalen DeBoer's football program, though initially unfunded.

This is how Henry, a four-year starter entering his final UW season, started out Same for Nelson and Jaeger, who became first-team All-Americans and NFL players.

Gross will time his arrival to back up Henry for this coming fall season and, if all goes well, replace him in 2023.

Possibly with a scholarship in hand.

At 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, the Horizon Huskies kicker used his powerful right leg to connect on 20 of 23 field goals in his schoolboy career, was perfect on all 120 of his extra-point kicks and registered touchbacks on 82 of 126 kickoffs. He also averaged 45.7 yards as a punter.

This past season alone, Gross converted 12 of 15 field goals, with a long of 52 yards, in helping Horizon capture a 5A state championship. A month ago, he appeared in the Under Armour All-American Game in Orlando, Florida.

There was some early confusion as to his status when he committed to the Huskies in early January. A recruiting website listed him as holding scholarship offers from Mississippi State, Syracuse and the UW.

Regardless, Gross is going from one Husky team to another. 

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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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