Inside The Huskies

Huskies Add Oregon Tight End Who Plays Many Positions

Sam Vyhlidal comes from Beaverton, Oregon, and Mountainside High School.
Dan Raley|
Sam Vyhlidal has committed to the UW.
Sam Vyhlidal has committed to the UW. | HIgh School on SI

One look at Sam Vyhlidal, and the first question is this: Is he a linebacker or a tight end?

The next one is this: Is he a quasi running back or a safety?

And how about this: Is he merely very good or can he be great?

The University of Washington football team will have chance to address all of those lingering inquiries after pulling a commitment from the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Vyhlidal from Mountainside High School in Beaverton, Oregon, and the Class of 2026.

The best guess is he'll end up as a college tight end, further enriching a Huskies position that demands athleticism from those who play it as well as a certain physicality, which is why the school has so many of them in the NFL.

Vyhlidal's performance in the first round of the Oregon 6A playoffs was representative of what's possible for this versatile athlete.

In a 44-39 victory over Tualatin, he led his team in rushing with nine carries for 77 yards and 3 touchdowns, breaking a 30-yard score in the opening quarter. He also found the end zone on second-half runs of 4 and 10 yards.

If that wasn't enough, Vyhlidal scored the game-winner on a 40-yard catch on a fourth-and-1 play with 8:15 left to play.

Not bad for a guy who was named first-team all-state at linebacker for Oregon's highest level of football.

While a glance at his recruiting profile looked fairly modest, Vyhlidal posted that he was taking April visits to, in order, Texas A&M, Washington, Alabama and Oregon.

For his 8-3 team, the 3-star recruit posted season rushing totals of 57 carries for 415 yards and 3 touchdowns, 10 catches for 139 yards and 2 scores, plus 72 tackles, though it wasn't clear if those were final numbers.

If he is indeed a tight end, Vyhlidal will be the fourth to come to the Huskies from Oregon in two years, following redshirt freshman Charlie Crowell from Bend, freshman Austin Simmons from Albany and incoming freshman Baron Naone from West Linn.

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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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