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Huskies Take Aim at Surfing Tight End from SoCal, Make Offer

Ryner Swanson visited Montlake during spring practice last year.
Dan Raley|
Huskies Take Aim at Surfing Tight End from SoCal, Make Offer
Huskies Take Aim at Surfing Tight End from SoCal, Make Offer

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Washington Huskies

Ryner Swanson has the Laguna Beach address, the blond hair going on and a surfboard under his feet when he feels so inclined.

Yet this Southern California teenager likewise brings a great deal to the table on land, as a high school football tight end who recruiters everywhere are vying for his attention.

On Wednesday, the University of Washington football staff made a scholarship offer to the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Swanson, giving him 19 in all. Kalen DeBoer's coaches hosted him last April during spring football practice and he took the tour and participated in all of the photo publicity shots.

What everyone sees in him is a 4-star Laguna Beach High recruit who Rivals just ranked as California's top tight-end prospect for 2024 and the nation's No. 10 at his position.

Big and athletic, he's piled up impressive receiving numbers in two seasons. Swanson caught 83 passes for 952 yards and 12 touchdowns this past fall for his 11-4 Laguna Beach team appropriately nicknamed the Breakers. The year before, he had 45 receptions for 586 yards and 6 scores.

"I love scoring touchdowns and definitely see myself as a receiving tight end, but I'll do whatever the coaches want me to do," Swanson said.

His Twitter account shows him making the rounds at places such as Alabama, Ohio State and USC, so it might be difficult to see him in a UW uniform some day. 

Besides the surfing on Lake Washington leaves a something little to be desired, though Husky rowers have no complaints about the local waterways.

After looking at the above video of Swanson riding some waves, his money path is definitely on the football field. No one's going to call him Moon Doggie any time soon.

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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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