Husky Portal Newcomers Seriously Still Have to Prove Themselves

Each UW transfer addition receives a hero's welcome before doing anything.

Enokk Vimahi comes to the UW from Ohio State. / UW

One of the drawbacks to the transfer portal -- and some of the people who size up the University of Washington football team are as shameless about this as anyone -- is that every new player who commits is fabulous.

Case in point is Enokk Vimahi, a Monday pick-up for the Huskies from Ohio State who immediately was described as a big get for the Huskies by one source and as someone who brings much-needed experience by yet another.

Except that the 6-foot-4, 310-pound Vimahi never really played all that much for the Buckeyes over five seasons, with his game time even getting sliced in half from 2022 to last season. He started one time for The Ohio State.

What these experts aren't telling you is this Hawaiian native, who graded out as a 4-star recruit in 2019 and drew 27 scholarship offers, hasn't yet lived up to his advance billing that made him so desirable to the Buckeyes, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC and even the UW way back when. Yet the hype never stops.

Vimahi still needs to come in and prove he deserves to start at offensive guard ahead of returning Husky spring players such as Zach Henning, Paki Fina, Kahlee Tafai, Gaard Memmelaar and Michael Watkins. Vimahi might find a golden opportunity awaits him in Montlake, where he can respond to coaches who will motivate him to jumpstart his career. Or he might end up sitting and watching. Perspective is everything here.

Two weeks ago, it was Logan Sagapolu who received a heroes' welcome in Seattle once revealing he would transfer to the UW from Miami. Similarly this offensive guard, who spent his first two seasons at Oregon before playing the past two at Miami, all for coach Mario Cristobal, started just one time in nine games in action for the Hurricanes.

The real kicker for the 6-foot-2, 340-pound Sagapolu is he informed others he might end up on the defensive line for the Huskies, manning a position he's never played before at the college level with a limited amount of transition time. That sounds like a reach. Yet, he was a great pick-up, according to overenthusiastic program observers.

Jayden Wayne, a 6-foot-6, 245-pound edge rusher who will transfer in from Miami, likewise is an interesting case. Not only does he have an enticing frame and brings a certain level of athleticism to the game, he's a local guy with a Tacoma address, which alone makes him extra special in the eyes of some people.

As a freshman, Wayne played in eight games for the Hurricanes and started just once, in the Pinstripe Bowl last December in a 31-24 loss to Rutgers. Not a bad start for a freshman. He proved far more advanced than former Husky edge rusher Anthony James, similarly a much-hyped 4-star, Class of 2023 defender and someone who recently departed Seattle after barely practicing let alone even suiting up or playing on game day.

Wayne's decision to return home to the Northwest was met with people loudly sounding trumpets and banging drums, whereas the Miami media corps instead wrote how Wayne finished up spring ball as the fourth-best edge rusher for the Hurricanes and, as a result, suggested he wasn't a crippling loss when he headed for the Northwest.

He very well could become a standout player for the Huskies, but it's still early in his career and development will be important for Wayne to succeed at a high level. In other words, he has to go out and earn it, and the UW has a lot of veteran edge rushers in his way right now.

Then there was 6-foot-6, 285-pound Chris Adams formerly of Old Dominion who was a 13-game starter last season and headed to the Huskies through the portal, receiving high reviews from the local literati nonstop, except for one analysis that pointedly questioned whether he was heavy enough to handle himself in the Big Ten.

Adams must have read the critique. On Monday, he backed out of his commitment to the Huskies and decided to forsake the Big Ten to play for Memphis in the American Athletic Conference, somewhat of a career retreat but maybe the best place for him, all things considered. He appears to be a realist.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington