Slowly but surely, the 30-Day Countdown is ticking away. Today, we take a look at UW’s transfer portal haul and determine which underclassmen will make the most significant impact.
Considering most of the transfers are upperclassmen, our options are slim, as the only two underclassmen are punter Luke Dunne (Oregon) and tight end Kade Eldridge (USC).
I won’t go the suspenseful route this time. My pick is Eldridge.
I find it interesting that Fisch and staff went and added another transfer punter after
already having Dunne on board. That other punter is Trevor Allen (Adams State), who joined the program in June. That job seems very much open, and it is tough to make an impact if you aren’t the starting punter.
Meanwhile, we know Eldridge won’t start at tight end. TE1 will be Decker DeGraaf, or at least he should be. However, Eldridge could climb his way to TE2 on the depth chart with an intense fall camp. He played 234 offensive snaps last season and saw just five targets, logging three catches for 19 yards. Riley’s offense doesn’t typically see great tight end production, so there’s hope that Eldridge’s numbers were a product of the system.
“I love everything in how tough he plays at the line of scrimmage,” TE coach Jordan Paopao said of Eldridge, via Dan Raley. “I love how he’s able to kind of maneuver in tight space and be able to catch some intermediate routes. I just think it’s toughness at the line of scrimmage and his ability and feel in terms of a lot of run fits. It’s been really, really cool to see him progress.”
Elsewhere in the tight end room, Quentin Moore is back for a final season. Ryan Otton recently retired after missing the three previous seasons. The other tight ends in the room are inexperienced and unlikely to see much time during the season.
“He hasn’t been able to get healthy since he’s been here,” Fisch said of Otton.
More from uwdawgpound.com:
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- Dots: Comeback Kids
- Friday Dots: Who are the Huskies’ top draft prospects for 2018?
- Dots: Ross inks Rookie deal with Bengals
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