The first thing Kalen DeBoer and his coaching staff did once they took over at the University of Washington was land a veteran quarterback. It was the highest priority.
In his opening news conference, DeBoer basically told everyone that his program would revolve around this position, that the Huskies would be QB-driven at all times.
They went out and coaxed Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr. to come to Montlake, almost before anyone else knew the guy was available.
While the short-team situation has been addressed with Penix operating as the UW’s No. 1 signal-caller entering Saturday’s game against Michigan State, backed up by holdovers Sam Huard and Dylan Morris, the long-term prospects for this Husky position remain far more intriguing than most people know.
It might not happen next season, but picture Huard and current UW commit Lincoln Kienholz from South Dakota eventually locked into a knock-down, drag-out competition for the starting job. That could be as competitive as it gets.
While he didn’t beat out Penix this time, Huard still has a 5-star arm, needing only to make better reads and decisions on a regular basis to satisfy DeBoer, his offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and the rest of the staff that he should be entrusted with the job.
In other words, the 6-foot-2, 193-pound Huard needs to become a finished product, and fully distance himself from the sloppy 4-interception baptism he received as a true freshman against WSU in the Apple Cup. The staff now seems to be working as hard on getting the lefty ready for the future as they are in preparing Penix for the present schedule.
However, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Kienholz, the competitive kid with the big arm from the Midwest, might not let Huard get too comfortable. A lot of Big Ten schools realized, maybe a little late in the process, what sort of prospect if not athlete this kid from Pierre, South Dakota, was once the Huskies offered him.
As outlined in this well-done, eight-minute video about Kienholz, put together by Midco Sports, the quarterback says, “Once that offer from Washington came in, that’s when all the Big Ten schools came in and it kind of blew up from there.” Watch the video to learn anything you ever wanted to know about Kienholz.
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Don’t think high school quarterbacks everywhere aren’t already noticing the offensive fireworks coming out of Husky Stadium. Keep it up, and every top-rated kid, especially in talent-rich California, will want to come play for DeBoer and Grubb down the line.
Who doesn’t want to run up 1,100 yards of total offense and convert 15 of 21 drives into instant points collectively on back-to-back Saturdays? What’s happening is akin to a big billboard telling top QB prospects they should come spend their college years at the UW.
This weekend, the Huskies are hosting 6-foot, 180-pound Willie Nickson III from Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, on an unofficial visit. This Bay Area kid is a dual-threat player from the Class of 2025.
Like everyone else, DeBoer’s staff already has extended scholarship offers to pass-minded SoCal quarterbacks Elijah Brown of Mater Dei, Julian Sayin from Carlsbad and Myles Jackson from Long Beach Millikan. All Class of 2024 prospects, all big-stat guys, each a highly desirable recruit.
While it’s unclear if the Huskies can contend for conference championships, playoff berths and high-level bowl games any time soon, the UW stands a much better chance of turning into a quarterback mecca right away. Just keep those nonstop yards and touchdowns flowing, and the quarterbacks will come.
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