Five-star freshman Sam Huard makes first career start for UW in Apple Cup

Washington Huskies five-star quarterback Sam Huard made his first college start Friday evening against Washington State at Husky Stadium.

The game result wasn’t in UW’s favor — WSU took home the Apple Cup for the first time since the 2012 season, and posted its biggest margin of victory in the rivalry series with a convincing 40-13 win.

Huard finished 17-of-31 passing for 190 yards and tossed his first touchdown, but also threw four interceptions in the loss.

“The guy’s crushed not to win, but he’s not crushed in terms of spirit and quarterback play and all of that,” UW interim head coach Bob Gregory said postgame. “He’s going to be a really good player for the UW.”

Gregory noted the Huskies were looking for a spark in starting Huard, who played nearly every snap of UW’s 10 offensive series.

“I think he showed some flashes,” Gregory said.

Huard connected with seven different receivers — Rome Odunze led the Huskies with three catches for 69 yards and a touchdown, while Ja’Lynn Polk had two catches for 41 yards and Jalen McMillan three catches for 31 — multiple times during the contest.

He completed a few passes that were reminiscent of the throws he made during his record-setting career at Kennedy Catholic High School.

Notably, his 29-yard throw down the sideline to Polk in the second quarter, the 55-yard completion to Odunze that gave the Huskies a quick red zone opportunity in the third, and his first career touchdown pass on a 16-yard toss that Odunze pulled in with one hand in the fourth.

“Obviously it’s just something that he’s going to learn from,” Huskies sixth-year tailback Sean McGrew said of Huard’s first start. “I don’t think it’s going to affect him and he’s never going to come back from it. I think he’s going to come back 1,000 times stronger and I don’t think he’s ever going to lose another Apple Cup.

“I think this will be his first and only Apple Cup loss and for him to come in as a freshman in the middle of a chaotic season and try to come in and win a game is definitely tough. But, that dude’s a baller and he’s going to be a baller, and regardless, I’m always riding for Sam and I’m excited for his future.”

Huard’s first start was three years after he committed to UW on the day of the Apple Cup in 2018.

Questions about how or if Huard might be featured in the Huskies’ season finale have swirled since last weekend’s loss to Colorado, which eliminated the program from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2009.

Huard had played five series across three games this season prior to Friday — against Arkansas State, Arizona State and Arizona — meaning he will preserve his redshirt season.

Gregory didn’t give any hints earlier in the week about who might start for UW against WSU, but since it was guaranteed to be the program’s season finale, it certainly seemed possible Huard might get the nod to gain more experience in his final game as a true freshman.

He took snaps pregame from starting center Luke Wattenberg for the first time this season, indicating he would be making his first career start. Huard was announced as the starter to a loud roar from the crowd gathered at Husky Stadium.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan Morris, a Graham-Kapowsin product, had started each of the Huskies’ past 15 games dating back to last season’s opener against Oregon State.

“He is a true competitor,” Gregory said. “I couldn’t be more proud of Dylan. He was (Huard’s) biggest fan and biggest cheerleader all week.”

In his second season as UW’s starter, Morris completed 220-of-363 passes for 2,458 yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions through 11 games. Morris ranked 10th in the Pac-12 in completion percentage (60.6), sixth in passing yards per game (223.5), tied for fifth in touchdowns and was leading the conference in interceptions entering Friday’s game.

Huard was 5-for-11 passing for 51 yards in his 35 offensive snaps entering the day. He made his college debut in the Week 3 rout of Arkansas State, playing 11 snaps, and completing 2-of-5 passes for 31 yards on a drive that resulted in a field goal. He played seven more snaps during the Week 8 win at Arizona, his one pass attempt falling incomplete. He played a career-high 17 snaps during the loss to Arizona State in Week 11, finishing 3-for-5 for 20 yards on his three drives.

Huard, considered the top pro-style quarterback in the nation in the 2021 class by 247Sports.com, enrolled at UW this spring, a day after rewriting the state’s record book. In his final high school game with Kennedy Catholic last spring, Huard broke the state’s career passing record, throwing for 514 yards and eight touchdowns in a win over Kentwood.

Huard finished his four-year career completing 847-of-1,356 passes for 13,226 yards and 153 touchdowns in 35 games, passing current NFL quarterback Brett Rypien’s previous record for career passing yards. Huard’s career completions and touchdowns each rank third in state history.

He was the Class 4A North Puget Sound League player of the year his senior season, and was a three-time first-team pick in the league at quarterback, including being named the 4A NPSL Mountain offensive back of the year his sophomore and junior seasons.

Huard was named the 4A state player of the year by the Associated Press his junior season, when he guided Kennedy Catholic to the state quarterfinals and threw for a state-best 4,172 yards.

He was a three-time TNT All-Area selection during his high school career, including being named the player of the year as a senior, and was a member of the 2021 Northwest Nuggets and Western 100 classes.

Huard followed his father Damon and uncle Brock — both former UW quarterbacks — in continuing his career with the Huskies.