Huskies notes: UW defensive lineman enters transfer portal; outside linebacker says he’s not entering draft
The transfer portal continues to turn across college football.
And in Seattle.
Since the conclusion of the 2021 season, and after coaching changes were made at Washington, four Huskies with playing experience have entered the transfer portal in search of a new destination.
Two — starting defensive lineman Sam Taimani and outside linebacker Cooper McDonald — played significant snaps on defense this fall. Two more — wide receiver Sawyer Racanelli and tight end Mark Redman — appeared on both offense and special teams.
The Huskies have also received two commitments from the transfer portal this week which would add to both their quarterbacks room and their secondary.
And they still have time remaining before this recruiting cycle closes to fill any gaps that impact their roster depth.
Defensive tackle Sam Taimani, a regular starter for UW the past two seasons, announced Thursday via Twitter he would enter the transfer portal, becoming the most recent Husky to depart.
Taimani appeared in 29 games during his four seasons with the Huskies, including starting 14 in the past two seasons.
This fall, he started 10 of the 11 games he played in, and played 530 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He also led UW’s defensive line in total tackles (41), while also added two tackles for losses, two passes defended and a fumble recovery.
Taimani was considered a four-star recruit from East High School (Utah) in the 2018 class. He departs with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
He also joins the three former Huskies from the 2020 class — McDonald, Racanelli and Redman — who announced their plans to transfer earlier this month.
McDonald announced his departure after two seasons, in which he appeared in 16 games, including starting 10 this fall, playing 436 defensive snaps, per PFF, and compiling 26 tackles, including 5 1/2 for losses and 1 1/2 sacks.
The former three-star recruit from Northwest (Texas) committed to San Diego State, where his older brother Caden is also a linebacker, two days later.
Redman announced Friday afternoon he will also join the Aztecs.
In his two seasons at UW, the former four-star recruit from Corona del Mar (Calif.) played in all 16 games, including starting once this fall. He played 182 snaps between offense and special teams this fall, per PFF.
Racanelli, a former standout receiver and two-time state champion at Hockinson, appeared in 13 games for the Huskies the past two seasons. He primarily played special teams and played 164 snaps in 11 games this fall, per PFF.
Two more former UW players who entered the transfer portal during the season have also now signed elsewhere. Inside linebacker M.J. Tafisi signed with Utah State on Wednesday, while kicker Tim Horn is headed to Rice.
While four players have departed the program through the transfer portal in December, two have also committed this week.
Former Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. — who has spent the past four seasons with the Hoosiers and appeared in 20 career games — announced his commitment to the Huskies on Tuesday.
In Seattle, Penix would reunite with new Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer, who was Indiana’s offensive coordinator his redshirt freshman season in 2019.
During four seasons at Indiana, Penix has a 59.4% completion percentage for 4,197 yards and 29 touchdowns to 15 interceptions, and six rushing touchdowns.
His addition would also bolster a UW quarterbacks room that currently includes only two scholarship passers in Dylan Morris and Sam Huard.
The Huskies secondary received a commitment Wednesday from former UC Davis corner Jordan Perryman.
In his fourth season with the Aggies this fall, Perryman finished with 63 tackles, including 2 1/2 for losses, one interception, 12 pass breakups, one forced fumble and two recoveries.
UW LINEBACKER ‘WILL NOT BE ENTERING THE DRAFT THIS YEAR’
Huskies All-American outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui announced Friday afternoon on social media he will not enter the 2022 NFL Draft.
“Back home on the islands,” he wrote on Twitter. “Done with school and time to enjoy the holidays with family. For those wondering, I will not be entering the draft this year. Thank you for your patience with these decisions.”
Though, whether or not that means a return to UW for the junior, who is entering his fifth college season, is still to be seen.
Shortly after his first message, Tupuola-Fetui posted another tweet.
“Definitely a bigger decision to be made,” he wrote.
Tupuola-Fetui was an All-American and All-Pac-12 selection during the shortened 2020 season, finishing as the FBS leader in sacks per game with seven in UW’s four games, and was primed to build on that production until an Achilles injury sidelined him during spring practices.
He returned to the field for the Huskies sixth months later, making his season debut against UCLA in October, and appeared in five games during the 2021 season before missing the final two with an unrelated injury. He played 130 defensive snaps this season, per PFF.
RECRUITING UPDATES
Five recruits in the 2022 class — including Liberty (Nev.) wide receiver Germie Bernard, Tumwater tight end Ryan Otton, Saguaro (Ariz.) offensive lineman Parker Brailsford, Desert Ridge (Ariz.) outside linebacker Lance Holtzclaw and Emerald Ridge wide receiver Denzel Boston — officially signed with the Huskies during the early period on Wednesday.
Could the Huskies add more signees before the final window for this incoming class closes in the spring?
“It’s going to be a small class,” DeBoer said. “There’s just not a lot of spots to fill. Looking at the class moving forward, I think we’re in a really good place going into January leading into February signing day, with laying a foundation with a few guys that we’ll work hard to get, who we see as guys who can help us in our program.
“I think we’ll also continue to evaluate once we really get to be around our team in January. … Then we can make some more decisions on exactly the holes we need to fill and the areas where we identify needs.”
DeBoer did identify quarterback, linebacker and cornerback as positions where the Huskies could seek more depth.
Asked if there is a target number for this class, DeBoer estimated about 15 players between high school additions and transfers.
Beyond the five recruits who joined the Huskies this week, some of the former commits in this class are officially headed elsewhere.
UW has had eight players decommit from its 2022 class in the past year — including four since UW moved on from former coach Jimmy Lake in November — and of those eight, five signed with Power Five programs during the early signing period this week, and another with an FCS school.
Three-star East (Utah) defensive lineman Ben Roberts, and teammates in three-star Liberty (Nev.) outside linebacker Anthony Jones and three-star Liberty (Nev.) defensive lineman Sir Mells all signed with Oregon.
Three-star O’Dea offensive lineman Mark Nabou signed with Texas A&M, and three-star San Joaquin Memorial (Calif.) defensive back T.J. Hall signed with Iowa, while three-star La Jolla (Calif.) quarterback Jackson Stratton is headed to Colorado State.
Two South Sound products have also decommitted, though neither have announced where they are headed.
Graham-Kapowsin three-star offensive lineman Vega Ioane, who won a Class 4A state title with the Eagles this fall, decommitted last week.
He also took an official visit to Minnesota last weekend, and holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, California, Colorado, Florida Atlantic, Oregon State, UCLA, UNLV, USC and Washington State.
Lincoln three-star tight end Chance Bogan also decommitted last week, and picked up an offer from WSU the following day, adding to offers from Colorado, Nevada, Oregon State, Tennessee and Utah.
EXTRA POINTS
▪ UW added four more assistants to its 2022 coaching staff Friday morning, including two who return to the program in wide receivers coach Junior Adams and offensive line coach Scott Huff, and two newcomers in tight ends coach Nick Sheridan and defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield.
These four join offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, cornerbacks coach Julius Brown and director of player personnel Courtney Morgan, who also joined the program this month.
There are four remaining assistant roles that have yet to be announced — defensive coordinator, and the running backs, linebackers and safeties coaches.
▪ The Pac-12 announced its 2022 schedule Thursday, including the Huskies’ full 12-game regular season set.
Notably, UW opens its season on Sept. 3 with four consecutive home games against Kent State, Portland State, Michigan State and Stanford.
The Huskies also host Arizona, Oregon State and Colorado.
They play UCLA, Arizona State, Cal, Oregon and Washington State on the road, with the rivalry game against the Ducks set for Nov. 12 and the Apple Cup set for Nov. 26.
This story was originally published December 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Huskies notes: UW defensive lineman enters transfer portal; outside linebacker says he’s not entering draft."
