13 Seniors Who Will Receive a Husky Stadium Send-Off —and How They've Done

This group is a mix of long-time starters, transfers and hopeful walk-ons.

Dan Raley | Nov 19, 2022

In this story:

Washington Huskies

One by one late Saturday afternoon, 13 University of Washington seniors will be announced and walk out of the tunnel at Husky Stadium accompanied by their parents or relatives. Some will shed a tear. All will probably feel nostalgic.

Then it will be time to turn their full attention to the 6 p.m. kickoff against Colorado, a last-place Pac-12 team this season that wasn't much better a year ago when it embarrassed the Huskies in Boulder.

Before the UW (8-2 overall, 5-2 Pac-12) gets to business in this final home on the schedule, we'll take a moment to tell you about these 13 guys who each played for Chris Petersen, Jimmy Lake and Kalen DeBoer.

They've experienced ultimate glory with big bowl games, a conference championship and last week's epic win over Oregon. They've suffered through trying moments from a pandemic-altered season in 2020 and an unexpected program crash and burn ignited by Lake's midseason firing in 2021.

"They've done so much, they've accomplished a lot," DeBoer said. "And then they've also got through COVID and a 4-8 season, and here we are 8-2 and it starts with these guys. It starts with their resiliency, their attitude and just how passionate they are about Husky football."

Some hardly played, others got hurt, still others are playing a sixth season of college football. That's a lot bumps and bruises along the way. A lot of practices in the rain and shivering cold.

Probably all 13 of these Huskies, no matter how much they played or excelled, will tell you it was all worth it. We break them down in alphabetical order:

13 DEPARTING HUSKIES

Henry Bainivalu, OG — This sixth-year player has appeared in 42 UW games, starting 28 consecutive outings, the latter figure more than any other teammate. He was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2020. He actually surprised DeBoer by returning for another season.

Cam Bright, LB — The Pittsburgh transfer has started all 10 games for the UW this season, with a top game of 10 tackles against Oregon State. He's a team captain. At Pitt, he appeared in 52 games and started 20 of them, giving him 62 college appearances altogether. He's been a stopgap replacement for the injured Edefuan Ulofoshio.

Alex Cook, S — He came to the Huskies as a wide receiver and started the 2019 Rose Bowl as a redshirt freshman against Ohio State. Making the move to safety, he's now collectively played in 50 career games and started 23 for the UW. He's a team captain this season. His leadership more than his pass-coverage abilities will be remembered most.

Gage Harty, ER — This 6-foot-4, 247-pound Spokane product joined the UW as a defensive lineman before switching to edge rusher. He's played five seasons and made his only game-day experience against Portland State earlier this season, giving him a lasting memory.

Peyton Henry, PK — This sixth-year player has been the No. 1 kicker for five seasons. He's converted 67 of 83 field goals, with a long of 50 yards against UCLA this season. His last-second kicks decided both the Oregon State and Oregon games over the past two weeks. He was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2019. He's been selected as the Pac-12 Special-Teams Player of the Week four times, three times this season. He's become a highly dependable player.

Brennan Holmes, WR — This Seattle product has played two seasons for the Huskies as a walk-on and an upperclassman. He got on the field for his first and only game appearance against Portland State. He caught a pass that day for 15 yards, likewise giving him a story to tell forever.

Jaxson Kirkland, OG — In his sixth season, and fifth as a starter, he's opened every game he's played for the Huskies at guard and tackle, which is 46 and counting. He's a team captain. He has no shortage of league honors, earning two-time, first-team All-Pac-12 and honorable-mention All-Pac-12 accolades. The son of former Husky offensive guard Dean Kirkland, he's been an exceedingly loyal player to the program. He'll be an NFL draft pick.

He's started parts of four seasons at right guard for the Huskies, including the past 28 consecutive games, the most by any player on the roster.

The former Pittsburgh linebacker has started all 10 games since arriving to basically replace an injured Edefuan Ulofoshio. He stands second on the team in tackles with 56 and has 4 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and an interception.

A 23-game starter over five seasons, Cook leads the Huskies in tackles with 65, which includes 2.5 tackles for loss. He doesn't have any pass-defense stats yet. He's a team captain and practically the team spokesman whenever needed, expected to lead a pregame huddle before each game.

The Spokane product has been a loyal soldier showing up for five seasons of Husky football and has a appeared in just one game in all that time. He switched positions from defensive tackle to edge rusher along the way.

A sixth-year Husky and five-year starting kicker, Henry has won the past two games with late field goals, beating Oregon and Oregon State in the closing seconds. He's been good on 67 of 83 attempts, converting on a personal-best 50-yarder at UCLA.

With the Huskies for just two seasons as an upperclassman, Holmes has played in one game, against Portland State earlier this season. He made the most of his big chance, catching a 15-yard pass that day.

The most decorated of all Huskies, the two-time, first-team All-Pac-12 offensive lineman is playing in his sixth season, and starting in his fifth. He's a team captain. After a slow beginning to the season because of an ankle injury, resulting surgery and dealing with petitioning the NCAA to play again, he's just now rounding into top form.

Luciano has played very position up front, including tight end back in his first season in 2019. Finally, he found a home as the starter at center this season for all 10 games. He was rewarded for his efforts against Oregon by being named Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week.

Martin came to the UW after spending three seasons with Texas A&M, where he was used as a reserve edge rusher and special-teams player. The Huskies have utilized him a lot more, namely making him a starter this season. Combined, he has 11 starts in 53 college games. Martin has collected 35 tackles, including 8 TFLs and 6.5 sacks this season. Earlier, he was named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week.

Always round the football on game day, the UAB transfer has made 34 tackles, all in a reserve role for the Huskies. At his previous stop, he was a two-time, first-team All-Conference USA selection. He has appeared in a whopping 61 games for his two college teams.

He came to Montlake shore up the Husky cornerback position, but has been beset by injuries, twice leaving games with injuries and not coming back. He's started 7 games and has made 26 tackles and registered a pass break-up. Overall, he's started 49 games for UC Davis and the UW.

An Idaho State transfer, his move to the UW hasn't gone the way he had hoped. He hasn't appeared in a game for the Huskies. As the backup to walk-on Jack McCallister, he travels with the team and shows up for every home game, but he doesn't play. He was the punter and sometimes place-kicker for four seasons for his Big Sky team and earned all-conference honorable-mention honors.

WAYNE TAULAPAPA :: Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports

The veteran running back transferred in from Virginia and was made an immediate starter. He's not flashy, rather he's extremely reliable and fairly productive. He's a team captain. He leads the Huskies with 546 yards rushing on 102 carries and has scored 8 touchdowns, both receiving and rushing.

Corey Luciano, C — He came to the Huskies as a junior-college transfer and was turned into a short-yardage blocking tight end. He's since filled in at tackle and guard, before DeBoer made him a center. He's started all 10 games this season and has appeared in 32 overall in four UW seasons. On Monday, he was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Oregon. He made patience pay off for him.

Jeremiah Martin, ER — Martin has had a career reawakening at the UW after leaving Texas A&M, becoming a full-time starter for all 10 games this season, and a starter in 11 of 21 overall outings. Prior to that, he appeared in 32 games for the SEC team as a reserve and special-teams player. He's a team captain and earlier this season was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. A change of scenery was the best thing for him.

Kris Moll, LB — The UAB transfer has played in all 10 games for the Huskies and continually supplied more and more production. At his previous stop, he started in 21 of 51 games and twice was named first-team All-Conference USA selection. Add up his school totals, and Moll has 61 college football games under his belt. Recently making big plays, the Pac-12 has been a bit of adjustment for him, but he didn't back down.

Jordan Perryman, CB — The hard-luck cornerback has started seven times for the Huskies and twice had to leave games with injuries and he missed three other outings altogether. He came to the UW from UC Davis, where he twice was named a first-team All-Big Sky selection. He played 42 games for the FCS team and started 34. If only he could have been healthy more of the season for the UW.

Kevin Ryan, P — Ryan arrived as a scholarship player at the UW from Idaho State, where he averaged 45.6 yards per punt and was named All-Big Sky honorable mention. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't beat out redshirt freshman Jack McCallister, a walk-on who plays without a scholarship. Ryan has been in uniform for every game but he hasn't got in a UW game yet. No doubt it's been tough for him.

Wayne Taulapapa, RB — After five seasons with Virginia, Taulapapa transferred to the UW to finish out his college career. The Honolulu product is a team captain who's started 9 of 10 games for the Huskies. He leads the team in rushing with 546 yards on 102 carries and has run for 7 touchdowns. He's also caught 20 passes for 199 yards and another score. Highly reliable, he's done everything the UW coaching staff expected from him.

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com or https://www.facebook.com/dan.raley.12

Follow Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @DanRaley1 or @UWFanNation or @DanRaley3

Published Nov 19, 2022

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.