6 Huskies We're Still Waiting On to See What They Have

Injuries or the depth chart have got in the way of these half-dozen players.

Redshirt freshman cornerback Caleb Presley slaps hands with fans. / Skylar Lin Visuals

A last-minute flip from Oregon, cornerback Caleb Presley was described by then University of Washington football coach Kalen DeBoer as that local player whose decision would surely convince other locally produced recruits to stay home.

Except two years later, Presley still hasn't appeared in a Husky game and DeBoer didn't even stick around to see how everything would pan out for the touted player from Seattle's Rainier Beach High School.

Unlike another Beach stalwart cornerback, Nate Robinson, Presley didn't start any games as a UW freshman; in fact, he never got on the field on Saturdays in his first year.

Different from yet another Rainier Beach alum, offensive guard Nate Kalepo, he likely won't make his UW debut as a redshirt freshman either.

Presley is one of six Husky scholarship players in their second or third seasons of college football who either haven't got any game time or just a sniff -- the others are redshirt freshman offensive tackle Elishah Jackett, redshirt freshman linebacker Hayden Moore, sophomore tight end Ryan Otton, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Armon Parker and redshirt freshman corner Curley Reed III.

In this day and age of the transient college player, it will be interesting to see how many of them patiently wait their turn for something to happen in Montlake or head somewhere else that looks more accommodating.

It's a bye week for the UW, which means the healthy members of this group will get more of a chance to show what they can do in practice, mixing in on the scrimmage plays.

"That's the fun thing about the bye week, that this is a great opportunity for our young players to see how good they can get," UW coach Jedd Fisch said. "We're going to do a lot more emphasis of good on good with our young guys and see what those guys look like."

CALEB PRESLEY

The 6-foot, 177-pound Presley finds himself backed up on the depth chart behind cornerback and nickelback starters in Ephesians Prysock, Thaddeus Dixon and Jordan Shaw, plus former starter Elijah Jackson, fellow redshirt freshman Leroy Bryant and even one-time Oregon transfer Darren Barkins.

"I think he's had good days of practice and some days that weren't as good," Fisch said of Presley. "He's going to see that he's got a chance."

Similar to the aforementioned Nate Robinson, Presley arrived at the UW with a lot of hype, rated as a 4-star player by the recruiting services. Unlike Robinson, he wasn't a polished player just yet and got beat a fair amount of time in scrimmage plays made available for media viewing.

With Dixon the only senior currently in the mix, Presley might have to be a lot more patient than originally planned.

"He's doing a really good job, I think, of trying to compete with those guys, as is Barkins, but it's going to be an everyday thing," Fisch said, "and they're going to have to be consistent in continue to improve."

HAYDEN MOORE

The 6-foot-2, 222-pound redshirt freshman linebacker from Parker, Colorado, was in a Michigan uniform for the CFP national championship game against the UW, then changed sides. While he hasn't appeared in a game for either the Wolverines or the Huskies, he was on the travel squad and dressed for the Iowa game.

Moore likely doesn't get a real chance to move up and compete for playing time until 2025 when Alphonzo Tuputala, Carson Bruener and Drew Fowler each have graduated and a call will go out for new linebackers.

"He's a young player that has a lot of potential to be a really good linebacker for us," Fisch said. "We're really excited that he chose to come here."

ELISHAH JACKETT

With the Huskies continually trying to patch together an offensive line full of young players this season, Jackett sticks out as one of the highest regarded recruits among the candidates. However, he's not appeared in a game in his two seasons. In fact, he didn't even dress for the home game against Michigan.

The biggest reason holding back this 4-star prospect from Orange, California, is he carries a 6-foot-7, 271-pound frame -- he struggles to put on weight and maintain it. He's a dozen pounds heavier than his freshman year, but likely could stand another 25-30.

"It's a grind," he said of his patient manner. "It's expected. I've played football my whole life and it's just the next step."

Curley Reed III runs through a cornerback drill. / Skylar Lin Visuals

CURLEY REED III

Similar to Presley, Reed arrived as a 4-star cornerback who has been stuck well down the depth chart. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound redshirt freshman from Lake Charles, Louisiana, did manage to play in a game though, drawing late snaps against Weber State in the season opener.

In his favor, he has a patient streak in him after going from touted Louisiana prospect as a sophomore to missing his junior year with a knee injury to restoring his recruiting efforts and signing with the Huskies as a senior.

"I've learned so much and I just think I've been getting better day by day," he said at the Sugar Bowl in his home state of Louisiana. "Whenever the opportunity comes, it comes."

ARMON PARKER

He's an identical twin, who unlike sibling Jayvon Parker, a fellow UW defensive tackle, hasn't got on the field on game day in three years and will miss his second entire season with yet another knee injury.

The previous coaching staff described Armon Parker as quicker than his well-utilized brother, who appeared in 26 games before suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon tear two weeks ago. Their dream of playing in a Husky game together has been put on hold at least until next fall.

"If me and my brother are on the field together, we can compete with each other so we can get back to the quarterback together — so we can cheer each other on being on the field together," Armon Parker said wistfully.

TE coach Jordan Paopao encourages Ryan Otton during spring ball. / Skylar Lin Visuals

RYAN OTTON

People hoped the younger brother of the great Cade Otton, the Huskies' one-time All-Pac-12 tight end who now plays in the NFL, would be a clonse one he got to Montlake. Ryan Otton came armed with glossier recruiting credentials, as a 4-star prospect compared to his sibling's 3 stars, and he currently carries a bigger frame than Cade at 6-foot-6 and 257 pounds, which is an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than the starter for the Tampa Bay Bucs.

All advantages or similarities end there. Ryan Otton pulled a hamstring muscle so severely in his first Husky practice it bothered him throughout his freshman season. He continued to have nagging issues that limited him to one game played in each of his first two seasons before he was ruled out of this season with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.

Otton will now wait for his fourth season to get healthy once more and try to launch his Husky career.

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