Culp Takes Big Gulp, Has to be Another Otton for the Huskies

The sophomore tight end must step up to replace his ill teammate.

Cade Otton had started at tight end in 27 consecutive games for the University of Washington, 30 overall, when the public-address announcer supplied the lineups for last weekend's game against California.

"At tight end, Devin Culp."

Huh?

Text messages immediately arrived in the Husky Stadium press box urgently asking the following: Where's Otton!?

For nearly four hours, which included an overtime period, the Huskies went with Culp, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound sophomore from Spokane, instead of their overly reliable All-Pac-12 tight end and fifth-year veteran.

The UW put its trust in Culp in a tense situation right away. 

Eleven plays into the game, the Huskies went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Cal 28. 

The results were Otton-esque: Culp caught an 8-yard pass over the middle from Dylan Morris, keeping the drive alive and leading to the UW's first score in the 31-24 victory. 

Culp finished with a team-leading 5 catches for 81 yards against the Bears, more than double his career receptions coming in as a reserve player.

Asked if the replacement starter enjoyed a breakout game, Husky coach Jimmy Lake disagreed with that assessment. He said Culp simply did what was expected of him. 

"He was doing his job, running the routes correctly, catching the football correctly, when the football was thrown to you in the strike zone, getting your hands on it and catching it, and blocking who you're supposed to be blocking and blocking the run game," said Lake, running through the position's myriad responsibilities. 

"He seized the opportunity, he did his job and he was definitely a game-changer for us."

Otton, who is recovering from COVID-19, according to a source, isn't expected back for Saturday night's game against Oregon State, putting Culp back in the limelight again. 

Even while missing the Cal game, Otton remains tied for second on the team with wide receiver Jalen McMillan in receptions with 13, six behind leader and fellow wideout Taj Davis. 

With the UW offense coming to life over the past two weeks, the top four receivers each have touchdown catches now: Davis (1), Otton (1), McMillan (2) and Terrell Bynum (2).

Culp should join them fairly soon. Like Otton and so many other UW tight ends before him, this new starter, with his size and athleticism, has been considered an NFL prospect since he first began pulling Husky snaps or maybe even when he initially walked on campus.

Entering the upcoming game in Corvallis, Culp has 7 catches this season for 93 yards. 

Mark Redman, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound freshman from Newport Beach, California, is the second tight end behind him now. If it escaped notice, Redman made his first career Husky catch against Cal with a 5-yarder midway though the third quarter. He, too, is expected to handle whatever is thrown at him, too. It's just a matter of playing when the time comes. 

That's what happened to Culp, who will be asked to do even more going forward.

"He's responded just like we thought he would," offensive coordinator John Donovan said. "Sometimes it's tough when you get a snap or some snaps here and there to get into your kind of rhythm personally. I think just being in the game just helped him out a bit to just lose himself in the flow of the game."

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