Decker DeGraaf Is Part of a Determined Husky Youth Movement

The tight end came ready to play from his first snap for Jedd Fisch's team.

Huskies tight end Decker DeGraaf catches a pass against Eastern Michigan. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Jedd Fisch makes it a point to tell potential recruits, media members, whoever will listen, that he is not afraid to play freshmen.

It's a program selling point for the coach with University of Washington football and before that Arizona, a constant topic of discussion, more than just hype.

While freshman Demond Williams Jr. has drawn plenty of attention for repeatedly quarterbacking the Huskies with games on the line and running and throwing for touchdowns, and first-year linebacker Khmori House came up with a game-saving tackle for loss at the goal line against USC, tight end Decker DeGraaf got this youth movement started this season.

For those who might have forgotten, DeGraaf scored on the very first play of his college career in the season opener against Weber State, hauling in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Will Rogers for a 14-0 lead in what would be a 35-3 victory.

"It was just awesome," he said while meeting with media for the first time this week, eight games later. "It was in the game plan so we knew it was probably going to come up and the coach gave me the shot and he trusted me with it. It was an awesome play, an awesome moment."

Yes, awesome would be the word of the day here, but that's to be expected when you're relying on so many freshmen to get the job done.

DeGraaf looks and talks young, but he's already grown into a 6-foot-3, 240-pound man who drew his second starting assignment against USC when the Huskies came out with a two tight-end alignment to begin the game.

His role expanded almost immediately with the Huskies when senior starting tight end Quentin Moore went down two quarters into the season with what appears to be a season-ending injury, requiring senior Keleki Latu to become the No. 1 guy at the position and DeGraaf to carry a much greater load than anticipated as the next guy up.

Decker DeGraaf celebrates his 33-yard touchdown catch on his first UW play. / Skylar Lin Visuals

"You've always got to be ready to fill the spot and and be ready to go in whenever," DeGraaf said. "I think all the hard work this offseason prepared me to be ready for the moment."

Scoring in his second Husky game as well, DeGraaf heads to Penn State for Saturday night's outing with 10 receptions for 182 yards and those 2 TDs, having definitely surpassed the maximum game time for redshirting.

He had committed to Kalen DeBoer's UW coaching staff, but was previously recruited by Fisch and his guys at Arizona, so there wasn't much of adjustment when the coaching change happened. Otherwise he's literally grown on his own, confident that nothing is too big for him to handle as a Husky football player.

Decker DeGraaf settles under Will Rogers' pass on his way to a 33-yard touchdown catch. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Against USC, DeGraaf was one of four freshmen or redshirt freshmen inserted in the starting lineup for the Huskies, joined by redshirt freshman offensive tackle Kahlee Tafai, making his first start; redshirt freshman safety Vincent Holmes, making his first start; and House pulling his fourth game-opening assignment.

With Williams and redshirt freshmen offensive linemen Soane Faasolo and Zach Henning pulling plenty of game time coming off the bench, they're all the building blocks for the UW football future, making the requisite adjustments.

"I think the speed of the game is way faster and there's a lot more going on and the complexity of the playbook is obviously a huge difference," DeGraaf said. "But our coaching staff is amazing and they have so much experience at a high level in the NFL, they just kept me at a high standard, pushed me every day and ultimately it got me ready to go early."

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