How Last Year's UW Transfer Portal Players Have Fared Elsewhere

Twenty left Montlake to find fame and fortune, and maybe half of them did.

Former Husky defensive back Mishael Powell (0), now with Miami, breaks up a pass intended for Syracuse TE Oronde Gadsden II. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Twenty-one University of Washington football players are now in the transfer portal, with eight of them finding new teams to turn to.

From last year's national runner-up, 20 Huskies entered the portal and landed elsewhere and largely found the artificial surface was not always greener outside of Montlake.

Just two former UW players have really flourished on an individual basis after changing teams, with senior safety Mishael Powell receiving second-team All-ACC honors for Miami and senior cornerback Jabbar Muhammad doing the same in the Big Ten for Oregon.

Team-wise, ex-Husky Davon Banks, now a reserve cornerback for Boise State, and Muhammad each find themselves in the CFP playoffs, with their teams enjoying first-round byes and awaiting quarterfinal play this weekend against Penn State and Ohio State, respectively.

Ex-Husky cornerback Davon Banks chases after San Jose State wide receiver Justin Lockhart, who drops a pass. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Eleven of the Huskies who left after last season became starters for at least one game for their new teams, with seven becoming full-time starters.

Four players in safety Asa Turner at Florida (knee), cornerback Jaivion Green at Stanford (knee), offensive guard Geirean Hatchett at Oklahoma (biceps) and running back Will Nixon at Syracuse (foot) suffered season-ending injuries, with these guys playing anywhere from one to four games.

Hatchett, of course, has decided to return to Washington for his sixth and final college football season.

Of the Husky quarterbacks who transferred, of which there were three, Dylan Morris, a redshirt, a two-year Husky starter and a two-year back-up to Michael Penix Jr., saw his playing situation grow much worse by transferring to James Madison for a sixth and final season.

2023 UW TRANSFER PORTAL LOSSES (20)
Davon Banks, CB, Boise State	Played in all 13 games, started once; has 33 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 1 sack, 2 PBUs and a 70-yard interception return for a TD against San Jose State.
Germie Bernard, WR, Alabama	12-game starter; leads Crimson Tide in receiving with 46 catches for 714 yards and 2 TDs, the scores coming against Wisconsin and South Carolina.
Parker Brailsford, C, Alabama	12-game starter.
Julius Buelow, OG, Mississippi	Started 8 of 12 games, though coming off the bench for the last three; will finish up in the Gator Bowl against Duke on Jan. 2.
Josh Cuevas, TE, Alabama	12-game reserve; has 15 catches for 213 yards and 1 TD coming, the six-pointer coming against Wisconsin.
Jaivion Green, CB, Stanford	Started first 4 games and was lost for the season with knee injury against Clemson; finished with 17 tackles, forced fumble, fumble recovery and interception against Syracuse.
Austin Harnetiaux, LB, Nevada	Played in 13 games; had 44 tackles, 1.5 TFLs and a forced fumble for 3-10 team.
Geirean Hatchett, OG, Oklahoma	Played in 2 games, starting against Houston, before he was lost with season-ending biceps injury; will transfer back to Washington.
Anthony James, DL, Eastern Washington	Didn't appear in a game for Eastern Washington and re-entered portal.
Alex Johnson, QB	Started 12 games for Division II Tiffin (Ohio) and completed 241 of 357 passes for 2,954 yards and 27 touchdowns for 8-4 team.
Nate Kalepo, OG, Mississippi	Started all 11 games he played in, sitting out against Arkansas, and is Gator Bowl bound.
Jalen Klemm, OT, Arizona State	Redshirted for Sun Devils and hasn't appeared in any games while his team has advanced to the CFP quarterfinals.
Taeshaun Lyons, WR, Utah	Appeared in 4 games and had a catch for 4 yards.
Austin Mack, QB, Alabama	Made one appearance, completing 2 of 3 passes for 39 yards and a TD.
Dylan Morris, QB, James Madison	Appeared in 4 games and completed only pass he attempted for 6 yards.
Jabbar Muhammad, CB, Oregon	Started 13 games; has 36 tackles, half a TFL and 11 pass break-ups, while he returns to the CFP.
Will Nixon, RB, Syracuse	Played in 3 games; lost with season-ending football injury against Holy Cross, rushed 19 times for 80 yards.
Mishael Powell, S, Miami	Started 12 games; has 31 tackles, 2 TFLs, a sack and 5 interceptions, including 67-yard return against Florida and a 76-yard pick-6 against Wake Forest; will finish in Pop Tarts Bowl against Iowa State.
Asa Turner, S, Florida	Started and lost in opener to season-ending knee injury against Miami.
Griffin Waiss, TE, Stanford	Didn't appear in any games.

Morris appeared in just four games as a reserve and threw a solitary pass, completing it. Post Curt Cignetti, the Dukes finished 9-4 with a new coach and played last week in the Boca Raton Bowl, beating Western Kentucky 27-17, and the one-time Husky signal-caller didn't stir from the bench.

Austin Mack, who gave up his senior year at Folsom High School in California to join the UW in 2023, continued a patient development at Alabama with coach Kalen DeBoer. He appeared in just one game and threw a touchdown pass.

Encouragingly so, Alex Johnson, a local kid who walked on and redshirted in 2023 with the Huskies, showed up at Tiffin University, a Division II school in Ohio, and had a big year with 2,954 yards and 27 touchdowns passing while leading his team to an 8-4 record and a small-school bowl game.

DeBoer ended up taking four UW players with him to Alabama when he changed jobs and two of them, sophomore center Parker Brailsford and junior wide receiver Germie Bernard became starters, with Bernard leading the Crimson Tide in receiving with 46, while junior tight end Josh Cuevas and Mack came off the bench.

Germie Bernard pulls in one of his 46 catches against Auburn. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brailsford, a second-team All-Pac-12 center for the Huskies, went without accolades this season, with at least other SEC snappers rated hire than him.

The Huskies turned Crimson Tide players will play with their 9-3 team against Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year's Eve in Tampa, Florida.

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