Husky Long Snapping Hasn't Been a Snap So Far

The position appears to be in competition after early struggles. for multiple players.

Caleb Johnston (82), shaking hands with punter Jack McCallister, is in the mix to handle the UW long-snapping duties. / Skylar Lin Visuals

For all of the things that have gone right for the University of Washington football teams in two outings, long snapping has not been one of them.

On special teams, the Huskies have had a ball bounce to their punter and two others so off target a punt and an extra point were blocked.

Consequently, this role has gone back into competition, with sophomore walk-on Caleb Johnston making his UW football debut against Eastern Michigan while Colorado transfer Cameron Warchuck handled the first and final opportunities.

"With Caleb Johnston, he was snapping the ball well all week," UW coach Jedd Fisch said of the player's promotion. "We were having no issues. It was coming back with good speed, good velocity, It was hitting his point."

The 6-foot, 243-pound Warchuck, a junior from Norco, California, came to the Huskies over the summer after leaving Colorado, where he handled the snapping duties for Deion Sanders' team 'for all 12 games in 2023 and in four outings in 2022.

Johnston, took over at midstream in Saturday's game after Warchuck delivered three punt snaps, with the first one making Jack McCallister jump for it and then have his kick blocked, putting Eastern Michigan on the UW 32 for its first series.

A 5-foot-11, 221-pound sophomore from Ripon, California, Johnston is in his third season in the Husky program. He replaced Warchuck and delivered three consecutive clean snaps on extra points before his fourth made McCallister reach for it and Grady Gross' kick attempt subsequently was blocked.

Warchuck returned near the end of the third quarter and snapped the ball cleanly for Gross' 28-yard field goal.

Long snapper Cameron Warchuck came to the UW from Colorado. / USA TODAY Sports

So it appears whoever can settle down and consistently hit the mark on this special-teams responsibility will move forward for the Huskies.

For the four previous seasons, long snapping had been fairly automatic for the UW with Jaden Green preforming this duty almost flawlessly. In fact, the Arizona native was so athletic he caught a two-point conversion pass against Tulsa last season. Green had a season of eligibility remaining but he opted to move on and pursue pro football if possible.

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