Inside The Huskies

Jackson Sirmon Will Play for California, His Father

The former Husky linebacker will join the Golden Bears, where Peter Sirmon is the defensive coordinator.

Dan Raley

While more and more fans wonder if any loyalty remains in college football, Jackson Sirmon showed on Wednesday that there is.

Maybe not to any team per se, but for family.

The former University of Washington inside linebacker revealed he will transfer to California, where his father Peter Sirmon is the Golden Bears' defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. 

They will see a lot of each other going forward.

This direct pairing of father and son, for that matter, will match an ex-Husky defender with a former UW linebackers coach (2012-13) in Berkeley.

Sirmon's landing place marks the second recent family-related transfer for a UW player, following outside linebacker Cooper McDonald leaving for San Diego State, where he will play alongside his brother Caden, another linebacker. 

Ironically during the past season, Sirmon was lightheartedly pressed by the media (by me) about why he didn't play for his father to begin with. 

Did they need separation, as linebacker and coach?

"That's a funny question," Jackson Sirmon replied with a laugh before addressing the situation further. 

"I'm super tight with him and he's awesome," Sirmon said. "You know, there are some things that don't happen, it's not planned, it's not like I need any separation or anything. He'd be an amazing guy to play for and I'm sure all the guys down there love playing for him."

Maybe it got him thinking about it, too. 

Either way, the generous transfer rules now in place have permitted Sirmon to leave the UW after four seasons and join Cal without penalty, with two years of eligibility remaining if he chooses to use them.

The Bears get a hard-hitting 6-foot-3, 235-pound junior from Brentwood, Tennessee, who led the Huskies in tackles this past season with 92, including 4 for lost yards.

Sirmon, who started 16 games and played in 33, is one of just two Huskies who opened all 12 games for the UW defense, with cornerback Kyler Gordon the other.

One of those starts came against Cal this past September, a game that went into overtime. It was one in which Husky safety Cameron Williams and Sirmon forced a fumble on the goal line, hitting the runner high and low, which brought an end to a 31-24 victory for the UW.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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