Inside The Huskies

Jake Haener Delivers Video Apology to Fresno State

The former Husky QB had entered the transfer portal and considered returning to the UW.

Dan Raley

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener, taking an unprecedented step for a college athlete, on Thursday sat down for a two-minute video, looked directly into a camera and offered an apology.

Most people in his position would have put out a statement through a school spokesperson or posted a simple tweet — if that.

However, Haener felt compelled to deliver a personal message after entering the transfer portal and rescinding the move, and receiving a significant backlash from the Bulldogs fan base.

"First and foremost, Red Wave, fans, teammates, coaches, everybody that's in my corner and has been in my corner for the past two and a half years here at Fresno State, I want to sincerely apologize for the actions I took," he said.

In one instance, a photo Fresno showed a sheet hanging from a goal post with the words, "Haener Is A Traitor." Fans were particularly enraged that he was leaving before the Bulldogs' postseason game, the New Mexico Bowl against UTEP on Dec. 18 in Albuquerque. 

A former University of Washington quarterback in 2017 and 2018, Haener acknowledged that he considered returning to Seattle to play his final season for the Huskies after Fresno State coach Kalen DeBoer became the new leader and hired Bulldogs offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to join him.

Haener, who passed for 3,810 yards and 32 touchdowns this past season, cited the uncertainty of the situation after DeBoer left as the impetus for entering the transfer portal. 

However, Jeff Tedford on Wednesday agreed to become the Fresno State coach again and he was the one who actually welcomed Haener into the program and was in charge while the quarterback sat out the 2019 season as a transfer.

There was some speculation that Haener had a procedural waiver denied as he attempted to transfer to a school that he had transferred out of, which was unusual in itself.

DeBoer, when asked last week if Haener was returning to the UW, responded that it was a possibility, but said the quarterback was weighing multiple options. Haener no doubt looked into declaring for the NFL draft, as well. 

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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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