Just Handful of Huskies in Transfer Portal Remain Uncommitted

Sam Adams might be the most noteworthy UW player still looking for a new school.
Huskies running back Sam Adams II rushes for a touchdown against the California Golden Bears in 2023.
Huskies running back Sam Adams II rushes for a touchdown against the California Golden Bears in 2023. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

With the latest round of transfer portal arrivals and departures tapering off -- which easily could fit on an airport reader board -- the University of Washington tally unofficially stands at 15 additions and 27 others who exited Montlake.

Some key facts: nine of the new Huskies are defensive players, nearly double the offensive newcomers, plus a long snapper is involved. And the UW offerings to this crush of college football free agency have been picked through like items in a garage sale, with all but seven committed or signed elsewhere.

Of the still unattached, three names stand out: running back Sam Adams II, cornerback Darren Barkins and wide receiver Cam Sirmon.

While none were ever UW starters, each drew playing time in requisite amounts in recent seasons.

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound Adams, of course, was the 4-star running back from Kirkland, Washington, who reportedly received more than 40 scholarship offers before languishing on the Husky depth chart. He gained a playing boost from Kalen DeBoer's staff yet fell to as low as possibly the fifth back for Jedd Fisch's coaches behind 1,000-yard rusher Jonah Coleman, co-captain Cam Davis and freshmen Adam Mohammed and Jordan Washington.

He often was injured early on, then wasn't as speedy as the other backs. It probably wasn't what he envisioned,. While appearing in 31 games, including a dozen this past season, he finished with just 82 rushing yards, caught 7 passes and scored 3 times in his career.

An older model, Adams still sits on the lot, waiting for someone to kick the tires and contemplate taking him for a test drive.

As the rare University of Oregon player to transfer to the UW, Barkins, who is originally from Spring Valley, California, spent a pair of injury-riddled seasons in Montlake, appearing in just five games, only two this past season, and finishing with 5 tackles.

The 5-foot-11, 169-pound defensive back, who played in a dozen games over two seasons with the Ducks, made his 2024 season debut with the Huskies at Penn State in the 10th outing on the schedule, and then drew snaps against UCLA the following weekend, and that was it.

Known for his speed, Barkins suffered a season-ending, lower-leg injury in 2022 after chasing down Michigan State wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick on a 61-yard reception, catching up to him 13 yards short of the end zone.

Unlike the other two, Sirmon was a walk-on player for the Huskies. The 6-foot, 196-pounder still managed to get on the field for 21 games, including 11 this past season, and he did it in a multitude of ways -- quarterback, running back, wide receiver and special-teams contributor. He rushed the ball 3 times and caught pass.

After winning a high school state championship in Montana, Sirmon committed to the University of Montana only to change direction and try his hand at the UW without a scholarship. A Big Sky school might be best advised to take him on for his final season of eligibility.

Sirmon, of course, is from that well-known football family that has sent several players into the college ranks, with cousins Jackson and Jacob Sirmon playing at the UW at linebacker and quarterback, respectively, before transferring.

A list of the Huskies who went into the portal and where they're headed is as follows:

HUSKIES WHO ENTERED THE PORTAL

DESTINATION

Sam Adams II, RB

available

Darren Barkins, CB

available

Ryder Bumgarner, RB

available

Cam Davis, RB

Minnesota

Roice Cleeland, OG

UC Davis

Thaddeus Dixon, CB

North Carolina

Tristan Dunn, S

California

Justin Harrington, S

West Virginia

Maurice Heims, ER

Idaho

Lance Holtzclaw, ER

Utah

Khmori House, LB

North Carolina

Elijah Jackson, CB

TCU

Tyrese Johnson, DL

available

Caleb Johnston, LS

California

Logan Lisherness, LB

available

Jack McCallister, P

Nebraska

Gaard Memmelaar, OG

UCF

Bryun Parham, LB

Connecticut

Curley Reed, CB

Louisiana

Keith Reynolds, WR

Miami Ohio

Jason Robinson Jr., WR

North Carolina

Adam Saul, P

available

Jordan Shaw, DB

Texas A&M

Cam Sirmon, WR

available

Kahlee Tafai, OT

Minnesota

Peyton Waters, S

North Carolina

Jayden Wayne, ER

California

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington


Published
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.