McCallister Might Be Huskies' Biggest Starting Surprise

The redshirt freshman punter beat out a transfer with big credentials.

University of Washington punters usually are out of sight, out of mind, at practice. While their teammates run through vigorous drills in Husky Stadium, the kickers head to the accompanying field to stay limber and put a foot on a ball.

Often times, their chance for personal advancement comes down to a handful of punts or field goals in a limited scrimmage segment.

Stepping out of the shadows this past week was redshirt freshman Jack McCallister, who straight up beat out Idaho State transfer Kevin Ryan, the nation's fifth-leading FCS punter last season with a 45.6-yard average.

While Ryan was doing his thing one state over in 2021, McCallister was the Huskies' third-string punter behind Race Porter and Triston Brown, who later graduated and transferred, and didn't play. 

Porter set the UW single-season punting record with a 48.5 average, leaving no small kicking shoes to fill.

On the eve of the opener, Paul Creighton, a Huskies' quality and special-teams coach, informed McCallister of the outcome, which might have been the biggest surprise in any of the UW position battles. 

Coach Kalen DeBoer confirmed that the position was settled by performance and not injury.

"Looking back on it, it's kind of funny I'm playing now," McCallister said.

Yet there he was on Saturday night, trotting out for a couple of second-half punts, one good and one not so good. The 6-foot, 215-pound McCallister cranked a 48-yarder in the third quarter and sort of tanked a 20-yarder in the fourth.

"It was a crazy feeling," McCallister said of his Husky debut. "It was super exciting to be out there with all the fans. I felt oddly calm out there. It was super fun. I ended up hitting a great punt."

A product of Seattle's suburban King's High School, McCallister had agreed to walk on for the Big Sky's Weber State when a UW coach reached out to him on Twitter and convinced him to come to Montlake in a similar capacity.

It was widely assumed Ryan, with his glowing credentials, would become the new punter, but he got beat out by a player four years younger than him.

"I put a lot of work into this offseason," McCallister said. "I'm not surprised. I felt I did a good job of coming in and showing the coaches what I could do and proving to everyone I could be a punter here."

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