Inside The Huskies

McDuffie Makes Graceful Exit, Declares for NFL Draft

The Huskies cornerback has been projected as a first-rounder by most analysts.

Dan Raley

It was like the Christmas card that didn't show up in the mail, but it finally arrived.

Trent McDuffie announced on Monday what everyone knew was coming — the University of Washington cornerback will pass up his senior season of eligibility and enter the NFL draft.

With most mock drafts singling him out as a first-rounder, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound product of Westminster, California, couldn't really do anything but move on and find his place in pro football.

He leaves after starting 24 games over three seasons, beginning his UW career as a true freshman backup for four outings to then redshirt freshman Kyler Gordon before he replaced him and they then became first-teamers together.

Former UW coach Jimmy Lake told how he and his staff felt McDuffie was the nation's top cornerback prospect when they signed him out of Southern California in the 2019 recruiting class.

In his time in Seattle, McDuffie seemed to have everything except national attention, but he went lacking only because of unforeseen team circumstances. 

He was relegated to second-team All-Pac-12 accolades in 2020 largely because the UW played just four games during the height of the unvaccinated pandemic, tied for the fewest contests in the nation.

McDuffie was named first-team all-conference this past season, but no higher than a third-team AP All-America choice, mainly because the Huskies went in the tank and finished 4-8. 

Missing one game with an ankle injury, he finished with 35 tackles, including 4 for lost yards and a sack, and 6 pass break-ups. He had no interceptions this season because teams rarely threw in his direction.

The NFL eagerly awaits him.

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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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