UW Football Primer: Cade Otton Has Always Been Well-Coached

The Huskies tight end is the next in a long line of great ones at his position at Washington. How good can he be?

Cade Otton showed up at Washington as well-prepared as anyone to become a successful football player. He was the grandson of the state's winningest high school coach. His father was one of the assistant coaches.

With the game clearly in his blood and his skills significantly advanced, Otton approaches the 2020 season on a steady course to become the Huskies' next elite tight end, filling a position of longstanding excellence at the school.

"It's definitely been a learning curve from high school to college," Otton said. "There's just so many little details."

The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Otton seems to grasp all the nuances as he goes. He was included on the John Mackey watch list prior to last season, consideration given the nation's best tight ends. 

This is another in a series of profiles on prospective UW football starters. While spring practice is in question because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated will provide uninterrupted coverage.

Otton is part of a Huskies tight-end fraternity that counts as its members Jeremy Stevens, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Darrell Daniels, Will Dissly, Drew Sample and Hunter Bryant, all either becoming recent NFL players or, in the case of Hunter, a highly regarded prospect. 

Entering his junior year, Otton has started 23 of 27 games and hauled in 45 passes, all while sharing the Huskies' dual tight-end responsibilities with either Sample or Bryant. 

"He's like a brother," said Bryant, who's shown on the video and passed up his senior campaign to enter the NFL draft. "I've seen him grow and me grow, alongside each other, and it's been special."

While sure-handed as a receiver, Otton is as efficient as a blocker as any of the other Washington tight ends before him. 

He learned the game's fundamentals from his grandfather Sid Otton, who coached high school football for 49 seasons, 43 at Tumwater High, where Cade played and where Cade's father, Tim, played and coached. An uncle, Brad Otton, went on from Tumwater to quarterback USC to a Rose Bowl.

Sid Otton finished with a 394-131 coaching record, winning six state championships and 25 league championships, and earning 27 playing appearances. He stayed around long enough to coach Cade. 

This Otton knows success, thanks to grandpa, and he'd like the UW to share in that before he's done. 

"I grew up around here and I know what it's like when the Huskies are rolling and how this town can be a Husky town," he said.

SUMMARY: The UW tight end has few equals in the Pac-12, especially since teammate Hunter Bryant has moved on to the NFL draft. Every football-minded player should have a grandfather like his. It works.

GRADE (1 to 5): Otton gets a solid 5. He's one of those guys who does everything well. Receiving and blocking. He has no weaknesses. He could be an All-American and share in other top honors. He'll be in the pros soon enough.