Huard Didn't Know Much About Kalen DeBoer and Had to Do Some Research

The Husky quarterback went through his second coaching change since committing to the UW.

You're a 5-star quarterback and you choose the University of Washington, and then there's a coaching change, to someone familiar, before you arrive.

And then another leadership switch after you get there, to someone who's not.

What do you do?

Sam Huard could have left.

He could have said enough already.

Found a new, more stable college football environment.

Packed up his gear and gone shopping for a new team, as so many others have done elsewhere.

Instead, the legacy Husky QB, the son and the nephew of former UW signal-callers Damon and Brock Huard, turned the situation into a homework assignment.

He googled Fresno State's Kalen DeBoer and he liked what he found.

"I was very excited," Huard said. "I didn't know too much about him. I did some research. Obviously I knew that Fresno State had a really good offense last year with Jake Haener, with him running the show, and a great system. They put up a lot of points and they were fun to watch."

This past spring, the left-hander had to dive into the new offensive system, this after doing the same thing 12 months earlier with Jimmy Lake's staff. It was like changing his college major at midstream. 

Yet everything seemed to click for the next-generation Huard as the 15 April football practices came to a close. He emerged as one of the standout players that day during the final controlled scrimmage. He seemed happy and confident. 

In spite of all of the rampant change that's taken place in Montlake over the past two and a half years, everything seems to fit for him. Everything seems to have changed for the better. 

"That's something that I was really excited for, to see, that we're having in this system — that attack mentality, that attack mindset," Huard said. "That we're not afraid to push the ball down the field and that we're going to go score and we're going to attack you.

"I couldn't be more excited to have Coach DeBoer, Coach Grubb and this whole staff here."  

With the video turned off, Huard could have walked away after that sound bite. He had more to add. 

Almost in a whisper, as if for emphasis, he said, "We have a lot of talent here, a lot of talent. We're going to be really good."

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