Inside The Huskies

Tampa is the NFL Place to Be For Hopeful Huskies

Cade Otton addresses the large contingent of former UW players with the NFL franchise.

Dan Raley

Ex-Husky tight end Cade Otton (88) celebrates his touchdown catch against the Atlanta Falcons.
Ex-Husky tight end Cade Otton (88) celebrates his touchdown catch against the Atlanta Falcons. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The University of Washington football alumni group in Tampa, Florida, will now come to order. In front of you are the words to "Bow Down to Washington" and instructions on how to properly drop a Dub sign. Please make sure your dues are paid in full.

Now if no such organization exists, someone should consider putting one together because the UW's largest contingent of NFL players is currently employed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- 6 former Huskies in all.

The roll call of purple and gold transplants in Central Florida goes like this: defensive tackles Vita Vea and Greg Gaines, edge rusher Joe Tryon, tight end Cade Otton and newly drafted rookies in tight end Devin Culp and wide receiver Jalen McMillan.

All but Gaines were drafted by the Bucs, with him coming over in free agency from the Los Angeles Rams.

For those who don't know each other, the 6-foot-5, 247-pound Otton should facilitate introductions because he's the only one who has been a teammate with every one of these guys back in Montlake.

"It's awesome," said Otton, who's played two seasons for the Bucs. "It makes me really proud from where I come from. It's the prestige that people hear about the U-Dub. It kind of validates the hard work we put in there."

Vea and Tryon came to the Bucs as first-round picks, with Vea taken in the 2018 draft with the 12th overall pick while Tryon was selected 32nd in 2021.

Otton was a fourth-round choice in 2022, the 106th player tabbed, while McMillan last month went to Tampa Bay in the third round, with the 92nd pick, and Culp was picked up in the seventh round with the 246th pick.

This is a chance for Otton, Culp and McMillan to share in more favorable football conditions. They last played together for a disappointing 4-8 Husky team in 2021 that held much more promise and involved Jimmy Lake getting fired during the season and Otton headed for ankle surgery once it was over.

"It's the character of these guys that come to Washington," Otton said. "It's been real cool and I love reconnecting with Devin and Jalen. They're great guys and great players. It's really fun to work with them again."

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

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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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