Inside The Huskies

Huskies Make Brother of Elite Recruit a Preferred Walk-On

Kayden Greene is an accomplished Eastside Catholic safety and point guard.

Dan Raley

Kayden Greene (4) , shown with Yabi Aklog, is a two-sport standout for Eastside Catholic High.
Kayden Greene (4) , shown with Yabi Aklog, is a two-sport standout for Eastside Catholic High. / Twitter

Kayden Greene, an All-Metro safety from Eastside Catholic High School in the Seattle suburbs, was all set to play his college football for San Diego, an FCS program, when he announced on Wednesday he has committed to the University of Washington, presumably as a preferred walk-on.

While the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Greene might turn out to be a decent college football player, it didn't hurt that he's the older brother of Kodi Greene, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle and 4-star prospect who is considered one of the top football recruits on the West Coast.

The younger and much bigger Greene, in fact, recently transferred to the Mater Dei football powerhouse in Santa Ana, California, to play his final two high school seasons.

This likely was a creative bit of recruiting -- maneuvering to try and get two Greenes on the roster, in essence making sure the can't-miss player signs on.

If that's the case, it's not like the UW hasn't done something like this before. In 1974 and '75, the Huskies recruited fullback Robin Earl, an NFL-worthy player from Kent, Washington, and brought in his older brother, Randy, who was a center.

As an overall athlete, Kayden Greene certainly is no slouch, proving to be a standout performer for both Eastside Catholic football and basketball teams.

This past March, he was a point guard who helped the Crusaders capture their first 3A state championship, beating Rainier Beach 65-57 in the state title game, and finish 23-6. This Greene was a big-play basketball performer all season, earlier hitting a last-second shot to beat Richland 64-63.

In football, Greene finished with a pair of interceptionis and 5 pass break-ups as a senior for a 9-3 Eastside Catholic team.

Considered a 2-star prospect, he was lightly pursued by San Diego, North Dakota State, Oregon State and Minot State.

He'll try to show everyone else he deserved more attention. If he can get his brother to join him at the UW down the road, he'll be considered a civic hero. As a point guard, he might even let new Husky basketball coach Danny Sprinkle he'll be on campus soon, too.

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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