Sam Huard doesn’t make sense from Huard’s perspective because of the competition of having to beat out Morris. Huard left Washington because he wants to start and was not willing to wait just one more year for Michael Penix to be done.
Micheal Penix surprised everyone and decided to stay for his 6th year. Penix left Indiana after 2021 and became a star at Washington, last year a crazy 4600 yards passing with 31 TD’s and only 8 picks. I wonder why he was not in NY for the Heisman.
A good article here on Huard, a five-star QB, #3 QB recruit in the 2021 class. He and his family are Washington natives, and his dad, Damon Huard, was QB at Washington and then the NFL. Sam dreamed of playing at Washington but is moving on because he has not played since 2019 (2020 pandemic messed up his HS senior year) and wants to start in 2023.
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Huard always wanted to be a Husky, committing as a sophomore and holding firm through the transition from Chris Petersen to Jimmy Lake.
theathletic.com
My Seattle friend was told by a UW alum that Penix will receive $2.5 million to stay. Appears Penix was projected to be drafted 1st to 3rd round, but his poor injury history from 2018-21 would have made the 1st round doubtful. Two ACL’s, a sternoclavicular joint and his left shoulder.
The 2020 Covid free year makes it possible for Penix to stay, his 5th competing season plus his 2018 redshirt year. This made for a bad break and tough decision for Sam Huard, and he chose to leave, to be QB1 in 2023.
I wonder if the Washington boosters have regret now that Huard left; they may have taken him for granted, assuming he would stay because of family ties and his known love for Washington. Now watch Penix get hurt again, in game one, a season ending injury, while Sam Huard plays 2023 elsewhere.