Always Ready to Play, Moll Approaches College Game No. 60

Kris Moll will take this Saturday off, enjoying a bye week with the rest of his University of Washington football teammates.

OK, he'll actually run through a Husky practice while others across the country are playing for real. For Moll, a break in the action has been rare over his long-winding, six-year career at two schools. 

A University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) transfer, the 6-foot, 217-pound linebacker will appear in his 60th college football game next Friday against Oregon State — an impossible achievement when normal eligibility guidelines are in place. 

Think about this: sixth-year senior offensive guard Jaxson Kirkland seems like he's been around forever in Montlake after starting for five seasons, even as a redshirt freshman in 2018 when he opened against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

Against the Beavers, the 6-foot-7, 335-pound Kirkland will enter a game for the 45th time for the Huskies, the next-closest but still a very distant amount to Moll.

No records are kept on this, but as numbers-crunching, Husky play-by-play broadcaster Tony Castricone shared with Moll, people would be hard-pressed to find another FBS college player anywhere who's drawn more game time than him.

"I know it's been a long run, a tough one, too," Moll said. "I've gone through a lot of things. I've won championships. I've done a lot of things. I'm trying to make a big exclamation point on my whole career right here."

In his eight games for the Huskies, Moll has come off the bench and provided 25 tackles, including four and his first tackle for loss this season in last weekend's 28-21 victory at California.

The Miami native, who turned 23 shortly after arriving in Seattle, transferred after starting 21 of 51 games for UAB. He twice was selected as a first-team, All-Conference USA selection at linebacker in 2019 and 2020. He appeared in three conference championship games for the Blazers. He's played in three bowl games.