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There apparently still is plenty of gas in the tank for Justin Harrington, the former University of Washington safety who has committed to West Virginia through the transfer portal -- possibly giving him an eighth season of college football.
On Friday, the 6-foot-3, 209-pound Harrington announced he will join the Mountaineers, who have hired Rich Rodriguez as coach for the second time and are looking to restore the program to greatness once more following a 6-7 season that ended with a 42-37 loss to Memphis in the Frisco Bowl.
A North Carolina native, Harrington will return to the South in hopes of finding playing time that better resembles the last of his four years at Oklahoma, to which he became a starter to begin 2023, compared to his UW stint that lasted just eight games over a solitary season, with him playing mostly special teams for Jedd Fisch's staff.
⛏️⛏️ pic.twitter.com/95HVU4MRw8
— JUSTIN “SHOWW” HARRINGTON (@showw_3) January 10, 2025
Harrington is bidding to become that rare eight-year college football player after first spending his first two seasons at Bakersfield Community College in California, before joining Oklahoma and Washington. Medical redshirts have been responsible for continuing to extend his career.
He started the first two games of the 2023 season for the Sooners and his career appeared to be on its way until he tore an anterior cruciate ligament in a knee against SMU. Oklahoma had used him in its "Cheetah" position, which was a hybrid safety and linebacker role.
Time to shake back !! pic.twitter.com/vbLVjpkqxv
— JUSTIN “SHOWW” HARRINGTON (@showw_3) December 27, 2024
At the UW, he was held out of practice and last season's opener against Weber State as he continued to recover from his knee injury and get eased back into contact. The Huskies used him on their kickoff coverage team and he finished with 3 tackles.. He also sat out games against Rutgers, Michigan and Penn State.
Harrington will head to Morgantown to see what he can provide for Rodriguez, who had been a head coach for West Virginia, Michigan, Arizona and Jacksonville State before turning to the Mountaineers this offseason.
More must-reads:
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Kevin Love reportedly has preferred buyout destination
Kevin Love is eyeing a return to his roots. The five-time NBA All-Star big man Love has a preferred destination on the buyout market, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on Tuesday. Love would like to end up in Los Angeles. Now 36 years old, Love spent the last two-and-a-half seasons with the Miami Heat. He averaged just 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds over 10.9 minutes per game in 2024-25 but still managed to shoot 35.8 percent from three on the year. Earlier this summer however, the Heat traded Love to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team blockbuster deal. Now Love, a 17-year NBA veteran, is pursuing a contract buyout from the rebuilding Jazz. Though he is a native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Love played his college ball in Los Angeles at UCLA. He also has ties to both L.A. teams — he won an NBA championship with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and was also coached on that team by Tyronn Lue, who is now head coach of the L.A. Clippers. Both the Lakers and Clippers are currently sitting at 14 guaranteed contracts each. While they still have spots for two-way and Exhibit 10 players, that means the Lakers and Clippers are both down to their final open roster spot. The ex-rebounding leader Love still has some value, though probably more so as a jokester than as a contributing rotation piece. While Love clearly wants a homecoming to Los Angeles, he may have some convincing to do for either the Lakers or the Clippers to give him that final open roster spot.
Green Bay Packers: 2 Notable Former Wide Receivers Labeled as Surprise Cut Candidates
As the Green Bay Packers deal with their own crowded wide receiver room, multiple former Packers pass-catchers are also embroiled in position battles across the league. Notably, two veterans that turned in many successful seasons in Green Bay now find themselves battling to make rosters and have been labeled as big names that could become surprise cuts when rosters are trimmed down. New York Jets May Soon Be Done With Former Green Bay Packers Receiver Allen Lazard Former Packers receiver Allen Lazard was always a favorite of Aaron Rodgers during their time together in Green Bay. When Rodgers left the franchise, Lazard ended up following the quarterback to the New York Jets. While the Rodgers era for Gang Green has gone up in flames, Lazard remains on the roster – for now. Lazard entered camp as the presumed second receiver behind Garrett Wilson, but so far, fellow veteran Josh Reynolds has seemingly beaten out Lazard for the second spot. A former Detroit Lion, Reynolds has reportedly been building a good rapport with new signal-caller Justin Fields, leaving Lazard potentially relegated to slot duties. Although the Jets have receiver depth problems, some experts don’t believe that Lazard will survive cuts. The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt has stated that he does not expect Lazard to be on the 53-man roster. Some names behind Lazard on the current depth chart include veteran Tyler Johnson and rookie Arian Smith, both of whom have had flashes of ability in camp so far. Several of the younger players also offer one thing that Lazard notably doesn’t – the ability to play on special teams. If Lazard is cut by the team, it would mean the team would have moved on from another former Packer after dumping both Rodgers and Davante Adams this summer. Can Former Green Bay Packers Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling Stick in Seattle? Marquez Valdes-Scantling was a member of the Green Bay Packers from 2018 to 2021, playing out his rookie contract with the team while being a big part of the offense. He had over 2,000 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns for the green and gold before leaving for Kansas City in free agency. In 2025, Valdes-Scantling was with the New Orleans Saints until he signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks worth around $4 million. Despite the 29-year-old being a proven veteran and solid deep threat, Valdes-Scantling currently finds himself near the edge of the Seahawks roster. Rookie receiver Tory Horton has already surpassed Valdes-Scantling on the depth chart and has been the fourth receiver in the team’s first-team rotation so far. Valdes-Scantling has been relegated to the second unit in training camp practices as of early August. Respected NFL writer Brady Henderson has said that Valdes-Scantling has “barely made any” plays throughout camp so far, whereas Horton has continued to catch eyes and has been nicknamed “Jerry Rice Jr.” by teammate Tariq Woolen. Like Lazard, Valdes-Scantling does not offer much on special teams either, and although the Seahawks would love to have a deep threat to compliment Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, if Valdes-Scantling does not show up in camp, the team could move on from the former Green Bay Packer with little financial consequence.
Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
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