Here's What Happened to Jacobe Covington, Husky Turned Trojan

Eighteen months ago, Jacobe Covington was a returning University of Washington cornerback for new coach Kalen DeBoer and staff and had no outward plans for changing his football surroundings.

In April 2022, the talented defensive back stood before a cluster of media members following a spring practice and gave an impassioned explanation for why the Husky program still suited him.

“I love it up here, it’s home, it’s home," he said. "I wasn’t going nowhere. I love the fans and I love the city. Anywhere you go, you have to play football. You just have to play. So I just decided to stay here, stay loyal to the fans.”

Twelve days later, Covington was gone, later to turn up at USC.

In today's ultra transient college football world, emotional ties last only last so long before players make impulse decisions.

When fifth-ranked UW (8-0 overall, 5-0 Pac-12) and No. 24 USC (7-2, 5-1) meet on Saturday afternoon at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Covington should be in the middle of the conference showdown, playing for his new team against his old, but he might be forced to stand off to the side.

For the past month, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior from Chandler, Arizona, has been out with an unspecified injury and there's been no indication where he is in his recovery.

On Monday, Huskies co-defensive coordinator William Inge was asked if Covington could have helped the Huskies had he stayed put and the coach offered a begrudging response.

"Potentially, but the one thing we keep our focus on is those individuals who really, really want to be here," Inge said of the departed corner. "That's truly our priority, the individual who loves the culture and loves what we're doing and comes in and wants to grind it out."

Covington remains a Montlake enigma. He left the UW either because he grew impatient with playing behind then new cornerback starters in former walk-on Mishael Powell and UC Davis transfer Jordan Perryman, getting upstaged by players who didn't have the 4-star recruiting credentials that he did, or because he received a more attractive name, image and likeness financial package, or both.

The curious thing is, had Covington stuck around Montlake, where he appeared in 13 games and had 5 tackles and a sack, he might be a starting Husky cornerback today, a defensive leader if not a program headliner. 

Had he not left, Covington would have been asked to pick up the slack when Powell and Perryman became injured early in the 2022 season and missed multiple games, and he might have been able to keep the UW secondary from being picked on over the top nonstop.

Instead, Covington has had his intermittent moments with the Trojans, but nothing long-lasting.

In 2022, he played in all 14 games for his new team, started three times, but didn't always eye to eye with Trojans defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who wanted more from the corner.

“He’s a guy we brought in to play and play early — he didn’t, which is a frustration,' Grinch said candidly last fall. "I hope he was frustrated by it. Some weeks, I’m not sure that he was.”

This season, Covington was a sub in four of the first five USC games and sat out with an injury in the other outing.

Made a starter against the Arizona Wildcats, Covington played his best college game yet, intercepted a pass and returned it 24 yards and helped the Trojans rally for a 43-41 victory in triple overtime. Yet he was unfortunately injured in that game and has missed the following three. 

Had things turned out differently for him, Covington could have been a big deal on either side of the ball for Saturday's UW-USC game, yet instead may be no more than a spectator.

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