Tying Up the Spring Ball Loose Ends for the Husky Tight Ends

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Feb 18, 2025 12:22 PM ET

Over the course of just 15 second-quarter plays in last year's opener against Weber State, the University of Washington football team lost a tight end to a season-ending knee injury and threw a touchdown pass to another on his very first college play.

For any Husky position group in 2024, good and bad, it just didn't get any more dramatic than that.

Except that both the once-hobbled Quentin Moore and the first-impression Decker DeGraaf are back to see if they can play a full season together, plus enter into competition for the main starting role that should be one of the better battles up and down the lineup.

While Moore and DeGraaf know each other well from practice, they simply haven't spent any time together in the middle of the action on game day because of their past season circumstances.

"Everyone's going to have their varying degree of readiness for spring," tight-ends coach Jordan Paopao said of Moore and all of his tight-end candidates. "A majority of them will be ready to go from day one."

Moore won the No. 1 job outright last fall but lasted just a quarter and a half into the 2024 season before taking what turned out to be an illegal, blindside hit, thus thrusting DeGraaf into an immediate role of greater responsibility and ultimately earning first-team freshman All-America honors.

Both are considered NFL prospects when their time comes, with Moore the quintessential blocking tight end and DeGraaf a proven pass-catcher.

As the comparison chart below indicates, they are an inch and 17 pounds apart in physical stature.

Moore has 16 more Husky game appearances than his one-time apprentice, while DeGraaf already shares the same amount of starts while taking the field in two tight end formations.

After his lone season, DeGraaf has nearly double the amount of catches than his older teammate and triple his TD receptions.

On April 2, both of these players will report to spring football healthy and eager to get started in giving the Huskies a deep and veteran tight-end presence.

At some point add to them junior Ryan Otton, who's barely played for the UW because of lingering injuries as he enters his fourth season, and redshirt freshman Charlie Crowell, who won't be quite ready when spring ball begins as he recovers from an August knee injury that forced him to miss all of last season.

Otton, if he can stay healthy, might be able to push Moore and DeGraaf as a third tight end for significant minutes, making things even more interesting.

"I feel they'll have enough time to be able to confidently say those guys should be operating at or near 100 percent to be able to compete on day one," Paopao said.

This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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