Ryan Otton Medically Retires With Huskies

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 3:48 PM ET

Ryan Otton looked like he could play tight end for the University of Washington football team, but we'll never know how well.

With the opening of Fall Camp on Wednesday, Husky coach Jedd Fisch acknowledged the 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior from Tumwater, Washington, and brother of former UW standout Cade Otton, has medically retired.

Thus ended an injury-filled and ill-fated tour of duty for the younger Otton that spanned three seasons and permitted him to appear in just two UW games -- he played against Colorado in 2022 and against California in 2023.

"He hasn't been able to get healthy since he's been here," Husky coach Jedd Fisch said.

Otton suffered a severe hamstring pull in his very first UW practice three years ago and then had to deal with the death of his mother during the season.

During spring football in 2024, he appeared to injure a shoulder early on and didn't play at all during his third season.

A 4-star recruit, Otton was pursued by Oregon, Nebraska, Stanford, Utah, UCLA, West Virginia, Arizona State and even Fisch's Arizona staff.

He was MVP of the Evergreen Conference, an all-conference player on both offense and defense, played for Tumwater's 14-0 state championship team as a sophomore in 2019 and is the grandson of Sid Otton, Washington's winningest high school football coach.

Otton came to the UW with extremely high expectations to follow in the footsteps of Cade, who was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection and an NFL fourth-round draft pick, and now starts for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The little brother was higher rated as a recruit and taller and heavier than his sibling.

The only other no-show for the Huskies' first practice was junior quarterback Shea Kuykendall, who transferred from Northern Colorado but didn't appear in any games last season. Fisch said Kuykendall has a season-ending injury happened post Spring Game and will remain with the team, but won't be on the active roster.

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

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