Kirkland Makes Breakthrough, Lands NFL Job With Bengals

Thirty-one former University of Washington football players earned NFL roster spots on Tuesday for the coming season, with more than a third coming from the Huskies' recent CFB national championship runner-up team.

Another 21 ex-UW players failed to catch on, which meant that an overly impressive 52 players who spent time in Montlake went to training camp in search of pro football careers this summer.

One of the most upbeat stories for the newly NFL employed involved Jaxson Kirkland, who won a roster job with the Cincinnati Bengals after going undrafted and spending last season on that franchise's practice squad. Injuries hurt his draft status after he was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection. Finally healthy again, Kirkland graded out well while playing three of the five Bengals' offensive line positions during the preseason.

"He's lucky he has a coach who loves him," Kirkland's father Dean, a former standout UW offensive lineman himself, wrote in a text message. "He's back to his tough and nasty, It's a great story and I'm so proud of him."

These Husky draft numbers certainly were elevated by the star-studded eam from last season that was coached by the departed Kalen DeBoer and won its first 14 games, including the Pac-12 championship game and Sugar Bowl, before falling to Michigan in the title game.

Overall, nine players from that 2023 UW roster landed pro jobs in tight end Devin Culp (Tampa Bay), offensive tackle Troy Fautanu (Pittsburgh), linebacker Dominique Hampton (Washington), quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (Atlanta), wide receiver Jalen McMillan (Tampa Bay), wide receiver Rome Odunze (Chicago), wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk (New England), offensive guard Roger Rosengarten (Baltimore) and linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio (Buffalo).

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Hampton, in going from the Washington Huskies to the Washington Commanders, has been converted into a linebacker after playing safety, cornerback and nickelback for the Huskies.

Culp and McMillan are part of a six-player UW alumni contingent that earned roster spots for the Buccaneers franchise, joining carryover players in defensive tackles Vita Vea and Greg Gaines, edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and tight end Cade Otton.

Five 2023 Huskies failed to land NFL jobs, with defensive tackle Ulumoo Ale, linebacker Ralen Goforth, running back Dillon Johnson, defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa and tight end Jack Westover drawing releases.

A 15th player from the 2023 UW team, edge rusher Bralen Trice (Atlanta), will spend the year on injured reserve after suffering a season-ending knee injury in his first exhibition game.

Other one-time Huskies who didn't survive the NFL cutdown date or were cut earlier this month included running back Salvon Ahmed, wide receiver Andre Baccellia, defensive tackle Josiah Bronson, safety Alex Cook, quarterback Jacob Eason, safety Milo Eifler, running back Myles Gaskin, running back Dillon Johnson, cornerback Kevin King, center Corey Luciano, edge rusher Jeremiah Martin, wide receiver Dante Pettis, defensive lineman Benning Potoa'e, wide receiver John Ross, linebacker Jackson Sirmon, cornerback Keith Taylor and linebacker Zeke Turner.

One of the more intereisting NFL roster additions was Colson Yankoff, an Idaho native who spent the 2018 season with the Huskies as a quarterback before transferring to UCLA and becoming a running back, wide receiver and tight end. His career path worked. The Washingon Commanders kept him as an undrafted rookie tight end.