Sam Huard announces transfer from UW Huskies to Cal Poly
Jan 30, 2023, 11:12 AM | Updated: 11:16 am
Sam Huard of the UW Huskies looks to pass against WSU on Nov. 26, 2021. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Quarterback Sam Huard has chosen his next step after two seasons with the UW Huskies, announcing Monday morning on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk that he is transferring to Cal Poly.
Huard, a native of Bellevue who starred in high school for Kennedy Catholic in Burien, joined his uncle, Brock Huard, and Mike Salk to share the news.
“First of all, I’m super grateful to be able to announce it right now on the show with you. It’s exciting stuff. For the next couple years and for the next opportunity, I’ve decided that I’m gonna be transferring to Cal Poly and continuing my academic and athletic career there and take that next step,” Sam Huard said. “I couldn’t be more excited to get down there and to get to work with the team and to go win some championships.”
At Cal Poly, Huard reunites with Sheldon Cross, his high school coach who was named offensive coordinator for the Mustangs on Jan. 18. Cal Poly, which is an FCS school that plays in the Big Sky Conference, is entering its first year under former WSU and Eastern Washington head coach Paul Wulff.
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“I just think the biggest thing for me is when I got in the (transfer) portal, I just wanted to find a place where I could grow as a person and grow as a football player,” Huard said, “and have amazing people around me and be somewhere where I can have an opportunity to go build something special and do what I love while having an opportunity to go compete, to go play right away. And just being down there, obviously, the relationship with coach Cross I’ve had throughout my high school career and just how much he pushed me to grow as a person as a player, and I know that I just have so much trust in him. To have an opportunity to go play for him again, it was definitely hard to pass up.
“When I went down there on my visit last week, just feeling the support and the trust and love from all the coaches and the mentality of them and the guys on the team, there’s just such a hunger to go build something special down there and it’s just an amazing group of people. I just felt right at home with them. Like I said, I’m super excited to be able to get to work with them and go give everything I have for that team and for that program.”
Excited for the next chapter 🌴 #rollstangs pic.twitter.com/QdvNeB03HM
— Sam Huard (@samhuard11) January 30, 2023
In high school, Huard set the Washington state record with 13,214 passing yards. He followed in the footsteps of both his father, Damon Huard, and his uncle Brock, both of whom quarterbacked the UW Huskies in the 1990s, by committing to Washington. Sam Huard played in four games as a true freshman with the Dawgs in 2021 under then-head coach Jimmy Lake, then appeared in one game in 2022 after new coach Kalen DeBoer and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. arrived in Montlake.
Cal Poly, which is located in San Luis Obispo, Calif., finished with a 2-9 record in 2022.
You can hear the full announcement and conversation with Sam Huard in the podcast below.
