Former five-star QB Sam Huard transfers to surprising school

Nov 13, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Sam Huard (7) throws during pregame warmups against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Former five-star quarterback recruit Sam Huard is transferring to a surprising school.

Huard, the son of former Washington quarterback Damon Huard, has decided to transfer from Washington to Cal Poly, he announced Monday. That means the consensus top-ranked quarterback in the 2021 class will be playing at the FCS level in 2023.

The move to Cal Poly is not coincidental, though. As noted by Adam Rittenberg of ESPN, Cal Poly’s offensive coordinator is Sheldon Cross, who was Huard’s high school coach at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Washington.

Huard wound up playing sparingly at Washington in two seasons, putting up 265 passing yards with a touchdown and four interceptions. He was completely supplanted in 2022 by Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr., who wound up leading the FBS in passing yards and led the Huskies to an 11-2 season. With Penix set to return in 2023, there was no room for Huard on the depth chart.

Huard has three seasons of eligibility remaining. If he looks good at Cal Poly, he could certainly get a pathway to return to a Power 5 school after a year or two.