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One-Time UW Portal Signees Barr, Watson Turn to UCF, A&M

Originally posted on FanNation Husky Maven  |  By Dan Raley  |  Last updated 1/19/24

They were part of the University of Washington football team for barely a week, accompanying the Huskies to Houston for the College Football Playoff championship game against Michigan.

This week, linebacker Ethan Barr formerly of Vanderbilt committed to Central Florida while tight end Tre Watson is pledged to Texas A&M.

Both players asked for their scholarship releases from the UW when coach Kalen DeBoer left the program and took the Alabama job a week ago.

Watson previously played for DeBoer at Fresno State while Barr was part of a Vandy defense that counted Inoke Breckterfield as its defensive-line coach in 2021 before the man known as Coach Nokes was hired by DeBoer for the same job at the UW.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Barr hails from Flower Mound, Texas, which is in the Dallas metroplex and 270 miles from Houston. A two-time captain for Vanderbilt, he has one year of eligibility remaining. 

At the national title game, Barr wore No. 35 in a white Husky jersey with his name stitched on the back and either sat or stood on the sideline while UW players went through pre-game warm-ups at NRG Stadium.

The Huskies signed him because they were losing senior linebacker starter and co-captain Edefuan Ulofoshio and senior back-up Ralen Gorforth to graduation.

Interestingly enough, now former Husky quarterback Michael Penix Jr. said UCF was the only other school that offered him two years ago when he left Indiana for the UW.

The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Watson signed with the UW after a highly productive junior season at Fresno State, one in which he caught 38 passes for 378 yards and 4 touchdowns.

A Rio Rancho, New Mexico, product, he played for DeBoer as a freshman in 2021, starting a pair of games for a 10-3 team.

At the national title game in Houston, he wore No. 39, a Husky jersey that now goes unclaimed.

This article first appeared on FanNation Husky Maven and was syndicated with permission.

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