Washington TE Prospects Would Love Reunion With Bucs’ Cade Otton

Culp, a 6-foot-4, 237-pound tight end, was an All-PAC 12 honorable mention in 2023. He caught 16 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 13 yards per catch.

The four-time selection to the PAC 12 Academic Honor Roll and 2023 CSC Academic All-District selection was working his way up from the time he arrived at Washington in 2018, and he said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine that Cade Otton was one of the guys who was always there to help him through some of the more difficult points he experienced.

“Man, that’s my big brother,” Culp said. “I got to watch and play with Cade for a really long time. He’s always been there for me. I’ve gone through some tough times, and he was always the first person to shoot me a text or give me a hug or just check on me mentally. So I’ve got nothing but the utmost respect for Cade.”

For Westover, the learning curve at the beginning of his college football career was a steep one. After all, he only played two games in high school and came from more of a basketball background. And while his athleticism and basketball background translated pretty smoothly in terms of his pass-catching ability, the blocking aspect of his game as a tight end was a learning process. And like Culp, he mentioned Otton on Thursday as someone who helped him along.

“I think for tight ends, really when every tight end gets to college, no tight end knows how to block. So you’re at a base level with everybody else,” Westover said. “From there, you’re just kind of learning. I had great guys to learn from – Drew Sample, Cade Otton, Hunter Bryant– those guys, they kind of laid it out in front of me and I was able to sit and learn from what they did.”

The relationship between Otton and Westover was like that of a veteran and a rookie, and the 6-foot-3, 248-pounder praised his former teammate on Thursday for the type of leader he was to him when they were both at Washington.

“Me and Cade were super, super close,” Westover said. “He helped me a ton. He was a great leader for me, and I think for him, he could’ve been a guy that just pushed everybody to the side because he could’ve done his own thing. But he always took the time to help the younger guys out. For me, it was really beneficial. He was just a guy you wanted to watch and see how he operated. [He’s] someone I want to model my game after for sure.”

Could Devin Culp Or Jack Westover Join Fellow Washington Alums In Tampa Bay?

The Bucs have shown a propensity for acquiring former Washington Huskies over the years. In 2018, they drafted Vita Vea in the first round. The next year, they signed Benning Potoa’e as an undrafted free agent. In 2021, they selected Joe Tryon-Shoyinka in the first round, then came the selection of Cade Otton in the fourth round of the 2022 Draft.

And just last year, they signed Greg Gaines, another former Washington standout.

So, could either Devin Culp or Jack Westover be the next to join the Huskies contingent in Tampa? While Westover hasn’t met with the Bucs at the Combine, Culp said he had both an informal and a formal meeting with Tampa Bay.

Asked Thursday about the possibility of joining forces again with Otton, Westover spoke about the value of being around good people.

“It would be a blessing,” he said. “When you surround yourself with good people, usually good things follow. So it would be super exciting.”

As for Culp, he named Otton as the NFL tight end he’d most want to be part of a two-tight end set with.

“I’d have to do that with my boy Cade Otton over in Tampa Bay,” Culp said. “Just because I know that our playing styles differ just slightly, and we can both create a lot of mismatches across the field. And we can both dominate in the run game as well.”

Culp spoke at length about his relationship with some of the other Washington alums who are now with the Bucs. That includes another former teammate in Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.

“That’s also my big brother too right there. Man, that’s my guy,” Culp said. “He’s also another guy who was always there for me if I needed him, big brother role. We spent a lot of time together. Joe is kind of a jokester and stuff like that, so I just enjoyed being around Joe to get some laughs in and just brighten up my mood.”

Culp was tight with both Otton and Tryon-Shoyinka, and he was even locker mates with Greg Gaines in his first year with the Huskies. Gaines is set to be a free agent, but Culp said it would be a blessing to be part of the Washington group in Tampa that includes Otton, Tryon-Shoyinka, (potentially) Gaines and Vita Vea.

“It would be a big blessing. I know that Tampa likes their Dawgs. To be reunited with Joe and Cade would be amazing,” Culp said. “And Greg Gaines was also like a big brother to me as well. We were actually locker mates in 2018, my freshman year, and Greg’s always been super cool toward me. So it would be nice to get to reunite with all those guys.

“And I’ve always heard nothing but great things about Vita Vea and the type of leader he is and the type of love that he shows to the Dawgs if they ever come in to Tampa. So I would be excited to be a part of that and experience that with them.”