Cal Poly lands former elite high school quarterback

January 30, 2023

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A once highly recruited quarterback announced Monday that he transferred from the University of Washington to Cal Poly.

Sam Huard, the son of former NFL quarterback Damon Huard, entered college as a five-star recruit and rated as the first or second-best pro-style quarterback among all high school prospects in 2021. Recruiting services ranked him as high as the 14th best overall prospect in his high school class.

Damon Huard also played quarterback at the University of Washington and before having a 12-year career in the NFL. Brock Huard, Damon’s brother and Sam’s uncle, too, played quarterback at Washington and in the NFL.

Both Damon and Brock Huard starred at Washington. Sam Huard struggled to follow their footsteps.

As a freshman for Washington, Huard played in four games, starting one. Last fall, Huard played in just one game and only threw two passes. Huard entered the Transfer Portal about a month ago.

“What do I want more? Do I want to go play right now, or do I want to continue to stick it out, because this has been my dream?” Huard told the Seattle Times. “Do I really want to leave here like this, having really not played much? It was not how I expected to come in (to Washington), but sometimes that’s life.

“Part of me just really wanted to stick it out and continue to grow and develop, and then hopefully get my opportunity down the road,” Huard added, “but I wanted a fresh start and a chance to compete to go play. That’s what ultimately led me to making this decision.”

Believed to be the first five-star recruit to ever sign with Cal Poly, Huard chose to play for new Mustang Head Coach Paul Wulff, who has ties to Huard’s home state. Wulff formerly served as the head coach at Eastern Washington and Washington State.

Additionally, Huard is reuniting with his high school coach, Sheldon Cross, of Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Washington. Wulff named Cross Cal Poly’s offensive coordinator on Jan. 18.

“We are very excited adding Sam to our recruiting class and to our team.” Wulff said.

“Obviously, he had an outstanding high school career, but was in a tough situation at the University of Washington,” Wulff added. “He wanted a change and different environment. Previous relationships with Sam and his family is also a very important piece to Sam coming to Cal Poly.”

Huard joins the Cal Poly football team with three seasons of eligibility remaining.