Cal Poly football gets shot in the arm as highly-touted quarterback Sam Huard transfers to the Mustangs

SAN LUIS OBISBO, Calif. - It's official.

Following nearly a month of speculation on social media since he entered the Transfer Portal, Sam Huard signed a financial aid agreement on Sunday and announced on Seattle Sports 710 AM on Monday morning that he will make Cal Poly the second stop in his collegiate career to display his quarterback abilities.

Huard, believed to be Cal Poly's first five-star signing in football who played in two seasons at Washington, is reuniting with his high school coach, Sheldon Cross of Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Wash. Cross was named Cal Poly's new offensive coordinator on Jan. 18 by first-year Mustang head coach Paul Wulff, a former head coach at Eastern Washington and Washington State.

"We are very excited adding Sam to our recruiting class and to our team." said Wulff. "With Sam coming in the spring, he will add immediate competition and elevate the position as a whole.

"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.

"At the end of the day, like I said, we will do everything we need to do to move the needle for our program. Recruiting is extremely important and vital. We are excited with what is in store for Cal Poly Football moving forward."

Huard has three seasons of eligibility remaining and will join a crowded group of quarterbacks at Cal Poly. Jaden Jones started the first three games of the Mustangs' 2022 season before sustaining a knee injury and Spencer Brasch, his replacement, passed for a career-high 415 yards and equaled his career high with four touchdowns in a season-ending 49-42 victory over Portland State and finished with 2,604 yards through the air, No. 2 all-time in the Cal Poly record book.

Brasch finished the season completing 206 of 348 passes with 19 touchdowns. His 206 completions is a school record, surpassing the 196 passes completed by Robert Perez in 1986, while his 348 attempts is No. 2 behind Mike Fisher's 386 attempts in 1994. The 19 touchdowns are No. 6 all-time. Add his statistics from a year ago and Brasch now is No. 4 in career passing yards (4,329), No. 3 in completions (351), No. 3 in attempts (615) and seventh with 29 touchdowns.

Also on the roster are Bo Kelly, Jackson Pavitt and Bryce Weiner.

The left-handed Huard (6-2, 193) played in four games, starting one, as a true freshman at Washington in 2021. He went 2-for-5 for 31 yards in his Husky debut against Arkansas State and also attempted one pass in a win at Arizona. He completed three of five passes for 20 yards versus Arizona State and made his first collegiate start in the Apple Cup against Washington State, going 17-for-31 for 190 yards and one touchdown.

Last fall, Huard played in just one game, completing both of his pass attempts for 24 yards late in the Portland State contest, won by the Huskies 52-6, as a backup for Michael Penix Jr.

At Kennedy Catholic, Huard produced much more prolific numbers, breaking the Washington state record for career passing yards as he raised his career mark to 13,214 yards with a 514-yard, eight-touchdown performance against Kentwood. That was in the third game of his senior season -- halfway through the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Shortly after, he enrolled at Washington for the start of the 2021 spring quarter. In those three prep games, Huard passed for 1,473 yards and 21 touchdowns with no interceptions.

Huard, who finished his prep career with 153 touchdown passes (No. 3 in the state), led the state in passing yards in both his sophomore and junior seasons. The four-year starter led the Lancers to a 3-0 mark during his COVID-shortened senior season, 11-1 and a spot in the state 4A quarterfinals as a junior and back-to-back 6-4 marks as a sophomore and freshman years.

He was named North Puget Sound League 4A Player of the Year and All-NPSL 4A first team as a senior in the spring of 2021 and named to the USA Today preseason All-America first-team heading into the postponed 2020 season.

As a junior, Huard completed 269 of 426 passes for 4,172 yards, 56 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was named the Seattle Times' area offensive player of the year, the Associated Press 4A state player of the year and also named first-team all-state (all levels) by both the Seattle Times and Scorebook Live. Other honors include MaxPreps Junior All-America second team and first-team All-NPSL Mountain Division quarterback.

Postseason honors as a sophomore include first-team All-NPSL Mountain Division, the league's offensive back of the year and honorable mention AP all-state quarterback after completing 248 of 395 passes for 4,141 yards, 42 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

As a freshman in 2017, Huard was 229 of 397 for 3,432 yards and 34 touchdowns, earning second-team All-NPSL Cascade Division honors at quarterback. He also was named MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year.

Huard was named a 2021 Polynesian Bowl ambassador and also was named to the West roster for the 2021 All-American Bowl. He was rated the nation's No. 1 pro-style QB, No. 23 overall prospect and No. 3 recruit in the state of Washington by 247Sports.com and ranked as the nation's No. 14 overall prospect and No. 1 pro-style QB by ESPN.com. Rivals.com ranked him as the nation's No. 16 recruit and No. 2 pro-style quarterback. The 247Sports Composite Rankings labeled Huard as a five-star recruit in 2021.

Huard's father, Damon, played quarterback at Washington, lettering from 1993 through 1995, and finished his career as the UW's all-time leading passer in terms of career yards. Damon went on to 12-year career in the NFL, winning two Super Bowl rings while playing for the New England Patriots.

Sam's uncle, Brock, was also a starting quarterback at Washington (1996-98) and broke his older brother's Husky passing yards record before playing for the Colts and Seahawks in the NFL. Another uncle, Luke, played football at North Carolina and was later a graduate assistant coach at Washington.

Sam Huard also also played basketball at Kennedy Catholic.

Listed No. 3 on the Husky depth chart at quarterback behind Penix and Dylan Morris, Huard said it was difficult to give up his dream of following his father, Damon, and uncle, Brock, as Washington's starting quarterback.

"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."

Huard will enroll at Cal Poly for the Spring Quarter and will participate in Spring Camp starting April 4.

(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics).