Washington-Texas College Football Playoff: Huskies Are Outliers In Trendy Transfer Portal World, And It's Paying Off

NEW ORLEANS - Just three months ago, Colorado and coach Deion Sanders were the talk of the college football world amid a 3-0 start and the Buffaloes' first appearance in the Associated Press poll in three years.

Sanders was changing the game via the NCAA Transfer Portal in swashbuckling style in his first season in Boulder. No less than 41 players transferred out following his immediate directions to do so upon his arrival from the head coaching job at Jackson State. And he pirated in 50 from the portal.

Colorado's Deion Sanders Approach Appeared To Work

Everything looked great as national media flocked to a locale it usually flies over. Then the season went on. And Colorado basically transferred out of it, losing its last six games to finish just three games better than in 2022 at 4-8 and the same in the Pac-12 at 1-8 for last.

In the end, Sanders' journeymen were all talk and little competitiveness. They even lost to bad teams - 56-14 to Washington State, which finished 5-7, and 46-43 to Stanford, which finished 3-9.

Washington Huskies Largely Avoid NCAA Transfer Portal

Meanwhile, northwest of Boulder by about 1,300 miles in Seattle, the Washington Huskies more quietly put together a 13-0 season with a dramatically more selective approach to the portal. With just 21 players transferring in over the last two years after inheriting a 4-8 and 3-6 team from coach Jimmy Lake, second-year Washington coach Kalen DeBoer is two wins away from a national championship.

Many schools bring in 20 or so transfers each year.

Washington coach Kalen DeBoer (left) and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian - an ex-Washington coach - pose at Sugar Bowl press conference Sunday in New Orleans. (Photo By OutKick's Glenn Guilbeau).

The No. 2 Huskies play No 3 Texas (12-1) in a College Football Playoff national semifinal at the Sugar Bowl on Monday (8:45 p.m. ESPN) in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The winner plays in the national championship game on Jan. 8 in Houston against the winner of the other semifinal. That will be between No. 1 Michigan (13-0) and No. 4 Alabama (12-1) on Monday (5 p.m., ESPN) at the Rose Bowl.

DeBoer inherited a losing program not as bad as Colorado, no. But he used a vastly different approach than Sanders' speedy drive-through. He studied the roster, watched film of the players and decided to keep many of them. That included 15 seniors and an uncanny nine six-year seniors, a rarity in this immediate gratification college football world.

Washington Coach Kalen DeBoer Choosy In Transfer Portal

Then he carefully selected 10 players from the portal going into 2022 as an NFL coach might draft by need. One of those was Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who finished second for the Heisman Trophy this season as a senior to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels last month. DeBoer added another 11 from the portal going into this season.

"When it comes to the portal, for us, it was just about plugging guys into spots, where we felt we had
gaps," he said Saturday at Media Day in the Superdome. "We weren't just going to bring a wave of guys in - anyone who seemed to be able to run, throw, tackle, whatever, block."

No, his process was not a roster camp. And he tried to care as much about players he inherited as much as those he recruited.

"We were going to be very careful, because we knew you might bring two guys in, and it might push the wrong two out," he said. "We felt there was a base within the program of good football players, great people. When you surround yourself with the right people, you don't need to always go looking for 15, 20, 25 guys to pull out of the portal and just try to replace everyone."

Huskies Started Fast With Slower Transfer Portal Approach

DeBoer went 11-2 and 7-2 in the Pac-12 in 2022 with a 27-20 win over Texas and former Washington coach Steve Sarkisian (2009-13) in the Alamo Bowl. His last loss was 45-38 to Arizona State on Oct. 8.

"We brought in roughly 10 guys each year," he said. "And those guys for the most part have been very critical to our success last year and this season."

Penix is currently No. 1 in the nation in total yards passing at 4,218 and in passing yards per game at 324.5. Senior running back Dillon Johnson, formerly of Mississippi State, has rushed for 1,113 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. The other nine are either starters and steady contributors.

Washington coach Kalen DeBoer celebrates with a player after win over Oregon in the 2022 season at Eugene. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)

"I think those quick turnarounds are possible," DeBoer said. "I think that sustained success is what you also have got to be focused on. So, building it with a base of young guys coming up through your program and focusing on developing these guys as people and football players will continue to be a huge part of our program."

Among the Washington lifers who are heavy contributors are fifth-year senior linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala of Federal Way, Washington, and fifth-year senior edge rusher Bralen Trice of Phoenix. A starter the last two seasons, Tuputala is fourth on the team in tackles with 59. Trice leads the team with five sacks and with 8.5 tackles for loss.

College Football Playoff Appearance Rewards Patient Huskies

Both played in the last season of coach Chris Petersen in 2019 when the Huskies went 8-5 and 4-5.

"No, not one second in my mind," Tuputala told OutKick last week when asked if he ever considered transferring after the two coaching changes or because he played sparingly in each of his first three seasons.

"The relationships here, it's so much more than just football," he said. "You get time to no other people, to know your teammates, the staff, to the point where you don't want to leave that. You don't want to risk losing something so genuine and authentic."

How authentic is Colorado's roster? Just a thought.

"Yeah, no. I don't ever think about that," Trice said when OutKick asked him if he ever considered entering the portal. "They can have all the fun they want switching between schools and treating it like the business it is."

Former five-star cornerback Denver Harris of Houston is looking for his third college in three years, for example. He played at Texas A&M in 2022 and LSU in 2023 before recently entering the portal.

"I'm just happy to be here with my boys," Trice said. "I always go back to the brotherhood - the connection and the relationships we built on this team are different. That's also a catalyst for our success. A lot guys just want to stick around as long as they could make a difference in the program."

Washington is not running the Boy Scouts. Players are well compensated in this age of Name, Image & Likeness through a steady program called Montlake Futures that has lasted, where several around the country have had only brief success before disbanding.

"It's great," Trice said. "NIL is great for us. It has changed the way people live. It's helped a lot of people, including myself. But regardless of NIL, I'm happy just to be here and to be able to play and do what we do with the guys I'm playing with."

Safety Dominique Hampton of Glendale, Arizona, is one of the nine - a six-year senior. He played in four games as as true freshman in 2018 for Peterson when the Huskies finished 10-4 and 7-2. After three more years of backup play, he has started the last two seasons.

Good things come to those who wait and don't transfer. Hampton leads Washington in tackles this season with 93 and has two interceptions with five pass breakups. He leads the team in career games played with 53.

"My parents said to stay. 'It would work out,'" he said. "Especially now with the transfer portal, it was hard not to look around and think about it. But I feel more comfortable that I stayed in one spot."

Among the other six-year seniors are some of Washington's top players. Tight end Jack Westover is the Huskies' No. 3 receiver this season with 35 catches for 332 yards yards and four touchdowns. Outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui has five tackles for loss with 3.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. Tight end Devin Culp has 15 catches for 194 yards with two touchdowns. Running back Richard Newton has gained 1,000 career yards. Center Matteo Mele waited five years before becoming a starter for three games this season. Alas, a biceps injury ended his college career.

Washington Husky players and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. celebrate winning the Pac-12 title over Oregon on Dec. 1 in Las Vegas. (Photo By Kirby Lee of USA TODAY Sports).

"I think that's pretty much unheard of now," DeBoer told OutKick when asked if his program is an outlier as far as the portal craze. "We feel very fortunate to have nine guys who have been here for six years. I think that’s pretty much unheard of. And I think it’s a credit to the guys that were in this program and what this place means to them. It’s a credit to coaches that were here before us."

DeBoer and his staff do not just look at 40-yard dash times and heights and weights.

"Our staff recruited the right guys who weren’t just about ball all the time," he said. "But they had a good head on their shoulders, and they could see that we were going to hold them accountable."

And now, it's all gravy for one or two more games.

"Huge credit to the guys that have stuck it out five years, six years," DeBoer said. "They’re certainly the leaders on our team. And then you add a Michael Penix, who is a sixth-year senior, too. Wasn’t here the entire time, but you see the journey and how awesome college football is by the relationships that are formed. They want to continue it by sticking around. It’s awesome they get to reap the rewards for seeing it through."