USC transfer Kade Eldridge gives Washington Huskies fresh look on offense
Washington Husky sophomore tight end Kade Eldridge celebrates a touchdown Saturday, August 30, 2025 in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter
Kade Eldridge’s first career touchdown came on the ground.
With 11:17 remaining in the third quarter of Washington’s season-opening victory against Colorado State, the Huskies lined up in I formation on the 1-yard line with the game tied 14-14. But instead of giving the ball to senior running back Jonah Coleman, Washington called a run for Eldridge, the sophomore tight end lined up at fullback, who rumbled into the end zone for a touchdown.
“It’s just a super unique position where you can be used in multiple ways,” Eldridge said Aug. 4. “I enjoy how they use me for blocking, but also leaks and unique passes and plays that I wouldn’t think of initially. Coach (Jedd) Fisch has a great mind for that.”
Eldridge’s inclusion as a fullback during both of Washington’s first two games of the 2025 season adds a new wrinkle to Fisch’s offense. The Huskies rarely deployed a fullback during the past season. But Fisch and offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty said it’s because they didn’t have a player with the unique skill set they required to play fullback until they added Eldridge.
“When you have that guy,” Fisch said Sept. 1, “when you have that type of flexibility, you’ve just added a new dimension in how you run the football.”
Fisch and Dougherty certainly have their fair share of experience with fullbacks. They were both part of Jim Harbaugh’s 2016 Michigan staff. Fisch served as the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach and held the passing-game coordinator title while Dougherty was an offensive analyst.
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The Wolverines leaned on a pair of fullbacks — Henry Poggi and Bobby Henderson — during the 2016 season. Poggi, who made seven starts, caught six passes for 45 yards and rushed for 4 yards. Henderson rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Fisch went to UCLA in 2017 to become Jim Mora’s offensive coordinator. Dougherty went with him, serving as the Bruins wide receivers coach. And once again, Fisch’s offense utilized a fullback. Giovanni Gentosi played in all 13 games, totaling 10 yards rushing and 51 yards receiving. Fisch and Dougherty played a fullback during their first campaign at Arizona, too, using Washington State transfer Clay Markoff.
But Fisch and Dougherty’s fullback fascination seemingly ended after Markoff’s departure. Arizona briefly experimented with tight ends Keyan Burnett and Roberto Miranda lining up in the backfield during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, according to Pro Football Focus, but neither played more than a handful of snaps there throughout the season.
At Washington in 2024, Decker DeGraaf played 15 snaps in the backfield while edge rusher Voi Tunuufi was summoned to play fullback on the goal line twice. Dougherty said they simply never had a player who was a good fit for the role.
“That’s a unique position, right?” Dougherty said. “It takes a unique kind of guy that can play that spot. And so you’ve got to make sure you have that guy on your roster.”
Enter Eldridge.
The 6-foot-4 USC transfer was the definition of versatile during his time at Lynden Christian High. He played halfback, accumulating 545 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on 72 carries as a senior. He played defensive end, racking up 18 tackles including 6.5 for a loss. Eldridge even punted.
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Fisch praised Eldridge’s flexibility, strength and physical frame. Listed at 250 pounds, he’s heavier than Markoff and Henderson and is comparable to Poggi and Gentosi. Eldridge’s weight is similar to former Green Bay Packers fullback Joe Kerridge, who played for Fisch at Michigan in 2015.
Forcing teams to prepare for a two-back rushing formation, along with the single-back looks and read-option run schemes UW used in 2024, is also a benefit of Eldridge’s ability to play fullback, Fisch said.
But most important, Eldridge proved himself as a blocker while at USC. More than half of the 234 snaps he played in 2024 were run plays — though he played only two snaps in the backfield. Eldridge, who transferred to UW before the 2025 season, said the opportunity at Washington intrigued him because Fisch and Dougherty were interested in maximizing his versatility.
“Here, I’m more of a Swiss Army Knife,” he said. “They’ll use me as a fullback. We’ll line up in I formation and run the ball. We can do whatever we want. Coach Fisch is super dynamic in this offense, and I enjoy working with him.”
It remains to be seen how much Eldridge will play at fullback during the upcoming season. Poggi played 278 snaps at Michigan in Harbaugh’s run-heavy offensive scheme during the 2016 season, but Gentosi got just 159 snaps at UCLA in 2017. Markoff played even less, appearing for just 86 snaps in 2021 at Arizona. And Washington has two other formidable tight ends in DeGraaf and seventh-year senior Quentin Moore.
But Eldridge has clearly put himself in a position to contribute at a position where the Huskies don’t have much competition for him. And the Lynden native might be well on his way to becoming a staple for Washington on the goal line and in short yardage.
“He’s a physical kid,” Dougherty said Aug. 26. “Not afraid to stick his face in there and also has good hands. So, again, you can do so much with those guys that have that versatility. They can do stuff in the run game and the pass game, no matter what. It just gives you that value, especially at that position at the tight end spot. So the more we can do with him, the better. And again, he’s done a great job at executing throughout camp.
“He’s shown us what he can do when his number’s been called.”
Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes .com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.