UW Huskies add three-star tight end from Oregon

By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter

Jordan Paopao clearly likes what he sees in Oregon. 

The UW tight ends coach has landed three commitments since returning for his second stint on Montlake. All hail from Washington’s southern neighbor. 

During the 2025 recruiting cycle, UW signed a pair of tight ends: Baron Naone out of West Linn, Ore. and Austin Simmons from Albany, Ore. Add in Charlie Crowell, a Bend, Ore. native who signed with Arizona during the 2024 cycle and followed coach Jedd Fisch and his staff to UW, and Paopao’s affinity for Oregon tight ends becomes even more apparent. 

Paopao added another Oregon native to his position group Tuesday afternoon when Sam Vyhlidal, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound tight end from Beaverton, Ore., announced his commitment to the Huskies in a series of posts on his social media accounts. He’s the 12th player to pledge to join UW’s 2026 recruiting class. 

Vyhlidal, who plays at Mountainside High, is listed as an athlete by 247Sports but will play tight end at Washington, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Seattle Times. He’s a three-star prospect according to the 247Sports composite ratings, the No. 5 player in Oregon, the No. 89 athlete in the country and ranked the No. 1,250 player nationally. 

He chose UW after officially visiting the campus during the past weekend. Vyhlidal also held offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and UNLV, among others. Vyhlidal, who received his scholarship offer from Washington May 15, took less than a month to commit to the Huskies. 

Paopao isn’t the only Husky assistant who’s spent time recruiting Oregon. Composite three-star running back Ansu Sanoe, who plays at Lakeridge High in Lake Oswego, Ore., was the first player to commit to UW’s 2026 recruiting class.

Sanoe and Vyhlidal are poised to join a growing group of Oregonians on UW’s roster. Along with Naone and Simmons — both composite three-star recruits — the Huskies signed 6-3, 315-pound defensive tackle Dominic Macon from Adrienne C. Nelson High in Happy Valley, Ore during the 2025 cycle. Crowell played at Summit High in Bend, while redshirt freshman cornerback Elias Johnson and walk-on receiver Jace Burton both prepped at Jesuit High in Portland, Ore. 

Vyhlidal fits the physical build Paopao has generally recruited. Naone was measured at 6-3, 230 pounds as a high school prospect. Simmons, a former Washington State commit, was listed at 6-5, 220 pounds when he flipped to UW — an inch taller and five pounds lighter than Vyhlidal. Simmons, who enrolled in January and participated in spring practices, now weighs 238 pounds according to UW’s official spring roster. 

At Washington, Vyhlidal likely faces an uphill battle for early playing time. The Huskies are expected to lose seventh-year tight end Quentin Moore following the 2025 season. The former Inglemoor High standout was granted an extra season of eligibility after suffering a season-ending meniscus injury in UW’s season-opening win against Weber State, but Moore will likely exhaust his eligibility upon the conclusion of this season. 

Ryan Otton, a former blue-chip recruit from Tumwater High, will be in his fifth season of college football in 2026. Injuries have limited him to just a handful of games during his UW tenure, making his exact eligibility somewhat uncertain. He did not participate in UW’s spring practices as he continues to recover from the injury that held him out of the entire 2024 campaign. 

Decker DeGraaf and USC transfer Kade Eldridge will be juniors in 2026. They took a majority of UW’s tight-end repetitions during spring practices while Moore continued his rehab. DeGraaf, a former Kalen DeBoer recruit, shined as a true freshman in 2024. He made 15 catches for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Eldridge, a Lynden native who transferred to UW during the winter portal window, played sparingly during two seasons at USC. 

UW likely won’t have much experience behind DeGraaf and Eldridge. Crowell spent his entire true freshman season rehabbing after he suffered a knee injury during fall camp that cost him the whole 2024 season. Naone and Simmons will be entering their second seasons in college football when Vyhlidal arrives. 

UW might sign more than one tight end in its 2026 class, too. Despite signing two tight ends in consecutive classes, the Huskies got firsthand experience about how quickly depth can evaporate during the past year. Moore, Crowell and Otton were sidelined for the season after the first week, and Paopao said the Huskies leaned extremely heavily on starter Keleki Latu to play substantial snaps. 

Vyhlidal was joined on his official visit by composite three-star prospect Kai Wesley, a 6-7, 235-pound tight end from Orem, Utah. Wesley currently has a top five that includes UW, Baylor, Boise State, Colorado State and Florida State, and is the No. 51 tight end in the country.