The Washington Huskies appear to have a budding star in freshman tight end Decker DeGraaf. After being named College Football Network’s Freshman Tight End of the Year, he added another accolade to his impressive first season when he found his name on 247Sports’ Freshman All-America team on Friday.
“It wasn’t the best year in terms of true freshman tight end production, but Decker DeGraaf gets the nod here with his strong late-season push as a starter,” 247Sports’ Chris Hummer said. “DeGraaf, who started the final four games for Washington, led all true freshman tight ends with 199 yards and three touchdowns.”
He put together those numbers on just 14 catches while improving as a blocker throughout the year and when he spoke with the media in November, said that Jedd Fisch’s coaching staff has done a great job preparing him for the college game.
“I think the speed of the game is way faster and there is a lot more going on. The complexity of the play book is obviously a huge difference. Our coaching staff is amazing and they have so much experience at a high level in the NFL. They just kept me to a high standard, pushed me to be better everyday and ultimately it got me ready to play early.”
That coaching staff produced two Freshman All-Americans during its stint at Arizona, and can now add one from Washington to its resume.