Jake Haener never got to live out his dream as the Washington Huskies‘ starting quarterback. After committing to coach Chris Petersen in the 2017 class, he played in four games during the 2018 season, compiling 107 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in a loss to California that was almost certainly the reason the Huskies didn’t make a second College Football Playoff appearance in three years.
But Haener stayed resilient and competed with Georgia transfer Jacob Eason for the starting job in 2019, losing the battle and eventually entering the transfer portal where he ended up at Fresno State and started for two seasons under coach Kalen DeBoer.
When DeBoer took the head coaching job at Washington, Haener was widely expected to follow him to Seattle and live out his dream as the Huskies’ starting quarterback, but due to transfer rules, he wouldn’t have been able to enroll until the summer and instead, the head coach turned to Michael Penix Jr., and the rest is history.
Haener went on to be selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft and after not playing in his rookie season, has appeared in six games during his second year before getting the nod to start Sunday’s matchup with the Washington Commanders following an injury to Derek Carr.
However, the game didn’t go the way Haener may have hoped. He was benched at halftime in favor of rookie Spencer Rattler, after going 4-10 for 49 yards and an interception, and was sacked three times before interim coach Darren Rizzi opted to make the change.
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