College football has experienced some odd roster developments over the last week after UNLV starting quarterback Matthew Sluka decided to step away from the team, reportedly due to unfulfilled NIL promises, while USC’s star defensive tackle Bear Alexander also chose to step away from the team due to a reduced snap count.
The new world of college football has come to the shores of Montlake, as Washington Huskies linebacker Bryun Parham announced on Friday morning that he will be utilizing his redshirt and re-entering the transfer portal after originally coming to Washington from San Jose State in late January.
“I’m thankful for my opportunity here at the University of Washington, all of the coaches were good,” Parham told On3’s Jeremy Johnson. “I wanted to redshirt so that I could preserve my year of eligibility.”
A shocking decision from the 2023 All-Mountain West honorable mention, who entered the season with 210 career tackles and has played a lot for defensive coordinator Steve Belichick. He recorded 11 tackles in four games and forced a fumble in Washington’s 30-9 win over Eastern Michigan, but his role may start to decrease moving forward, which may have played into his decision, as he said his decision is not related to NIL.
“That had zero factor in my decision,” he told Johnson. “I’m not really worried about money like that, I’m just trying to get developed and showcase my skills so that I can get to that next level. NIL has zero impact on my decision to redshirt this year. This is a football and life decision.”
Coach Jedd Fisch stated on Monday that he expects senior Drew Fowler to play when Washington takes on Rutgers on Friday night, and freshman linebacker Khmori House has played his way into a bigger role behind starters Alphonzo Tuputala and Carson Bruener, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his efforts against Northwestern.
“My experience here was cool, I’m very grateful for it,” Parham said. “All these coaches gave me a great opportunity to come to a school like this… I’m super grateful for everything. Obviously you’re a little frustrated in situations like this but I’m trying to stay positive and keep going because that’s all that you can do.”
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