The University of Washington announced Wednesday the addition of Sacramento State graduate transfer quarterback Kevin Thomson.
Thomson, the reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year, is the fourth scholarship QB on the Huskies’ roster heading into the 2020 season. He joins redshirt sophomore Jacob Sirmon, redshirt freshman Dylan Morris and true freshman Ethan Garbers with a four-man completion on the horizon.
"We're really pleased that Kevin is returning to play for his hometown school," UW head coach Jimmy Lake said in a statement. "He adds a lot of experience to our quarterbacks room and should help raise the level of competition for everyone."
Last season Thomson threw for a career-high 3,216 yards and completed 265 of 450 attempts in 12 games for the Hornets. He threw 27 touchdowns while only surrendering eight interceptions while adding another 12 touchdowns on the ground on 127 attempts.
The addition of the veteran grad transfers creates more competition for the Huskies starting QB job under first-year offensive coordinator John Donovan. Both Lake and Donovan have stated over the past few months that the best player will earn the right to start.
Neither Sirmon or Morris are known for their dual-threat ability, but both posses arguably a better arm compared to Thomson. However, based on a small sample size from last season, there is a reason that the grad transfer could be viewed as more than just an insurance policy for UW.
According Pro Football Focus’ passing by direction breakdown of five games Thomson started in 2019 most of his success came in deep completions and short passes at or behind the line of scrimmage.
In the five games – at Arizona State, at Fresno State, at Montana State, vs Montana and at Cal Poly – Thomson completed 5 of 7 passes to the outside left for a total of 148 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
His numbers within 10 yards faired even better. Thompson completed a combined 18 of 22 passes to the left side in the aforementioned five games last season from at or fewer than 10 yards.
With the Huskies seeking to have a simplified and more explosive offense in 2020, the element of a quick short passing game coupled with a strong run game could be the recipe for success. At the same time, Donovan has made it clear that he does want whoever the Huskies’ quarterback is to take shots down the field when they open up.
That’s another area where Thomson excelled at Sacramento State last season. Even if the grad transfer does not end up as the starter week one against Michigan, having another experienced signal-caller in the room will surely help.
