Washington Junior Cornerback Darren Gardenhire Transferring from UW
SEATTLE -- Washington coach Chris Petersen confirmed during his Monday morning press conference that junior cornerback Darren Gardenhire has elected to transfer out of the program following the Huskies 44-18 win over Arizona State.
Gardenhire tweeted Monday morning before the beginning of Petersen's press conference that he had made the decision to transfer. A source with knowledge of the situation told Rivals that Gardenhire has already left the program and will not play against Washington State.
Petersen confirmed that Gardenhire is no longer on the team, citing "differences in philosophy" as the reason for the surprising departure. The Huskies coach said Gardenhire approached him before kickoff against Arizona State, but would not elaborate further on his conversation with the now former UW cornerback.
Washington is already expected to lose cornerback Sidney Jones and safety Budda Baker to the 2017 NFL Draft, along with departing senior cornerback Kevin King and safety Brandon Beaver. King and Gardenhire are the only two cornerbacks listed at the No.2 spot on the UW depth chart.
Gardenhire recorded 64 total tackles in 36 career games for Washington, including 12 pass breakups and three interceptions. He was one of the first defensive backs signed by Washington in the 2014 recruiting class, along with Jones and Naijiel Hale among others.
Hale was dismissed from the UW football program in August 2015, eventually signing with Montana State University where ex-UW defensive line coach Jeff Choate is the head coach. Former UW graduate assistant Gerald Alexander is also the teams defensive backs coach, having worked with both Hale and Gardenhire during their first years in Seattle.
Petersen elected not to get into specific reasons for when or why the junior cornerback decided to transfer, saying the decision was made by Gardenhire the "last couple days."
Minus Gardenhire, along with King and Beaver and potentially Jones and Baker, Washington has just two non-starters currently listed on the depth chart that are underclassmen in sophomore cornerback Jordan Miller and redshirt freshman cornerback Austin Joyner.
In total UW is expected to return safeties JoJo McIntosh (sophomore), Taylor Rapp (freshman), Ezekiel Turner (junior) and Trevor Walker (junior). Miller and Joyner represent the only two cornerbacks expected to return.
However, UW defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake does have several former four-star prospects waiting in the wings including cornerbacks Kentrell Love and Byron Murphy.