Four months ago, Hayden Moore was dressed in maize and blue as Michigan fans flooded the field at NRG Stadium in Houston to celebrate their College Football Playoff National Championship victory.
Now, the redshirt freshman linebacker is swapping sides.
Moore, a 6-foot-2, 226-pound linebacker, became Washington’s 10th spring transfer pledge on Wednesday. He was part of the Wolverines’ 2023 recruiting class and did not play in any games during his rookie year. Moore has four years of eligibility left.
Moore, a three-star prospect according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, attended Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado.
He had a good career, recording 111 tackles and five sacks as Regis Jesuit finished 8-4 in his junior year. Moore led the state the following year with 197 tackles (including seven sacks), an interception, and a forced fumble. Regis Jesuit finished 7-5 during Moore’s senior year. He also participated in track and field and baseball during his high school career.
Moore concluded his high school career as the country’s No. 94 linebacker, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. He was Colorado’s No. 8 player, three positions ahead of current University of Washington offensive guard Zach Henning.
Moore got scholarship offers from all across the country, including Texas A&M, Iowa State, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, UCLA, Washington State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, and a number of Mountain West colleges.
Moore selected Michigan. He did not appear in a game for the Wolverines, but he was selected defensive scout team player of the week four times during their run to the CFP championship. On April 30, he entered the transfer portal.
His decision to transfer to Washington is intriguing. Linebacker is one of the few positions where the Huskies bring back a significant amount of experience.
Alphonzo Tuputala, a sixth-year linebacker, earned 69 tackles as a starter in 2023. He had 1.5 sacks, a pass deflection, and a remarkable interception versus Utah, which ended a yard short of the end zone after he dropped the ball at the 1-yard line.
Carson Bruener, a fifth-year linebacker, recorded 86 tackles in 2023, ranking third among all UW players and became the Huskies’ best returning tackler for 2024. He also recorded three pass deflections, a forced fumble, and an interception.
Washington also features former walk-on Drew Fowler, a crucial sixth-year special-teams contributor who received a scholarship from coach Jedd Fisch only days after arriving in Seattle. He spent the most of the spring as part of Washington’s No. 2 linebacker duo with senior linebacker Bryun Parham, a San Jose State transfer and 2023 All-Mountain West honorable mention member who led the Spartans in tackles.
Tuputala, Bruener, Fowler, and Parham may dominate the majority of snaps in 2024, but the Huskies have few bodies behind them.
Junior linebacker Anthony Ward started his college career as a walk-on at Washington. He transferred to Arizona before the 2022 season to join his brother, Isaiah Ward, a sophomore edge rusher. Anthony Ward became an effective special-teamer for the Wildcats, earning a scholarship before returning to Washington with his brother to join Fisch and his staff. He returns to Washington on a scholarship.
Aside from Anthony Ward, Washington’s sole linebackers are redshirt freshman Deven Bryant, who missed spring practice due to a foot injury, and true freshman Khmori House, a Kalen DeBoer prospect who has remained committed to Washington. The Huskies don’t have any sophomore linebackers.
Jordan Whitney, a former three-star prospect from Oxnard, Calif., joined the transfer portal on April 30.
Moore may not receive much game experience in 2024, but he might be in line for major snaps in the future, providing he does not enter the portal again.
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