Jake Haener climbed the seven steps that led into the stands in the northwest corner of Husky Stadium. There, he found his family and friends, and they happily exchanged handshakes and hugs.
What a debut for Washington’s redshirt freshman quarterback. Sure, it came in mop-up duty in the fourth quarter against a lower-division opponent, but Haener was flawless in his first appearance for the No. 9 Huskies in Saturday’s 45-3 rout of North Dakota.
Haener, a 6-foot redshirt freshman from Danville, Calif., drew a hearty cheer from the announced crowd of 68,093 at Husky Stadium. He then completed all five of his passes on his opening drive, including 12-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Ty Jones in the right edge of the end zone.