Sam Huard (born June 17, 2002) is an American college football quarterback for the USC Trojans.[2] He has previously played for the Washington Huskies, the Cal Poly Mustangs and the Utah Utes.
Huard grew up in Bellevue, Washington and attended John F. Kennedy Catholic High School.[3] He was named the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year after passing for 3,432 yards and 34 touchdowns.[4] Huard completed 248 of 395 passes for 4,141 yard with 42 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during his sophomore season.[5] He completed 269 of 426 passes for 4,172 yards with 56 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as a junior and was named the Area Offensive Player of the Year by The Seattle Times and the 4A State Player of the Year by the Associated Press.[6] Huard passes 1,473 yards and 21 touchdowns with no interceptions during his senior season, which was postponed from the fall to the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19.[7] He also was invited to play in the 2021 All-American Bowl.[8] Huard finished his high school career with a state record 13,214 passing yards and threw 153 touchdown passes.[9]
Huard was initially rated a four-star recruit.[10] He committed to play college football at Washington as a sophomore over offers from Boise State, California, Florida, Tennessee, and Washington State.[11] Huard was re-rated as a five-star recruit during his senior year.[12]
Huard entered his freshman season at Washington as the Huskies second-string quarterback behind Dylan Morris.[13] He appeared in four games during the season, completing 22-for-42 pass attempts for 241 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions.[14] Huard made his first career start in the Apple Cup rivalry game at the end of the 2021 season, completing 17-of-31 pass attempts for 190 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions in a 40-13 loss to Washington State.[15] In 2022, Huard served as the third-string quarterback behind superstar transfer Michael Penix Jr. and Morris.[16] Following the end of the season, he entered the NCAA transfer portal.[17]
Huard ultimately transferred to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.[18] The transfer reunited him with his former head coach at Kennedy Catholic, Sheldon Cross, who had recently been hired as the Mustangs' offensive coordinator.[19]
Huard opened the 2023 season as Cal Poly's starting quarterback.[20] He played in 9 games for the Mustangs, totaling 2,205 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.[21]
On May 7, 2024, Huard transferred to the University of Utah.[22][23]
On December 8, 2024, Huard announced that he would enter the transfer portal for the third time.[24]
On January 6, 2025, Huard announced that he would transfer to USC.[25]
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | INT | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2021 | Washington | 4 | 1 | 0–1 | 22 | 42 | 52.4 | 241 | 5.7 | 1 | 4 | 89.4 | 3 | −32 | −10.7 | 0 |
| 2022 | Washington | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 0 | 200.8 | 1 | −13 | −13.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Cal Poly | 9 | 9 | 3–6 | 185 | 304 | 60.9 | 2,205 | 7.3 | 18 | 10 | 134.7 | 19 | −197 | −5.1 | 0 |
| 2024 | Utah | DNP | ||||||||||||||
| 2025 | USC | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Career | 14 | 10 | 3–7 | 209 | 348 | 60.1 | 2,470 | 7.1 | 19 | 14 | 129.7 | 23 | −142 | −6.2 | 0 | |
Huard is the son of former Washington and NFL quarterback Damon Huard.[26] His uncle, Brock Huard, also played quarterback at Washington and in the NFL.[27] Another uncle, Luke Huard, played quarterback at North Carolina and is currently a member of the USC Trojans coaching staff.[28]
