A top cornerback, UW Huskies’ McDuffie flashes potential as ‘explosive’ punt returner
There’s a reason Jason Negro calls Washington defensive back Trent McDuffie one of the most dynamic players he’s coached at St. John Bosco High School.
That’s no casual statement, either. Located in Bellflower, California, Bosco is a national powerhouse that regularly produces top-tier Division I talent. If you want a taste of why McDuffie stood out, look back at Bosco’s 56-6 victory over San Clemente in 2018. McDuffie’s name dominates every recap. He had an interception. He forced a fumble then recovered it. He scored two touchdowns — one on a 12-yard run and the other on a 76-yard punt return.
“We were able to play him at corner,” Negro said during an interview last season. “We played him in the nickel. We were able to return punts with him. He played some running back for us. That’s very rare at our school to have a guy that can do that many things because typically we have guys at those spots that can do it themselves.”
After an exceptional high school career, it didn’t take long for McDuffie to prove himself at the college level. As a freshman in 2019, he became one of the top cornerbacks in the Pac-12. He finished the season with 45 tackles, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception and received honorable mention for the conference’s Freshman Defensive Player of the Year.
Now a sophomore and a returning starter, McDuffie is getting the opportunity to flash some of that versatility he displayed in high school. He’s not just a cornerback; he’s also UW’s new punt returner. If the Huskies’ season opener against Oregon State was any indication, stopping him won’t be easy.
The Beavers punted just twice, but McDuffie only needed one chance to showcase his potential. In the second quarter, he fielded Caleb Lightbourn’s punt at the 40-yard line and burst through a hole near midfield. He broke one tackle. He broke another. And then he was finally — just barely — brought down at Oregon State’s 15-yard line by Lightbourn himself.
“What an exciting part of the game that was,” UW head coach Jimmy Lake said during a Zoom call on Monday. “I was so excited that Trent was back there learning how to become a punt returner. … He’s just so natural, so explosive. We saw him in practice making guys miss and causing our scout team issues. We knew it was going to happen in a game.”
During his Zoom interview on Tuesday, McDuffie declined with a smile to say whether he’s the fastest player on the team. He hasn’t run the 40-yard dash lately, he said, and the Huskies haven’t organized any races, either. Still, you’d likely be hard-pressed to find someone willing to argue with the premise.
“I was a punt returner all of high school, all the way back to freshman year,” McDuffie said. “I’m comfortable back there. It’s definitely something that I can do really well. I think just my decision making and my ball carrier vision when I’m out there is something that I do very well at.”
As a senior at Bosco, McDuffie averaged 19.2 yards per punt return. He took two back for touchdowns during his high school career.
Growing up, he studied the NFL career of wide receiver and return specialist Devin Hester, who holds the record for most all-time return touchdowns and most all-time punt return touchdowns. Now, though, he mostly watches former UW punt returners Aaron Fuller and Dante Pettis, the latter of whom set an FBS record with eight career punt return touchdowns.
“I think those guys just did a really good job in the system and the way we do our returns out here (at UW),’’ McDuffie said. “I feel like watching them is really just helping me build my game up.”
Fuller recorded the only punt return touchdown of his career with an 88-yard return against BYU last year. Heading into the season, special teams coach Bob Gregory mentioned McDuffie on his list of potential returners, saying, “I think we’re going to be better back there.”
Judging by the slow grin that spread across McDuffie’s face at the mention of Pettis’ record-setting success, he’s looking forward to the challenge.
“Teams here moving forward are definitely going to have to make sure that they don’t out-kick their coverage and they know where (No.) 22 is and make sure they got guys that can tackle him,” Lake said. “He’s one of the fastest players on our team. He’s sure-handed. I’m extremely excited about what Trent is going to do in our return game.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 3:20 PM.
