RB Dumas, DL Finau Reportedly Late Portal Entries

The spring transfer portal window closed on Sunday but it sometimes takes a day or two for schools to process late entries. Washington ended up as one of the schools impacted by the potential delay as RB Aaron Dumas and DL Siaosi Finau are both now in the transfer portal. The moves were first reported by Scott Eklund of Dawgman.

Neither of the portal entries are all that surprising given the competition they faced. Running back Aaron Dumas came to Washington last year as a transfer from New Mexico where he put up 647 yards as a true freshman averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Dumas had the best game of his freshman season while playing against Fresno State (143 yards with a TD) and new Husky coach Kalen DeBoer. He was sorely needed in spring practices when essentially Washington’s entire running back room was out with injuries simultaneously.

Even in that environment though he often took snaps behind walk-on converted QB Camden Sirmon. Since that point Cam Davis and Sam Adams have gotten healthy while Washington has added Tybo Rogers in the class of 2023 (who participated in spring ball) plus P5 transfers Daniyel Ngata, Will Nixon, and Dillon Johnson. There was no realistic path to playing time for Dumas now and so his departure in the hope for more reps likely makes sense for both parties.

Siaosi Finau was just about a complete unknown in recruiting circles before he committed to the Huskies out of Renton HS. He joined the class as the lowest rated scholarship player of the group by the 247 Sports Composite but had potential with his 6’3 and 300 pound frame. Through 2 seasons though with the Huskies it didn’t appear that Finau had a clear path to playing time after not taking a defensive snap yet. The Parker twins were brought in as part of the next class by the new coaching staff and appear to have both leapfrogged Finau. He likely would’ve been 8th at the DT spot this upcoming year without factoring in any of the incoming freshmen.

With their transfers out of the program it leaves Washington with 81 scholarships and 4 potential spots they can fill by the fall. Those could come from either further transfer portal additions, late JUCO adds, or promoting a current walk-on to scholarship. The Huskies are currently without a kicker or punter on scholarship so both could make sense based on who was perceived to win the battles for each spot in the spring. There are a few linebackers who might make sense as well. Further depth at just about every level of the defense but in particular experience on the edge would make a lot of sense.

It’s unfortunate how things ended up at Washington for each. Dumas had 4 more transfers (all with P5 experience) added to the room within the next year after he committed and if he knew how much competition he was really going to end up facing he might have made a different decision. The Huskies were Finau’s only offer out of high school when Jimmy Lake’s staff clearly had some major deficiencies in their recruiting both in terms of effort and player evaluation. Hopefully each is able to find a new spot where they’re able to find playing time.

Best of luck Aaron and Siaosi!