Director of Community and External Relations, Special Advisor to the A.D. – UW Athletics
Born in Yakima, Washington, Huard was raised southeast of Tacoma in Puyallup, where his father Mike was a high school teacher and head football coach. He was the first to hold a snap for kicker Ryan Longwell when they played for Aylen Junior High. Huard attended Puyallup High School, where he was a letterman for the Vikings in football and basketball. He played tight end as a sophomore, as the quarterback was senior Billy Joe Hobert. As a senior in 1990, Huard was named the Powerade State Player of the Year and won All-America honors. After graduation from high school, Huard attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where he redshirted in 1991, the Huskies’ national championship season. Wearing jersey number 7, he started for the first time in 1993 under first-year head coach Jim Lambright, and continued as a starter through 1995. That season, he passed for 2,415 yards and 11 touchdowns; he finished his career as the Huskies’ all-time passing leader with 5,692 yards. As a junior in 1994, Huard led the Dawgs to an 18-point victory over the Miami Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl, halting their nine-year home winning streak at 58 games. Huard was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 1996, and played twelve seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs. While with the Patriots, he won two Super Bowl rings.
The University of Washington announced in June 2013 that former Husky quarterback Damon Huard had taken a new role as Chief Administrative Officer of the football program. Huard had been a fundraiser for the previous three seasons in the athletic department. Under new head coach Chris Petersen, Huard became director of external relations. Since 2010, he has been the analyst on Husky radio broadcasts, alongside Bob Rondeau. Huard and former teammate Dan Marino have a winemaking venture in Woodinville called “Passing Time.”
Huard and his wife Julie Ann have three children. His younger brothers were also quarterbacks at Puyallup: Brock also started at Washington and in the NFL, and Luke played at North Carolina. His son, Sam Huard, is a left handed quarterback in the class of 2021 who attends the University of Washington. Sam started his first game in the 2021 Apple Cup.