Washington’s depth and experience along the defensive line took a bit of a hit Monday evening, the school announced.
In a press release, UW confirmed that defensive end Connor Cree has decided to leave the UW football program. Other than “by his own choice,” no reason was given for the departure.
In a subsequent conversation with the Seattle Times, however, Cree made it clear that the transition to Chris Petersen, who took over the Huskies after Steve Sarkisian left for the USC job, had nothing to do with the decision. Instead, Cree stated that he was “kind of burnt out... lost passion for the game.”
Cree will continue pursuing his degree in sociology at UW.
A three-star member of UW’s 2011 recruiting class, Cree was rated as the No. 10 player in the state of Washington at any position. In 2013, Cree played in 12 games. He played in 13 games in 2012 after redshirting as a true freshman.