After Grady Gross made the kick, Kalen DeBoer captured the moment.
Gross — a 5-foot-11, 209-pound sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz. — delivered a buzzer-beating 42-yard field goal Saturday to seal a 24-21 Washington win in the Apple Cup. After fans stormed the field inside Husky Stadium, UW's second-year coach addressed his players in the home locker room.
"It's Thanksgiving weekend. I'm thankful for Grady Gross," DeBoer said, incurring a roar of approval, before motioning for Gross to meet him in the middle of a Husky huddle. "And you know what I hope Grady Gross is thankful for? The scholarship he's earned."
As Gross covered his eyes with his hand, he was enveloped in an impromptu Montlake mosh pit. Minutes later, he said: "They kind of mobbed me. I don't really remember all of it."
Gross will undoubtedly remember the first game-winning field goal of his football career.
"I think I had a game-winning extra point one time [in high school], but that's different," he said. "Nothing this big."
Indeed, it doesn't get much bigger — not that the moment mattered much. Gross acknowledged: "There's naturally a little bit [of nerves when you're attempting that kick]. I try to just tone it down, take a couple deep breaths and go out and do what I've done for six years now. It's my job and I know I can do it to the best of my abilities every time I go out there."
But, of course, reality provides curveballs — and Gross missed three consecutive field goal attempts (dating back to the Utah game) before lining up in a 21-21 tie with five seconds left.
"I felt fine," he said of his confidence. "It's going to be in the back of your mind, but you just have to know that every kick is a different entity. So if you can make the next one, it's just as good as the first one."
This time, even better.
And after a WSU timeout nullified his initial make, Gross drilled the game-winning 42-yard field goal.
It would have been good from farther.
"Oh, anything," Gross said, when asked to describe his range. "I was bouncing up and down, because I was champing at the bit to get an opportunity at redemption. I would have taken anything."
Suddenly, the sophomore — who has converted 11 of 15 field goals and all 54 extra points in his first season succeeding sixth-year senior Peyton Henry — will take a scholarship, too.
"It's something we've been talking about as a staff," DeBoer said. "He's earned it. He's really had a great year. And I know he's had a couple misses, but he's just such a mentally tough kid. I see it every day in practice. We've seen big kicks in games and all of that. Certainly, we were just looking for the right time. Today was the right time to make that happen."
When asked if he decided to make the announcement following Gross' fateful field goal, DeBoer added: "I don't want to make emotional decisions, but it's a decision we pretty much knew was going to happen at some point. Why not capture the moment?
"For the team and for Grady, it's something you will remember for the rest of your life — not just the kick itself, but what happened after. He's just a special guy. Let's just get that done so he can move on and go kick another one for us next week."
Indeed, Gross will handle field goals and kickoffs for No. 4 Washington (12-0) in the Pac-12 championship game against Oregon on Friday in Las Vegas.
Which is surreal in its own right.
"I feel blessed," Gross said. "I came in with this staff. They were 4-8 the year before, so I was kind of committing to an open future. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to get. But the reason I came here was the culture that was building and the coaching staff. It's just a gradual build from that."
Extra points
* When asked following the game if he was all right after taking several big shots in UW's game-winning drive, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. responded: "I took a big shot? I didn't take no big shots today. I'm good." The sixth-year senior completed 18 of 33 passes for 204 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the win.
* When asked about a third-quarter play where a WSU offside penalty was nullified by Penix being called for intentional grounding, DeBoer said: "I've never had that happen before. I don't get it." He added: "I don't know how you can have a penalty off that. I've never seen that happen and the official said he's never had it happen. So it is what it is." The Huskies were forced to punt two plays later.
* UW linebacker Carson Bruener turned in 14 tackles for the second consecutive game. Redshirt freshman edge Lance Holtzclaw added the first sack of his Husky career as well.
