Big Sky Conference

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY: Cornerback Darren Gardenhire

on

MONTANA STATE BOBCATS

DARREN GARDENHIRE – Cornerback – Washington – Long Beach, California

The Numbers: The 6-foot, 180-pound cornerback was a four-star recruit rated as the No. 42 safety in the country before breaking into the lineup as a true freshman at Washington in 2014. He started nine games, notching 45 tackles and breaking up eight passes for the Huskies in 2015. In 2016, Gardenhire played in 11 games, compiling 13 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery before leaving the team abruptly a month before the end of the regular season. He will redshirt during the 2017 season.

The Accolades: Gardenhire played a key role in Washington’s rise back to national prominence before falling out of favor. Gardenhire was a starters as a sophomore before losing his position as a junior. He abruptly quit the team the week before the Apple Cup against rival Washington State. Sources told Chantel Jennings of ESPN.com that Gardenhire refused to take a team-mandated drug test. At Washington, Gardenhire played with Montana State junior-to-be cornerback Naijiel Hale. Gerald Alexander, MSU’s secondary coach last season before taking a similar position at Cal in the off-season, was a graduate assistant at Washington in 2014 and Jeff Choate was on Chris Petersen’s staff for two years with Gardenhire on the team. Gardenhire played all three of his seasons in Seattle for UW secondary coach Jimmy Lake, MSU’s secondary coach under Mike Kramer in 2005.

He was a two-year starter at Cabrillo High School, where he earned defensive MVP honors in his conference and gained 1,500 all-purpose yards.

Academics: Unknown

Gardenhire on Montana State: Gardenhire declined an interview request from Skyline Sports. 

Film: Darren Gardenhire highlights

Coach Choate on Gardenhire:  “Darren is a young man we had at Washington who is an excellent cover corner and a very competitive player. He will redshirt (in 2017) and then play as a senior (in 2018), and he makes us better not only at the cornerback position but at receiver becaue of the way he works in practice.”

 

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

Recommended for you