Previously starring at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, a suburb just east of Seattle, Washington tight end Jack Westover and Oregon State receiver Jesiah Irish will now get the opportunity to chase their NFL dream with the Seahawks.
After playing a key role for the Huskies run to the national championship game last season, Westover signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent shortly after the conclusion of the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Saturday. As for Irish, the ex-Beavers standout received an invite to tryout at rookie minicamp next weekend with hopes of earning a contract with the hometown team.
Westover didn’t start playing football until his senior year with the Wildcats and unfortunately, his lone season with the program ended prematurely due to injury. However, his athletic traits caught interest from several local programs, including Washington, where he ended up walking on before eventually earning a scholarship from then-coach Jimmy Lake.
Always coming through in key moments, Jack Westover enjoyed a strong finish to his college career at Washington and now will begin his journey pursuing a roster spot with the Seahawks.
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“When I showed up, I was still kind of learning,” Westover recalled at the NFL combine. “When I got there, my basketball background was a key part in my early success as a player such as my ability with body control, releases, route running, and all that. But I had to put on weight on and got my start playing fullback doing iso blocks and obviously my role grew from that.”
By the time Kalen Deboer and Ryan Grubb arrived in tandem in 2022, Westover had grown from a skinny walk-on fullback into a viable Power Five tight end and the new coaching staff helped him catapult his game to the next level.
Emerging as a capable target for quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in Grubb’s offense, Westover hauled in 31 passes for 342 yards for the Huskies as a junior in 2022, averaging 11 yards per reception. He took another solid step forward as a senior last season, consistently coming through in the clutch while posting 46 receptions for 433 yards and four touchdowns while adding a rushing touchdown, earning Honorable Mention All-Pac 12 honors.
Recovering from offseason surgery, Westover didn’t participate in athletic testing at the NFL combine, but he was able to do a few drills at Washington’s pro day. After going undrafted, the Seahawks quickly reunited him with Grubb, who joined new coach Mike Macdonald’s staff as offensive coordinator in February, and he will compete for a roster spot in a new-look tight end group featuring veterans Noah Fant and Pharaoh Brown as well as fourth-round pick AJ Barner.
Primarily a special teams contributor at Oregon State, former Mount Si star Jesiah Irish will get to test his mettle at Seahawks rookie minicamp on a tryout.
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As for Irish, the speedy receiver committed to Oregon State after a stellar prep career at Mount Si, playing a number of different roles in six seasons with the program. After primarily being used on special teams as a kick return specialist for most of his tenure in Corvallis, he caught a career-high 18 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown last season.
For his career, Irish caught 27 passes for 456 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing 18 times for 114 yards and a score. On special teams, he returned 22 kicks for 478 yards and 16 punts for 135 yards for the Beavers.
Participating on a tryout basis, Irish will hope to impress with his speed and quickness during rookie minicamp with hopes of landing on Seattle’s 90-man roster. If he does manage to earn a contract this weekend, he would go into offseason activities as a viable competitor for return duties against returning veteran Dee Eskridge and free agent signing Laviska Shenault.