SEATTLE — After four seasons at Washington, offensive lineman Erik Kohler has decided to retire from football for medical reasons.
The school confirmed Kohler’s departure on Thursday.
Kohler, a native of Camarillo, Calif., played in 11 of 13 games as a freshman in 2010, then started every game in 2011. He also started the first two games of the 2012 season before a knee injury kept him out for the rest of the year, forcing him to take a redshirt season, but leaving him with two more years of eligibility.
He returned in 2013 as a backup and started two games in place of injured guard Dexter Charles, but was bothered throughout the season by a foot injury. Kohler apparently made the decision to leave the program at the end of the regular season, and did not travel with the team to San Francisco for the Fight Hunger Bowl.
Barring transfers or other unforeseen circumstances, Kohler should be UW’s only departing offensive lineman. He was one of the most sought-after prospects on the west coast as a high-school player out of Oaks Christian, where he was a teammate of former Huskies quarterback Nick Montana.
Kohler finishes his career with 22 career starts. He will remain on scholarship, but will not count against the per-team limit of 85. Kohler is the second UW offensive lineman in recent years to retire due to injury before exhausting his eligibility; Colin Porter, a Bothell High School alum, made the same decision in April of 2012 before his junior season.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
