MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Joe Jarzynka, former UW Huskies football player, found dead

Mar 6, 2023, 1:24 AM | Updated: 9:25 am

Joe Jarzynka played with the UW Huskies in the 1990s. (Getty Images)...

Joe Jarzynka played with the UW Huskies in the 1990s. (Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

Joe Jarzynka, a popular University of Washington football player in the 1990s, was found dead Sunday morning along the Sol Duc River.

According to myclallamcounty.com, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched after a report that there was a man deceased on a river bank outside of Forks, Wash. 

Deputies responded with medics and a swift water rescue team was deployed. They later found a single-person pontoon boat stuck in a log jam about a mile from where Jarzynka was located.

Jarzynka was a walk-on at UW in 1995 after playing at Gig Harbor High School. He gained prominence in 1998 when he was a first team All-Pac-10 selection as an all-purpose player. He was a halfback, kick returner, and kicker, who also played soccer in high school.

At the end of the season, Jarzynka was named the team’s KIRO-TV/Pete Gross Player of the Year.

Officials will perform an autopsy concerning his death.

MyNorthwest News

peacehealth IT India layoffs jobs...

MyNorthwest Staff

PeaceHealth cutting 150 Washington jobs as IT work outsourced to India

PeaceHealth, a not-for-profit Catholic healthcare system operating in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, told the state it’s cutting 150 jobs statewide.

19 minutes ago

Seattle FIFA World Cup Drone Show Seattle Space Needle...

Frank Lenzi

Seattle World Cup matches deliver $889 million impact, but hospitality results are mixed

The 2026 FIFA World Cup generated $889 million in economic impact for Seattle and King County, exceeding a revised forecast.

42 minutes ago

Bite of Seattle shooting (2)...

Brooke Griffin, KIRO 7 News

Seattle police detail what did and didn’t work during response to Bite of Seattle shooting

Seattle police officials detailed what they said went right and wrong in the city’s response to the mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle this summer.

57 minutes ago

zūm seattle school bus drivers...

Frank Sumrall

300 Seattle school bus drivers threaten strike as contract dispute stalls

Hundreds of Seattle school bus drivers are threatening to strike amid a contract dispute with Zūm Transportation.

1 hour ago

puget sound mayors kent fentanyl battlefield addiction...

Charlie Harger

A mom meets her son every Sunday at 12th and Jackson. Nine Puget Sound mayors will hear families like hers in Kent

At least nine Puget Sound mayors will gather in Kent on Oct. 8 for a community conversation on Washington's fentanyl crisis.

2 hours ago

diesel gas prices...

Manda Factor

Seattle gas prices hit $5.73 as diesel surge squeezes farmers

Diesel prices are reaching record highs across much of the country, squeezing farmers during harvest and threatening to push costs through the food supply chain

2 hours ago

Joe Jarzynka, former UW Huskies football player, found dead