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.

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