PORTLAND, Ore. — Washington and Michigan will play in the college football national championship game Monday afternoon, and players from the Portland metro area and Southwest Washington can be found on both teams' rosters.
College Football Playoff Championship Game
No. 1 Michigan (14-0) vs. No. 2 Washington (14-0)
- Date: Monday, Jan. 8
- Time: 4:30 p.m.
- TV: ESPN
Sophomore wide receiver Darrius Clemons is the lone representative for the Wolverines. Clemons was a four-star prospect coming out of Westview High School in Portland and chose Michigan over Oregon, USC, Auburn and Penn State.
In two seasons wearing the maize and blue, the 6-foot-3 Clemons has four catches for 40 yards, including three catches for 33 yards this season.
One of the area players wearing Washington's purple and gold is quarterback Camdyn Stiegeler from Oregon City High School. His mother sent KGW a photo of him holding the Sugar Bowl trophy after the Huskies' win over Texas. Stiegeler, who earned second-team All-Three Rivers League honors his senior season at Oregon City in 2021, redshirted in 2022, his first season at Washington. He's one of the reserve quarterbacks this season behind star Michael Penix Jr.
One of Stiegeler's teammates is offensive lineman Roice Cleeland, who starred at Jesuit High School. He earned first-team all-Metro league and all-state honors at center his senior season. Cleeland is the son of former NFL player Cam Cleeland, who played both football and baseball at UW. His mother, Mindy, played softball and basketball for the Huskies. Cleeland is redshirting this season.
Wide receiver Mason Wheeler is the third player with ties to the Portland-Vancouver metro area on Washington's roster. Wheeler prepped at Skyview High School in Vancouver.
"It's exciting. You see them on the sidelines, people don't realize they're just as much a part of the team as everybody else," said Skyview head coach Steve Kizer, who said he'll be watching the national championship game from home.
Kizer coached Wheeler at Skyview and also Cleeland before he transferred to Jesuit.
"You knew Roice [Cleeland] was gonna be a good player, and he ended up being a great player for Jesuit," Kizer said. "Sorry to not get to coach him the last two years, but what a great kid to have in your program."
Wheeler's parents, Shannon and Scott, will be watching from the stands in Houston, wearing their purple and gold.
"Super, super proud of him, he's just one of those super positive guys," said his mother, Shannon. "Always been the extra hard worker, putting in all the hours. So to watch this all line up, he's just had the right teachers and the right coaches, but he's the one that had to put the work in."
Wheeler was a standout wide receiver at Skyview, a two-time all-league player who led the team in receptions. After graduating during the pandemic, he walked on at UW, turning down scholarships at other schools because he wanted to prioritize academics over sports.
"For a young man to make that decision on his own, we couldn't be more proud of him," said his father, Scott.
Wheeler graduated from UW this month with a degree in electrical and computer engineering and will start a job at Boeing later this month.
With a wide receiver core as good as Washington's, Wheeler hasn't been the focal point of the offense. One highlight this season, though, was a first-down catch for six yards against Michigan State.
"His role a lot of time this year has been as signal caller, standing next to Coach DeBoer and calling in plays, whether they're the real plays or not," said Scott.
For these parents, nothing but pride will be beaming from their faces for their son's last game.
"To watch him along this, put in all that work, and to watch this get to this magnitude has just been beyond anything," said Shannon. "It's beaming, right, I'm just so excited for him!"