Insights gleaned from spring training sessions of University of Washington's football team | Examination and Comments
Washing Your Hands of the Past, Jedd Fisch Steers UW's Huskies into a New Era
Jedd Fisch has finally staked his claim on a roster he can proudly call his own creation. The man behind the UW helm scrambled to compile a team after taking over before the 2024 campaign. Fisch and his coaching staff had to meld a mix of Washington returners, Arizona transfers, and incoming portal additions. The Huskies had just seven offensive linemen during their inaugural spring game under Fisch the previous year.
Now, after completing his second spring on Montlake, Fisch asserts his team understands the program and culture he's aiming to instill.
"We've got a good team," Fisch declared, "We're big. We're strong. We're fast. And now we've got to put it all together, and we've got to see if we can execute."
Fisch and the Huskies wrapped up their spring practices, presenting a spring game for the final public viewing before UW welcomes Colorado State to Husky Stadium August 30 to open the 2025 season. Here are three takeaways from the spring practices:
1. Defensive Line Depth
Washington's interior defensive line depth took a hit four games into its first Big Ten season, when junior Jayvon Parker suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury during UW's 21-18 loss against Rutgers.
In response, Washington and Fisch turned to senior defensive tackles Sebastian Valdez and Jacob Bandes after Parker's injury. They played 558 snaps and 450 snaps, respectively, with Valdez ranking 53rd nationally among defensive tackles. The Huskies also got 169 snaps from redshirt freshman Elinneus Davis and 138 snaps from junior Logan Sagapolu. Valdez and Bandes exhausted their eligibility during the 2024 season.
Fortunately, this spring has found the Huskies with some extra mouths to feed on their defensive line. They added 6-foot-4, 306-pound Anterio Thompson from Western Michigan and 6-3, 350-pound Simote Pepa from Utah during the winter transfer portal window. The 6-2, 315-pound Davis and a trimmed-down Sagapolu – listed at 345 pounds after weighing 368 in 2024 – returned after being contributors. Omar Khan, a 6-3, 310-pound Texas native, is also back after redshirting his true freshman year.
Yet the team's true depth has come from healthy springs for junior Bryce Butler and junior Armon Parker. Butler, a 6-5, 315-pound junior college transfer, redshirted after he was injured in Washington's second game against Eastern Michigan and only appeared in one more game for the remainder of the season. The 6-3, 315-pound Armon Parker has not played in a game entering his fourth season at UW, but was a full participant for most of the spring.
"He was out there running around," defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi said April 10, "Looked pretty good, for the most part."
While the unit's true effectiveness won't be known until Big Ten play begins, defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has significantly more playable options at his disposal. That extra depth will be particularly important considering Walters spent large parts of the spring installing a scheme featuring many five-player defensive fronts to combat the run-heavy Big Ten.
2. Options at Guard
Three of UW's offensive line positions appear settled. Kansas State transfer Carver Willis has received the majority of first-team repetitions at left tackle, while junior Landen Hatchett is firmly entrenched as UW's starting center. At right tackle, junior Drew Azzopardi held off a challenge from senior Maximus McCree, though that competition may continue into fall camp.
UW's guard positions, however, remain in a state of flux. At left guard, the Huskies primarily rotated between redshirt freshman Paki Finau, who started UW's 35-34 Sun Bowl loss to Louisville at the end of the 2024 season, and John Mills, a 6-6, 320-pound freshman who enrolled early and saw repetitions with both the first-team and second-team offensive lines.
Right guard has even more options. Sixth-year guard Geirean Hatchett, back at UW after a one-year sojourn at Oklahoma, sophomore Zachary Henning, and freshman enrollee Champ Taulealea have all taken snaps with the first-team offensive line throughout spring practices. Geirean Hatchett and Taulealea received the majority of the early opportunities, but Henning has emerged during the end of the spring and has gotten several chances to play right guard next to Landen Hatchett.
"It's a process," offensive line coach Michael Switzer said April 19, "Putting together an offensive line, the way you want to build it in terms of the physicality, the mindset, the mentality, the guys have worked incredibly hard."
Finau and Geirean Hatchett still seem like the most likely players to start at guard, but Fisch is always willing to roll the dice with freshman offensive linemen if he believes they're ready. Henning, perhaps the underdog candidate, certainly has a chance to force his way into the lineup during fall camp after a strong end of spring.
3. Eight Receivers. Two Spots.
Washington leaned heavily on three wide receivers in 2024: Denzel Boston, Giles Jackson, and Jeremiah Hunter. They accounted for 184 of the 202 catches made by UW wide receivers. Only Boston, the team's leader in receiving touchdowns, remains on the current roster after Jackson and Hunter ran out of eligibility.
The Huskies have plenty of options to replace Jackson and Hunter, and got a decent look at all of them while Boston sat out of spring to recover from offseason cleanup surgery. Penn State transfer Omari Evans impressed early, but injuries prevented him from participating in more than half of the practices. Sophomore Rashid Williams, who had 11 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown in 2024, similarly shined during the first half of spring but did not dress for the final five practices due to injuries.
Sophomore Audric Harris, who burned his redshirt in 2024, was one of UW's most consistent receivers during the spring and played consistently in the slot. Junior Kevin Green Jr., praised by wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings as Washington's best blocking receiver, also had a strong spring in the slot despite missing the spring game due to a lower body injury that kept him out for the entire 2024 season.
Then there's the four freshmen. Chris Lawson, an early enrollee out of Archbishop Riordan High in San Francisco, had the best spring of the group. He was the first freshman promoted to first-team snaps when Evans started missing time, and seemed to develop a quick rapport with quarterback Demond Williams Jr.
Raiden Vines-Bright, also an early enrollee from IMG Academy in Florida, missed several practices due to a hamstring injury but recovered to become one of the standout performers of the spring game after making an acrobatic touchdown catch. Marcus Harris, the final early enrollee wide receiver from Mater Dei High, also hauled in a touchdown during the spring game.
Justice Williams, a 6-4, 210-pound receiver who redshirted his true freshman season during 2024 while recovering from an injury, showed promise in a fairly healthy spring and proved himself as a vertical, contested-catch threat in the red zone. He also shares a physical frame with Boston.
Washington, of course, still has plenty of time to determine who will start alongside Boston. Fully healthy fall camps for Rashid Williams, Evans, and Vines-Bright – including opportunities to play in the slot – may also reveal who is in position to play significant snaps at wideout in 2025.
- Jedd Fisch, the head coach of the Huskies, expressed confidence in his team's athleticism, with a focus on football, specifically American-football, stating, "We've got a good team, we're big, we're strong, we're fast, and now we've got to put it all together."
- Fisch and his coaching staff are working on rebuilding Washington's defensive line, with the addition of players like Anterio Thompson from Western Michigan and Simote Pepa from Utah, and the return of players like Logan Sagapolu and Omar Khan.
- The offensive line positions for the Huskies have some clarity, with Carver Willis at left tackle, Landen Hatchett at center, and Drew Azzopardi at right tackle. However, the guard positions are in a state of flux, with several players competing for the starting spots.
- Washington lost key wide receivers from its 2024 team, but Fisch is looking to fresh faces like Chris Lawson, Raiden Vines-Bright, Marcus Harris, and Justice Williams to fill those positions, with Lawson being a standout in the spring practices.
