SEATTLE — This feels like it is supposed to be the payoff year.
The buildup has been adequate, but is the crescendo coming?
The Washington Huskies football team is set to kick off its third spring practice cycle under coach Jedd Fisch. The first cycle preceded a 6-7 season in 2024, the second a 9-4 season last year, and this one? If the Fisch timeline is on schedule, it should mean a College Football Playoff berth come the end of 2026.
That might feel like unfair pressure, but the head coach himself verbalized the standard after his team's LA Bowl win last December when he said, The plan is to be preparing to play next weekend" — a reference to the CFP's first-round games.
No, Washington does not look the same as it did when it compiled those nine victories last season. Rarely does any college football team in the transfer-portal age. But the core is such that an opportunity to play meaningful postseason games is there. Fair or not, falling short would feel like a failure on Montlake next season.
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What the Huskies have: Demond Williams Jr., for starters. There was a chaotic day or two in January when it looked like the soon-to-be junior quarterback was going to transfer despite signing a multimillion-dollar NIL contract. But whether it was due to his loyalty to the Huskies or fear of a lawsuit, he decided to remain in purple and gold for the upcoming season. The signal caller is coming off a year in which he threw for 3,065 yards on 69.5% passing to go along with 25 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He also compiled 611 rushing yards on 143 carries and found the end zone six times. He is a big reason why ESPN's Bill Connelly ranked the Huskies 15th when it comes to return production, but he's hardly the only reason.
Defensively, the Huskies return all-conference honorable mention safety Alex McLaughlin, who led the team in tackles last season. They bring back linebackers Xe'ree Alexander, Jacob Manu and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale. And coaching-wise, they return defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, who helped take UW from 53rd in scoring defense to 15th in his first season last year.
What would a big jump look like this year? Walters was asked Monday.
"You don't want to write checks that you can't cash, but I've been at other places where we had a big jump from the previous year and in year 2, we went from 30-something to No. 1," said Walters, who signed a two-year contract extension in January. "Will we be able to do that? I hope so. I do think we will be better.
What the Huskies don't have: Well, there's no Jonah Coleman, the running back who had 1,112 yards from scrimmage last season and a Big Ten-leading 17 touchdowns. And Adam Mohammed, who had 523 rushing yards as the Huskies' RB2 last year, hit the portal.
Also, there's no Denzel Boston, the receiver who tallied 881 yards last season and 11 TDs. This is perhaps why Los Angeles Times Huskies football writer Andy Yamashita listed wide receiver as the team's No. 1 position battle. Dezmen Roebuck, who had 42 catches for 560 yards as a true freshman last year, will slide into the slot position. Names such as Rashid Williams and Chris Lawson will battle for playing time, as will Christian Moss, the fifth-year transfer out of Kennesaw State.
Next year should be an upgrade for Washington, whose losses last year were to Oregon, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan. But it's hardly a guarantee.
Right now, FanDuel is giving 16 teams better odds than the Huskies at winning the national title. Five of those teams (Ohio State, Indiana, USC, Oregon and Michigan) hail from the Big Ten. Fisch took Arizona from a one-win team to a 10-win team in his three years in Tucson. Is the country convinced he will have similar success at UW in terms of upward trajectory? Maybe not quite.
Washington football is a distinct program in that it doesn't feel like a final destination spot for most coaches yet can sneak up on you in the national-championship discussion. The Huskies won the whole thing in 1991, almost did it again two seasons ago, and reached the CFP semifinals in 2016. So expectations will always remain high in these parts.
It's not quite do or die for Fisch in year three. But it is do something big — or have people wondering.
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