Tag: Washington Huskies Recruiting

Rising Dawgs: Four-star quarterback Dermaricus Davis

The Washington Huskies have a massive hole to fill at the quarterback position and while Demaricus Davis likely won’t fill it this year, he could be the future.

With former star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. off to the NFL, the Washington Huskies will have big shoes to fill at the position. His succession plan was thought to be settled with either Austin Mack (now at Alabama) or 2021 starter Dylan Morris (now at JMU) taking over for the upcoming season. With both of those players not in the picture, new coach Jedd Fisch looked outside the program to retain former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers who initially transferred to Washington in December, and supplemented the depth with two four-star freshmen in Demond Williams and Dermaricus Davis

Davis, a previous commit under Kalen DeBoer opted to stay with the new staff and potentially compete for a role in his first year after entering his name in the transfer portal following the coaching change. The Huskies will likely not be counting on significant playing time for him this season but with his talent, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he was a priority for the new coaching staff.

Former Washington TE Josh Cuevas commits to Alabama

Josh Cuevas announced his intention to transfer to Alabama, so where does this leave the Huskies and their tight end room?

Former head coach Kalen DeBoer continues to pillage the remains of the 2023 Washington Huskies team. Tight end Josh Cuevas becomes the fourth player to commit to DeBoer and Alabama, joining quarterback Austin Mack, wide receiver Germie Bernard, and center Parker Brailsford.

It was very possible that many of the offensive players that DeBoer recruited to play in his scheme would follow him to Alabama and that has held for the most part. All four of the players who moved on to Tuscaloosa are on the younger side and could potentially start for the Crimson Tide next season.

Cuevas was expected to take over the starting tight end position for the Huskies or at the very least split the role with senior Quentin Moore. After originally transferring from Cal Poly, Cuevas generated a fair amount of hype around his future due to his impressive movement skills and sky-high potential. Last season he caught 4 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, evidence of his big play ability.

Cuevas’ departure will leave the Huskies with a large question mark at the tight end position with just Moore and sophomore Ryan Otton as the only players to take snaps in college. Jedd Fisch and company made heavy use of tight end Tanner McLachlan at Arizona last season, illustrating how much his staff values the position. There will likely be one or more additions to the room in the coming months, as the current options in the portal are very limited.

Four-star LB Mark Iheanachor puts Washington in his top seven

The Washington Huskies made the cut for the four-star linebacker out of Los Angeles, California.

Not long after Jedd Fisch hired Robert Bala as the Washington Huskies linebackers coach for the 2024 season, four-star linebacker Mark Iheanachor announced he is cutting his list of schools to seven.

The product of Narbonne High School in Los Angeles, California is ranked as the No. 27 prospect in the state by 247 Sports and would be a solid addition to Fisch’s 2025 class. Iheanachor has been very vocal about his interest in Washington since he was initially offered by Kalen DeBoer’s staff in May of 2023.

On the field, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Iheanachor is an impressive athlete who stars on both sides of the ball for Narbonne. While his future appears to be on the defensive side, he displays good speed and strength as a running back that translate smoothly while he’s at linebacker.

Iheanachor’s best trait on film is his ability in pass coverage. He sticks with running backs and receivers very well in man coverage, which is necessary to play in defensive coordinator Steve Belichick’s scheme.

If he commits to Washington and develops under Bala, Iheanachor might remind some fans of another linebacker from Narbonne who thrived on Montlake, Keishawn Bierria. As for his recruitment, the Huskies seem to be in a very good spot to land his commitment.

Alongside Washington, Iheanachor placed Central Florida, SMU, Arizona State, Mississippi State, Oregon State, and Maryland in his top seven, but after taking a visit in early February, the Huskies could be in the lead to secure his services.

“They’re top three, but not three,” Iheanachor told SB Live’s Andrew Nemec. “My first time being there… the atmosphere is crazy! Way better than I expected. I had a bond with the players already and they made me feel at home.”

Washington locks in official visits with handful of coveted prospects

The Washington Huskies have a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail in 2025 and secured official visits with a few highly regarded prospects.

Coach Jedd Fisch has set some lofty expectations for himself and the Washington Huskies coaching staff on the recruiting trail. Fisch stated that he wants Washington’s 2025 recruiting class to be “the best in school history” and has taken steps to ensure that.

The Huskies already have two commitments in the class, three-star quarterback Dash Beierly and three-star offensive lineman Jake Flores, and are looking to add more talented high school prospects. After hitting the recruiting trail hard and handing out offers from Washington to Florida, the coaching staff is now starting to lock in official visit dates with some of its top targets.

Two coveted prospects from Arizona will be visiting at the end of May, wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright and defensive back Rylon Dillard-Allen. That makes four visits scheduled, as the pair join offensive lineman Darius Afalava and defensive back Aiden Manutai who have reportedly locked in visit dates in June.

Vines-Bright transferred to powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his senior season after spending his first three seasons at Corona Del Sol in Arizona. Kalen DeBoer’s staff also displayed significant interest in the three-star receiver while it was at Washington and extended a scholarship offer to him after moving to Alabama.

He also set up an official visit to Notre Dame on Monday and holds 20 scholarship offers with Michigan, Florida, and USC also showing interest.

Dillard-Allen is ranked as the No. 3 prospect in Arizona by the 247 Sports Composite. Secondary coach John Richardson will have some stiff competition to secure a commitment from the 5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect, who has also set up official visits to Nebraska and Arizona State and holds scholarship offers from Oregon and Texas A&M.

“Coach Jedd Fisch and coach Josh Omura have been loyal to me since my freshman year,” Manutai told On3’s Chad Simmons. “I have a lot of respect for what they have been doing and what I saw at Arizona. I look forward to meeting the new Washington staff and getting the feel of the school.”

Ranked as the No. 1 player in Hawaii by the 247 Sports Composite, the Huskies appear to be in competition with Penn State and Nebraska for his commitment, as he is set to visit all three schools in June.

The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Afalava would be a welcome addition to Washington’s offensive line, which is still light on scholarship players. Offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll made Washington the first school to lock in an official visit from the four-star prospect, who also holds scholarship offers from Michigan, LSU, Oregon, and Tennessee.

Predicting Washington’s 2023 roster rating on NCAA College Football 25

With the return of EA Sports’ College Football, Husky fans may be wondering how the Sugar Bowl champions’ roster would have looked in the new video game.

College football fans had their dream come true on Thursday with the announcement from EA Sports that their new game, NCAA Football 25, would be coming out on time, as planned, this upcoming summer. It has been over a decade since devoted Washington Huskies fans have been able to play as their favorite team and have missed some exceptional teams during that time.

While the 2023 Huskies might not appear in the upcoming game unless EA decides to bring back legendary teams as they have in previous installments, we would be remiss if we didn’t give them the recognition they deserve by predicting what the ratings could have looked like.

Quarterbacks

Michael Penix Jr.: 98

Dylan Morris: 72

Running Backs

Dillon Johnson: 88

Tybo Rogers: 68

Will Nixon: 65

Wide Receivers

Rome Odunze: 98

Ja’Lynn Polk: 90

Jalen McMillan: 83

Germie Bernard: 77

Tight Ends

Jack Westover: 84

Devin Culp: 75

Offensive Line

Troy Fautanu: 97

Nate Kalepo: 77

Parker Brailsford: 90

Julius Buelow: 75

Roger Rosengarten: 88

Defensive Line

Bralen Trice: 96

Zion Tupuola-Fetui: 79

Tuli Letuligasenoa: 75

Ulumoo Ale: 70

Linebackers

Edefuan Ulofoshio: 95

Carson Bruener: 80

Alphonzo Tuputala: 79

Secondary

Jabbar Muhammad: 91

Elijah Jackson: 76

Dominique Hampton: 74

Kamren Fabiculanan: 72

Mishael Powell: 71

Washington hires former Stanford linebacker Jake Lynch

Jedd Fisch and staff made another flashy hire in former Stanford linebacker Jake Lynch who is the son of 49ers general manager John Lynch.

Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch deepened the NFL ties of his coaching staff on Saturday. Fisch hired former Stanford linebacker Jake Lynch, son of 49ers general manager and Hall of Fame safety John Lynch. Jake will join the staff as a defensive graduate assistant and is yet another hire that strengthens Fisch’s goal to make the Huskies “the 33rd NFL team.”

 

The former Stanford linebacker did not see much action during his time at the school making only making two tackles. He will bring his father’s NFL pedigree to a Husky coaching staff that is shaping up to be one of the most impressive in the country. As a former linebacker, it’s easy to assume that he will focus on that position group, but his role outside of graduate assistant, has yet to be defined. The team now has a whopping four coaches on staff who have extremely successful NFL fathers, they include:

Offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll (son of Pete Carroll)

Defensive coordinator Steve Bellichick (son of Bill Bellichick)

Offensive analyst Luke Del Rio (son of Jack Del Rio)

Fisch and company will now look to translate these deep NFL connections into recruiting and on field success in the coming months. The new staff will have its work cut out on a team that will be breaking in an almost entirely brand new starting lineup.

Rising Dawgs: Washington’s RB transfer Jonah Coleman

The Washington Huskies got a promising transfer in Arizona running back Jonah Coleman.

As the Washington Huskies prepare for spring practice, Huskies Wire will analyze and profile each new member of the roster, including freshmen and transfers alike.

These profiles will lay out career stats, recruiting rankings, and finally film analysis and predicted roles for the Huskies in the upcoming season.

First up is former Arizona running back Jonah Coleman, who is arguably the most high-profile transfer to commit to the Huskies during Jedd Fisch’s first offseason as the head coach. Coleman was a star running back at Arizona while sharing the backfield. He may still end up sharing the backfield at Washington, but could very easily establish himself as the top option throughout the season.

WR Audric Harris officially signs with Washington

The Washington Huskies signed 3-star wide receiver Audric Harris after he committed just before national signing day.

After stating that the Washington Huskies would have “five or six more” additions to the roster following his national signing day press conference, Jedd Fisch’s team officially added wide receiver Audric Harris to the roster on Wednesday after he signed his national letter of intent.

The three-star receiver from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada makes five additions to the roster following Fisch’s presser, joining defensive back Rahshawn Clark, edge rushers Russell Davis and Isaiah Ward, and linebacker Anthony Ward. Harris brings elite speed to wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings’ group, but needs some development as a route runner.

He still might have an opportunity to play right away, as the Huskies are short on experienced receivers. While Cal transfer Jeremiah Hunter and senior Giles Jackson are penciled in as starters, offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll will be looking for other members of the roster to step up during spring practice.

Harris’ game breaking speed will give quarterback Will Rogers a threat to score every time he touches the ball and while he shouldn’t be expected to burn his redshirt, Fisch and Carroll will almost certainly find a way to get the ball into his hands early on in his college career. He is expected to enroll at Washington in time for spring practice, which should help him get a head start on learning the offense.

Washington Football appears to be in a good position with 5-star CB Dijon Lee Jr.

The Washington Huskies appear to be pushing hard for five-star cornerback Dijon Lee Jr.

The Washington Huskies’ coaching staff appears to have the motto, “Never stop recruiting.” As former Husky cornerback Trent McDuffie helped lead the Kansas City Chiefs to their second Super Bowl victory in as many seasons, assistant director of recruiting Armond Hawkins Jr. took to social media to point out that members of Jedd Fisch’s coaching staff mentored another Chiefs defensive back.

Cornerback Jaylen Watson, who was taken in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Washington State University, has been an integral member of the Chiefs’ secondary over his two years in the league.

During his time with the Cougars, he developed under secondary coach John Richardson who also did an impressive job at Arizona developing cornerbacks Ephesians Prsyock, who recently transferred to Washington, and Tacario Davis who is still in the transfer portal and has yet to decide his future.

Fisch stated in his signing day press conference that he’s a big believer in stacking talent however he can and although the Huskies have a stockpile of promising cornerbacks, they appear to be eyeing the best defensive back on the West Coast, five-star cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. from Mission Viejo High School in California.

Lee has been very vocal about his interest in Washington since he was initially offered by Kalen DeBoer’s staff and included them when he cut his list down to eight schools in early January. He took multiple unofficial visits to Seattle in 2023 and was in attendance for the Huskies’ 36-33 win over No. 8 Oregon in October.

Washington still appears to be heavily in the mix for Lee’s services, as another team on his list was the Arizona Wildcats before Jedd Fisch’s staff left for Seattle. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound cornerback who’s ranked as the No. 24 player in the country by the 247 Sports Composite is a perfect prototype for Richardson.

As Fisch and his staff continue to push for what he wants to be the “best class in school history,” if it can secure a commitment from Lee, the coaching staff can go a long way toward making good on that goal.

Four-star Washington target Chinedu Onyeagoro is nearing his college decision

The Washington Huskies are pushing hard for a commitment from four-star edge rusher Chinedu Onyeagoro.

After Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch said that he wants to bring in the highest-rated recruiting class in school history in 2025, he has the opportunity to earn an early victory on the recruiting trail. Four-star edge rusher Chinedu Onyeagoro from King Drew Medical Magnet in Los Angeles, California, announced on social media that he is coming close to his college decision.

Onyeagoro has been very vocal about his interest in Washington since he was originally offered by Kalen DeBoer’s staff and he has quickly developed a very strong relationship with Fisch’s coaching staff.

“The staff are all amazing genuine people and people who look like me, who are looking to develop guys and not just feed from the transfer portal,” Onyeagoro said. “Coach Fisch and I have a great relationship, we talk very often and he’s expressed a lot of interest in me. The rest of the coaching staff are amazing people too, I’ve developed great relationships with [assistant director of recruiting] Armond Hawkins, [secondary coach] John Richardson, and [defensive line coach Jason] Kaufusi.”

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Onyeagoro is ranked as the No. 244 player in the country and the No. 24 player in California by 247 Sports and said that Washington has everything he’s looking for in a school.

“I really love the winning culture and environment that’s been established over there,” he said. “The scheme fits my play style very well and it’s not too far away from home.”

Onyeagoro had a very productive junior season, recording 21 sacks which led the state of California last year. He rounded out his stat line with 128 tackles, 5 forced fumbles, and two interceptions, and said that he has some big goals for his final year of high school.

“Going into my senior year I’m working a lot on my strength as well as adding more pass rush moves, and improving my versatility by playing all over the defense,” he said. “I’m even working on covering receivers and I’m determined to break the California state sack record.”

Onyeagoro doesn’t appear to have a date set for his commitment just yet but wanted to tell Husky fans what they would get from him if he were to commit to Fisch’s staff.

“Washington fans should know that wherever I go, I’m there to stay,” he said. “Loyalty is a big thing for me and they’ll be getting 120 percent in everything from me.”