UW was only a functioning scheme and QB away from 1 or 2 losses last year. It's not a rebuild.
The team went 4-8, will have back-to-back mediocre recruiting classes, and a decent amount of talent leave the program; it's a rebuild.
Covid eligibility actually helped UW a lot during this transition in keeping the roster stuffed. Plus the 2021 class ranked #3 in the Pac-12 in terms of average rating of recruits and though the current 2022 class only has 9 commits, it is actually a little higher in terms of average rating.
There aren't many starters moving on and I suspect we won't see many players hit the portal because they will be enjoying a better staff than they previously would have had. In other words, I don't see any starters hitting the portal except for maybe Jalen McMillan. Hopefully Bynum comes back and Kyler Gordon comes back (McDuffie gone).
https://ourlads.com/ncaa-football-depth-charts/depth-chart/washington/92453
So the worst I see DeBoer doing next year is 7-5 (losses to Michigan at home, ASU on the road, Oregon on the road, UCLA on the road, and WSU on the road). That is a decent first year and primed for a big jump in his 2nd year, just like he had at Fresno State and Sioux Falls.
And he just said "reloading" in his kick-ass presser so that settles it