Dezmen Roebuck scores on the pass play in the third against UCLA in Big-Ten football Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025 at the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, CA. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
Dezmen Roebuck scores on the pass play in the third against UCLA in Big-Ten football Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025 at the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, CA. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
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By
Andy Yamashita
Seattle Times staff reporter
Jedd Fisch made UW’s expectations for next season clear minutes after the Huskies concluded their 2025 campaign.
“The plan,” the Washington coach said Dec. 13 after defeating Boise State 38-10 in the LA Bowl, “is to be preparing to play next weekend (during the first round of the College Football Playoff).
And after retaining a majority of the roster — including quarterback Demond Williams Jr. — Washington has most of the pieces in place to take another step forward in 2026.
Yet there are some question marks remaining over key positions. And while kickoff for the next season is still several months away, spring practices offer the first opportunity to see how the depth chart might shake out. So here are three position battles to watch this spring:
Honorable mention: Running back, Left tackle
Davis, a 6-foot-3, 317-pound defensive tackle, is almost assured a starting spot. After breaking into UW’s rotation in 2024, he made 10 starts and played in all 13 games in 2025. Davis racked up a career-high 29 tackles including 0.5 tackles for a loss and batted two passes. Khan, a 6-3, 315-pound defensive tackle from Cypress, Texas, initially signed for former UW coach Kalen DeBoer. He’s appeared in one game during his first two seasons in Seattle.
For a second consecutive year, the Huskies and position coach Jason Kaufusi targeted significant help in the transfer portal. UW added junior Darin Conley, a 6-3, 285-pound defensive lineman from Ball State; sophomore Kai McClendon, a 6-2, 315-pound tackle from Mississippi State who missed the entire 2025 season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and junior DeSean Watts, a 6-2, 318-pound lineman from Sacramento State.
Washington also signed four true freshmen: Ta’a Malu, Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais, David Schwerzel and 247Sports composite four-star prospect JD Hill. Only Umu-Cais, listed at 6-3, 307 pounds, is enrolled at UW for spring practices.
While Kaufusi sorts through his new additions to find his preferred pairings, spring will also offer an opportunity to see whether defensive coordinator Ryan Walters returns to his trademark five-down defensive linemen fronts that brought him success at previous stops or continues to play the four-down fronts that he found success with at UW during the second half of the 2025 season.
But left tackle isn’t the only place on UW’s offensive line where a position battle will take place this spring. Right guard Geirean Hatchett, the lone UW offensive lineman to start every game in 2025, was granted a seventh season of eligibility for 2026. But his starting spot is far from a guarantee.
Redshirt freshman guard Champ Taulealea was the highest-rated offensive line recruit in UW’s 2025 recruiting class. The 6-5, 330-pound Bay Area native quickly emerged as Washington’s second-choice right guard during fall camp and played in five games — four during the regular season and the LA Bowl — while maintaining his redshirt in 2025.
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Taulealea saw his most extensive action Nov. 15 at home against Purdue and Nov. 22 away versus UCLA. He allowed two pressures and a sack in 44 pass-blocking snaps in 2025. Willis and departing defensive lineman Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei both named Taulealea as one of the players they are most excited to watch in 2026.
“Look out for him,” Uiagalelei said March 16 after UW’s Pro Day. “He’s going to be a guy. He’s good. He’s been giving me work as a freshman last year, and he’s got a lot of talent. Got a lot of potential.”
Hatchett, a 6-4, 310-pound guard, surrendered a team-high 22 pressures in 2025, including 15 hurries, four quarterback hits and three sacks. And while his availability was a major asset to UW’s 2025 offensive line, Hatchett will have to hold off a significant challenge from Taulealea that starts this spring.
Dezmen Roebuck enjoyed one of the best true freshmen seasons at UW in recent memory, hauling in 42 catches for 560 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 2025. Fisch announced the 5-11, 180-pound Roebuck will slide into the slot this spring after previously playing the Z-receiver position in 2025. The move fills the vacancy caused when Raiden Vines-Bright transferred to Arizona State.
Roebuck’s move also frees the path for a true competition for the starting Z-receiver role. Junior Rashid Williams won the job against Roebuck during fall camp a season ago, but a collarbone injury suffered Sept. 6 against UC Davis ruled him out for several weeks. Then, he picked up a hand injury during practice shortly after recovering and was ruled out for the season.
Williams will likely compete against sophomore Chris Lawson. One of the true freshman standouts from spring practice a season ago, the San Francisco native battled a hamstring injury during fall camp before emerging as a contributor at the end of the year. He made 10 catches for 115 yards receiving while playing in eight games in 2025.
Washington has even bigger questions to answer at its X-receiver position, where wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings has to replace Boston, a potential first-round NFL draft pick.
The Huskies have some intriguing options. Fifth-year wideout Christian Moss, listed at 6-3, 199 pounds, is the most experienced member of the group competing for snaps at the X-receiver position, with 65 catches for 963 yards receiving and four touchdowns across four years at Kennesaw State and Virginia Tech. UW brought in redshirt freshman Bodpegn Miller, a converted high-school quarterback, from Ohio State, too, though he seems less likely to be an immediate contributor like Moss.
Finally, UW will get its first look at true freshman Jordan Clay this spring. A late flip from Baylor, the 6-3, 200-pound Clay was a composite four-star recruit and the Navy All-American Bowl’s Offensive Player of the Year after catching 55 passes for 1,300 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns at Madison High of San Antonio.
“We wanted some guys with different body types that could play different types,” Fisch said. “Jordan was ranked as one of the best wide receivers in the entire country and to get him was huge for us.”
Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes.com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.
Dezmen Roebuck scores on the pass play in the third against UCLA in Big-Ten football Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025 at the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, CA. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
Skip Ad
By
Andy Yamashita
Seattle Times staff reporter
Jedd Fisch made UW’s expectations for next season clear minutes after the Huskies concluded their 2025 campaign.
“The plan,” the Washington coach said Dec. 13 after defeating Boise State 38-10 in the LA Bowl, “is to be preparing to play next weekend (during the first round of the College Football Playoff).
And after retaining a majority of the roster — including quarterback Demond Williams Jr. — Washington has most of the pieces in place to take another step forward in 2026.
Yet there are some question marks remaining over key positions. And while kickoff for the next season is still several months away, spring practices offer the first opportunity to see how the depth chart might shake out. So here are three position battles to watch this spring:
Honorable mention: Running back, Left tackle
3. Defensive tackle
Washington’s defensive tackle depth chart is fairly unknown this spring. Only two interior defensive linemen on UW’s 2026 roster — junior Elinneus Davis and sophomore Omar Khan — were part of the team in 2025 as graduation attrition and the transfer portal have created more roster churn at defensive tackle than any other position group on UW’s roster.Davis, a 6-foot-3, 317-pound defensive tackle, is almost assured a starting spot. After breaking into UW’s rotation in 2024, he made 10 starts and played in all 13 games in 2025. Davis racked up a career-high 29 tackles including 0.5 tackles for a loss and batted two passes. Khan, a 6-3, 315-pound defensive tackle from Cypress, Texas, initially signed for former UW coach Kalen DeBoer. He’s appeared in one game during his first two seasons in Seattle.
For a second consecutive year, the Huskies and position coach Jason Kaufusi targeted significant help in the transfer portal. UW added junior Darin Conley, a 6-3, 285-pound defensive lineman from Ball State; sophomore Kai McClendon, a 6-2, 315-pound tackle from Mississippi State who missed the entire 2025 season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and junior DeSean Watts, a 6-2, 318-pound lineman from Sacramento State.
Washington also signed four true freshmen: Ta’a Malu, Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais, David Schwerzel and 247Sports composite four-star prospect JD Hill. Only Umu-Cais, listed at 6-3, 307 pounds, is enrolled at UW for spring practices.
While Kaufusi sorts through his new additions to find his preferred pairings, spring will also offer an opportunity to see whether defensive coordinator Ryan Walters returns to his trademark five-down defensive linemen fronts that brought him success at previous stops or continues to play the four-down fronts that he found success with at UW during the second half of the 2025 season.
2. Right guard
Washington has an obvious position battle to watch at left tackle. Carver Willis, a consensus All-Big Ten honorable mention by coaches and media in 2025, exhausted his eligibility and is headed to the professional level. True freshman Kodi Greene and Sam Houston transfer Kolt Dieterich will likely get the first opportunities to win the job.But left tackle isn’t the only place on UW’s offensive line where a position battle will take place this spring. Right guard Geirean Hatchett, the lone UW offensive lineman to start every game in 2025, was granted a seventh season of eligibility for 2026. But his starting spot is far from a guarantee.
Redshirt freshman guard Champ Taulealea was the highest-rated offensive line recruit in UW’s 2025 recruiting class. The 6-5, 330-pound Bay Area native quickly emerged as Washington’s second-choice right guard during fall camp and played in five games — four during the regular season and the LA Bowl — while maintaining his redshirt in 2025.
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Taulealea saw his most extensive action Nov. 15 at home against Purdue and Nov. 22 away versus UCLA. He allowed two pressures and a sack in 44 pass-blocking snaps in 2025. Willis and departing defensive lineman Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei both named Taulealea as one of the players they are most excited to watch in 2026.
“Look out for him,” Uiagalelei said March 16 after UW’s Pro Day. “He’s going to be a guy. He’s good. He’s been giving me work as a freshman last year, and he’s got a lot of talent. Got a lot of potential.”
Hatchett, a 6-4, 310-pound guard, surrendered a team-high 22 pressures in 2025, including 15 hurries, four quarterback hits and three sacks. And while his availability was a major asset to UW’s 2025 offensive line, Hatchett will have to hold off a significant challenge from Taulealea that starts this spring.
1. Wide receiver
Just like a season ago, when Denzel Boston was coming off his breakout season, Washington will enter spring practices with just one established starting wide receiver.Dezmen Roebuck enjoyed one of the best true freshmen seasons at UW in recent memory, hauling in 42 catches for 560 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 2025. Fisch announced the 5-11, 180-pound Roebuck will slide into the slot this spring after previously playing the Z-receiver position in 2025. The move fills the vacancy caused when Raiden Vines-Bright transferred to Arizona State.
Roebuck’s move also frees the path for a true competition for the starting Z-receiver role. Junior Rashid Williams won the job against Roebuck during fall camp a season ago, but a collarbone injury suffered Sept. 6 against UC Davis ruled him out for several weeks. Then, he picked up a hand injury during practice shortly after recovering and was ruled out for the season.
Williams will likely compete against sophomore Chris Lawson. One of the true freshman standouts from spring practice a season ago, the San Francisco native battled a hamstring injury during fall camp before emerging as a contributor at the end of the year. He made 10 catches for 115 yards receiving while playing in eight games in 2025.
Washington has even bigger questions to answer at its X-receiver position, where wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings has to replace Boston, a potential first-round NFL draft pick.
The Huskies have some intriguing options. Fifth-year wideout Christian Moss, listed at 6-3, 199 pounds, is the most experienced member of the group competing for snaps at the X-receiver position, with 65 catches for 963 yards receiving and four touchdowns across four years at Kennesaw State and Virginia Tech. UW brought in redshirt freshman Bodpegn Miller, a converted high-school quarterback, from Ohio State, too, though he seems less likely to be an immediate contributor like Moss.
Washington also returns 6-4, 212-pound sophomore Justice Williams, who made two catches for 28 yards in 2025 but missed the final few games with a toe injury. The son of former Los Angeles Rams tight end Roland Williams, Justice Williams is another former DeBoer holdover like Rashid Williams.Finally, UW will get its first look at true freshman Jordan Clay this spring. A late flip from Baylor, the 6-3, 200-pound Clay was a composite four-star recruit and the Navy All-American Bowl’s Offensive Player of the Year after catching 55 passes for 1,300 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns at Madison High of San Antonio.
“We wanted some guys with different body types that could play different types,” Fisch said. “Jordan was ranked as one of the best wide receivers in the entire country and to get him was huge for us.”
Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes.com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.
