Pair of Washington Huskies Players Named to Preseason Award Watchlists

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The Washington Huskies football team is currently in the beginning days of fall training camp and will be looking to meet hefty expectations for the program in its third year under head coach Jedd Fisch.

The Huskies ranked 19th in USA Today's preseason top 25 poll. That would place Washington in the upper half of the 18-team Big Ten and right in the thick of competition for a College Football Playoff spot.

As a result of the hefty preseason expectations for the Huskies, several individuals on the team, players and coaches, have been named to preseason watchlists.

Fisch was identified as a potential winner of the Dodd Trophy and junior quarterback Demond Williams was one of 27 Big Ten players named as a potential recipient of the Maxwell Award.

Fisch, who took over the job ahead of the 2024 season after the majority of the top-end talent on the team either entered the NFL Draft, ran out of eligibility or entered the transfer portal, has seen steady improvement year-over-year since he was hired. Washington went 6-7 in the 2024-25 season and 9-4 in the 2025-26 season.

Williams' placement on his respective watchlist comes after he led the Big Ten in total yardage (3,676) in his first full year as a starter in '25 and put up 31 touchdowns.

On Thursday, two more players earned placements on preseason watchlists.

Fifth-year linebacker was named nominated as a potential winner of the Campbell Trophy and fourth-year center Landen Hatchett was named to the preseason watchlist for the Rimington Trophy.

This will be Manu's second season with the Huskies. He was originally recruited by Fisch when the latter was the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats. Manu was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2023 with the Wildcats.

Manu's first season in the Pacific Northwest was mired with injuries. He played in five games, including Washington's 38-10 win in the Los Angeles Bowl against the Boise State Broncos, due to a knee injury he suffered in his final year with Arizona in the 2024-25 season.

In his five games of action, Manu had 24 total tackles (13 solo), including one tackle for loss, and had one pass defended.

Manu is expected to be a member of a linebacking corps that has a chance to be the linchpin of a defense with its own lofty expectations.

Hatchett has been a fixture on the team's offense line since playing nine games as a true freshman in 2023. Last year, he started at center for nine games before missing four with a hand injury that kept him out all of spring and will delay his participation in fall practice by a couple days.

The Rimington Trophy is awarded to the best center in the country and the Campbell Award, nicknamed the "Academic Heisman" by some, is awarded to the college player that exhibits the best combination of academic and on-field prowess.

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