Chris Lawson gaining confidence as starter for Washington football

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After the Washington Huskies lost Christian Moss to a quadriceps injury on their first offensive play of the season, sophomore Chris Lawson was the next man up.

Throughout the offseason, Jedd Fisch's coaching staff has sung the praises of the former four-star recruit, who had a breakout spring practice and appeared to be fighting for a starting job, but his playing time wound up being limited in 2025 after some nagging injuries that sidelined him for the majority of fall camp. Now, he's emerged as one of quarterback Demond Williams Jr.'s most reliable options.

Through the first four games of the year, Lawson has totaled 13 catches for 212 yards and a touchdown while moving all over the formation.

As Lawson has continued to get comfortable in his starting role and now has some additional production to back it up, already well past the 115 yards he totaled as a freshman, wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings stated he's seen plenty of growth from the product of Archbishop Riordan High School in Northern California.

"Just the confidence," Cummings said. "The confidence that Chris has, I think, the talent has never been a question…It's just the confidence knowing what to do and the coaches being confident that Chris is going to be where he's supposed to be on any given play. I think he's accepted that challenge, and you've seen him flourish because of that."

With Washington's injury issues in the backfield and struggles along the offensive line, one area where Lawson could continue to see an expanded role is in the screen game. He's proven to be a capable playmaker when picking up yards after the catch, and has an opportunity to help Washington's offense settle in against a USC defense that has struggled to defend the pass, allowing 236.2 yards per game through the air, which ranks No. 16 in the Big Ten.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Chris Lawson gaining confidence as starter for Washington football

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