Washington Huskies 2026 Football Preview
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After playing Michigan for the 2023 national championship, things turned downward quickly for the Washington Huskies. Kalen DeBoer left to replace Nick Saban at Alabama, and much of the roster fled for the NFL and the transfer portal. The Huskies did manage to make a bowl game in 2024, and went 9-4 last season. The Huskies do have a decent nucleus returning in 2026.
The most important is junior quarterback Demond WIlliams (5’11” 191 lbs.), who completed nearly 70% of his passes for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns with eight interceptions. A dual threat, Williams rushed for 611 yards and six more touchdowns, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Williams will be backed up by Stanford transfer Elijah Brown (6’2” 205 lbs.), who completed 58% of his passes last season with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Huskies will need to replace an NFL draft pick at running back this season. The leading candidate is sophomore Quaid Carr (5’11” 200 lbs.), though he’ll be splitting time with Oregon transfer Jayden Limar (6’2” 205 lbs.). Sophomore Jordan Washington (5’10” 181 lbs.), who rushed from 233 yards and a touchdown last season, averaging 8.6 yards per carry, also is in the mix.
Washington also needs to replace their top receiver from last season as well. Sophomore Dezmen Roebuck (5’11” 184 lbs.) caught 42 passes last season for 560 yards and seven touchdowns. Junior Rashid Williams (6’1” 200 lbs.) started two games last season before suffering a season ending injury. Kennesaw State transfer Christian Moss (6’3” 205 lbs.) caught 45 passes for 689 yards and two touchdowns, earning him third-team All-CUSA honors last season. Junior tight end Decker DeGraaf (6’4” 249 lbs.) caught 32 passes for 360 yards and two touchdowns last season. Moss and a healthy Williams could make Washington’s receiver room more potent in 2026 than it was last season.
Four starters return on the offensive line led by senior right tackle Drew Azzopardi (6’7” 322 lbs.), who’s a two year starter. Senior brothers center Landen Hatchett (6’3” 314 lbs.) and right guard Geirean Hatchett (6’5” 310 lbs.) also return along with sophomore left guard John Mills (6’6” 338 lbs.), an honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree last season. This should not only be one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten, but also in the nation as well.
Washington’s defense was pretty strong last year, and has the makings of another strong defense in 2026. Senior defensive end Jacob Lane (6’5” 256 lbs.) led the Huskies last season with four sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries. Junior defensive tackle Elinneus Davis (6’3” 312 lbs.) had 29 tackles last season. Keep an eye on freshman defensive tackle Derek Colman-Brusa (6’5” 295 lbs.), who is expected to make major contributions this season.
At linebacker, Arizona transfer Jacob Manu (5’9” 222 lbs.) has 241 career tackles; he’ll hold down the middle. Senior weakside linebacker Xe’ree Alexander (6’1” 238 lbs.) added 70 tackles last season. Sophomore Rahshawn Clark (5’11” 198 lbs.) will man the “Husky” nickel back role full time this season; he had 21 tackles and two interceptions in a part-time role last season.
The secondary will be led by senior safety Alex McLaughlin (6’2” 204 lbs.), who led the Huskies last season with 94 tackles and six pass breakups. In 2024, McLaughlin was a first-team All-Big Sky honoree with Northern Arizona. Virginia transfer cornerback Emmanuel Karnley Jr. (6’0” 188 lbs.) had 26 tackles and eight pass breakups with the Wahoos last season. Two sophomores in cornerback Dylan Robinson (6’3” 210 lbs.) and safety Rylon Dillard-Allen (5’11” 187 lbs.) were part-time starters who will grow into full-time contributors in 2026.
With Nebraska electing to select this Halloween game for a Blackout, ideally television will select it for a primetime matchup. But with Ohio State hosting Southern Cal and Iowa hosting Wisconsin, the TV networks will have some tough choices. I suspect this might be a week where Nebraska hopes that Fox or CBS gets first pick that day, because it’ll be tough for any network to turn down the Buckeyes/Trojans matchup. (Please don’t let Fox pick the Huskers and Huskies. PLEASE.)
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