Two things happened for the Washington Huskies last year, regressing them to just 6 wins. Kalen DeBoer, after leading the program to the national championship in 2023, got an irresistible Bama offer, and he left, followed by Ryan Grubb’s exit to the NFL. Then Washington moved to a whole new conference (Big 10), stacked with top teams (Ohio State, USC, Michigan, Penn State, etc), making Jedd Fisch’s challenge even more herculean. This year, though, there seems to be stability seeping into the program, and that makes their prospects for the 2025 season quite optimistic, according to a CBS analyst.
“We still haven’t even been here a year. To be around these kids and these guys has just been so special. They certainly have laid the foundation of a team that’s going to fight, a team that’s going to play extremely hard, ” said Fisch after the 2024 season ended, signaling great things in the pipeline. That promise now seems to be fulfilled in Washington, as the team looks unrecognizable, with the arrival of Ryan Walters, the team’s new DC, and sophomore Demond Jr behind the center. No wonder CBS analyst Mackenzie Brooks touts them for 8.2 wins.
“I mean, we don’t have them as a double-digit win team, but we have them at 8.2, which is enough for me to want to take the over seven and a half here. Demond Williams, obviously small sample size, but from what we see and what the data shows is a 78% completion percentage, eight touchdowns to one interception. Year two of your head coach, you return your top wide receiver. You return your thousand-yard running back. As far as production? They have most of it,” said Mackenzie Brooks on August 7th ‘CBS Sports CFB’ podcast.
Washington might have regressed to just 6 wins last year, but that also gave them Demond Williams, the freshman QB with a stellar 78.1% efficiency. His offensive efficiency might not have been too prominent in the season, limited to just 944 passing and 282 rushing yards. But the promise? He’s expected to be the leader behind the center, with the QB making ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg’s list as the top player to have the biggest impact on a team. Then there are other players too.
Denzel Boston is returning in the wide receiver room after receiving 834 yards last year, along with sophomore Rashid Williams showing reliability. Moreover, in the ground game, the team looks well-oiled after 1,053-yarder Jonah Coleman returns for the Huskies. Apart from that, Omari Evans also joins Denzel Boston in the WR room from Penn State after receiving 415 yards and averaging 19.8 yards per reception. All in all, the team has everything to achieve those 8+ wins that Brooks predicted. And don’t be shocked if they end up with 9 as the season ends. But some also predict them to make it to the playoffs, with few caveats, of course.
Are playoff hopes too lofty for the Washington Huskies in 2025?
Ryan Walters came in as the Huskies’ new defensive coordinator after Steve Belichick went to UNC after his father, Bill Belichick, was hired. He sure brings a wealth of experience, having been the head coach of the Purdue team and delivering strong stints as DC at Illinois and Missouri. For context, his defense at Illinois in 2022 ranked top in the nation, allowing just 12.8 points per game and finishing first in red-zone TD percentage. Now, coming to Washington, Walters’ past exploits have raised the optimism levels.
“In terms of experience and the defensive line, they do have some experience. But it lacks in production. But if those units do overperform, you’re going to have to look out for the Huskies to potentially take that last Big 10 spot in the College Football Playoff,” said George Wrighster in his recent podcast as he showed how the D line and the secondary can change the game for the Huskies. And guess what? There’s some promise, too, in the names coming in.
Take, for instance, Tai’tai Uiagalelei, who comes from Arizona and totaled 17 tackles and 2.5 sacks as a defensive end. Then there is Anterio Thompson at the tackle position coming from Western Michigan after registering 18 tackles and a sack last year. Apart from them. Taariq Al-Uqdah comes from Washington State after a 51-tackle season last year as a linebacker, bolstering the faith in the D line. Lastly, the experience of the D-line coach, Jason Kaufusi, will come in handy as he will look to improve performance from last season, where the team allowed a whopping 22.1 first downs per game with no noticeable pass rush.
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