With Washington’s 2025 season still 65 days away, the countdown has turned into a look back at some of the Huskies who wore No. 65 - and the list reaches across eras, positions and even sports.
Khalif Barnes is one of the biggest names on it. A senior at Mount Miguel High School in Southern California, he piled up 120 total tackles and nine sacks and drew offers from most of the Pac 10 and several other FBS programs.
Washington signed him in 2000, and after redshirting that season he earned Defensive Scout Team honors. The Huskies then moved him to offensive line in the lead-up to the 2001 Rose Bowl, and Barnes became a mainstay at weakside tackle, starting 42 games and earning All-Pac 10 recognition.
He helped protect Cody Pickett’s blindside in 2002 as the quarterback set the conference record for passing yards in a season. Barnes graduated in 2005, went in the second round with the 52nd pick of the 2005 NFL Draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and played 13 NFL seasons with four teams before finishing after the 2017 season.
Another standout from the list is Vic Markov, whose résumé went far beyond football. A three-year letterman for Washington from 1935-1937, he was later named to the program’s Centennial Team as a two-way tackle and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1976.
He also lettered three years in track and wrestling. After graduation, Markov was drafted by the Cleveland Rams with the 26th pick in the fourth round of the 1938 NFL Draft, played one season, and then entered the Army.
He became a company commander, landed at Normandy with General George Patton’s Third Army, and earned the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and five battle stars while fighting in the Battles of the Bulge and the Ardennes.
Washington’s older history shows up again with Dave Browning, who may not be a household name but left a real mark. He spent two years at Spokane Falls before joining Don James’ first full class at Washington.
Browning started 21 games over two seasons on the defensive line for the 1976 and 1977 Huskies, finished with more than 160 tackles and 17 tackles-for-loss, and was part of the defense that helped Washington beat Michigan in the 1978 Rose Bowl. The Oakland Raiders took him in the second round of the 1978 NFL Draft, and he played five seasons there before one more with the New England Patriots.
Frank Garcia’s Husky career stretched from 1991 to 1994, and his role changed with the team’s rise. He was a four-year letterman, provided important depth at guard during Washington’s run to the national title in ’91, and then started 27 games over the next three seasons, including all 11 in his senior year. The Carolina Panthers selected him in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL Draft, and Garcia went on to play nine seasons in the league, ending his career with the Arizona Cardinals in 2003.
Fletcher Jenkins was another captain-level presence. A three-year letterman, he served as a team captain in his final two seasons, 1980 and 1981, and posted 228 tackles and 29 tackles-for-loss. That run led to the Baltimore Colts taking him in the seventh round of the 1982 NFL Draft.
The list also includes Ted Markov, the older brother who helped bring Vic Markov to Washington. Ted was a three-year letterman for the Huskies from 1933-1935, and after Washington had recruited him, he recruited his younger brother to join him.
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