Athlon’s preseason All-Big Ten teams came out, and seven Huskies found their way onto the list - just not on the first team.
Washington landed one player on the second team, four on the third team and two more on the fourth. LB Jacob Manu was the lone Husky to crack the second team, while WR Dezmen Roebuck, TE Decker DeGraaf, OL John Mills and P Hunter Green were all placed on the third team. DT Elinneus Davis and S Alex McLaughlin rounded out the group on the fourth team.
There’s not much of a case to be made that any of those players were buried badly, but Mills and McLaughlin look like the two who could have pushed a little higher. Mills is set to be one of the anchors of Washington’s offensive line this season, and McLaughlin was the Huskies’ top defensive player statistically a year ago.
A few more Washington names could work their way into the first or second team conversation by season’s end. That list includes PK Tyler Robles, WR Rashid Williams, OL Drew Azzopardi, CB Dylan Robinson, DB Rahshawn Clark, CB Emmanuel Karnley and OL Landen Hatchett.
The coaching staff isn’t likely to lose sleep over preseason rankings, but those lists do have a place inside the football facility. They give the players a snapshot of how the outside world sees them, and that can be useful fuel.
Washington is set to begin its third fall camp under Jedd Fisch in the first week of August.
In Other News...
Washington Linebackers Were Just Hit With A National Reality Check
Greg McElroys early look at the nations linebacker rooms for 2026 came with a notable omission for Washington, a program that believes it has far more talent in that spot than its getting credit for right now. The Huskies are leaning on a group that should be led by Jacob Manu as he works back from the knee injury that cost him most of last season, while XeRee Alexanders late-year emergence gave the unit a steadier base than it had earlier in the fall. Add in Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who is also coming off a major injury, and there is at least a case that this group has more upside than the national conversation reflected.
The challenge for Washington is turning that upside into something undeniable once the season starts. Manus return, Alexanders continued growth and Rainey-Sales health all point to a linebacker room that could climb quickly if it stays on track, and the Huskies also have the kind of depth that can make a preseason omission age poorly. The broader question is whether this is simply a unit with promise or one that ends up forcing its way into the same elite tier McElroy already had in mind. [Read more 🡒]
National Take On Demond Williams Just Raised The Stakes For Washington
Demond Williams is heading into his junior season with Washington carrying the kind of attention that comes with being the quarterback everyone in the program is watching. He already has 15 starts behind him, and with four starters back on the offensive line, the Huskies have enough continuity around him to make 2026 feel like a real proving ground. The rest of the offense has its own layers too, from a receiver group still sorting itself out to a tight end room leaning on experience.
Joel Klatts national quarterback discussion only sharpened the conversation around Williams, who landed as an honorable mention rather than among the top 10 names. The message was clear enough: there is talent here, but the next step has to come in the biggest moments, and Washington knows how much depends on that happening after the uncertainty that surrounded Williams earlier this year. If he takes the leap, the Huskies offense can start to look like a unit with real staying power. [Read more 🡒]
Jedd Fischs Roster Reality Is Starting To Take Shape At Washington
Jedd Fischs roster-building at Washington is already being shaped by the new eligibility landscape around college football, where more players can stick around longer and scholarship room gets tighter. That means the Huskies have to think differently about how many newcomers they can bring in each year, and the math gets even more complicated when the players already in the program start occupying spots for longer stretches.
Against that backdrop, Washingtons latest 2027 additions came in the specialist group, with long snapper Braylon Logan and punter Nolan Balke joining the class. Balke is the clearer scholarship bet of the two, while Logan figures to arrive in a different capacity, a small detail that says plenty about how carefully every roster slot now has to be managed in Seattle. [Read more 🡒]