With the 2026 football season now under 40 days away, Washington’s Sept. 6 opener against Washington State has turned the countdown into a jersey-by-jersey walk through Husky history. At No. 32, the list leans heavy on star power, headlined by Hugh McElhenny and backed by names that left real marks in Montlake.
McElhenny sits near the top of any Washington conversation about greats. Known as “The King” and “Hurryin’ Hugh,” he was a first-team AP All-American in 1951 and a two-time All Coast running back. His 296 yards in the 1950 Apple Cup still stand as the most yards ever gained by a UW running back in a game, and his 2,499 career rushing yards over three seasons remain top-10 all-time at Washington, 70 years later.
His success didn’t stop in college. San Francisco made him the No. 9 overall pick in the 1952 NFL Draft, and he went on to a 13-year pro career with four teams: the 49ers, Vikings, Giants and Detroit.
By the time he was done, McElhenny had become a six-time All-Pro, a member of the NFL All-Decade team for the 1950s, a member of the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame, and had his number 39 retired. Around Montlake, there was a popular joke that he took a pay cut by turning pro, and in 2004 he admitted to receiving money to play when he was with the Huskies.
He was also part of the initial Husky Hall of Fame class in 1979.
Budda Baker is another No. 32 who stands out, and for a different kind of impact. The Bellevue product, once committed to Oregon before changing course to stay close to home, became one of Chris Petersen’s biggest recruiting wins.
Over three seasons, Baker started 41 straight games and piled up 200 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. His rise was steady: freshman All-American in 2014, First Team All-Pac-12 in 2015, and then consensus All-American in 2016, making him the first UW defensive back to earn that honor since Lawyer Milloy in 1995.
Arizona grabbed Baker with the No. 36 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft after trading up for him, and he wasted no time delivering. He made the 2017 Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie team.
Last year, Baker became the richest safety in the NFL at the time when he signed a four-year, $59 million extension with Arizona. In his pro career, he has been named to three All-Pro teams and twice earned First-Team All-Pro recognition.
Richie Chambers also wore No. 32 and carved out his own place in Washington lore. A four-year letterwinner from Lake Stevens from 1991-94, he started 15 games over his final two seasons, including all 11 in 1994.
His interception and 29-yard return against Miami in the fourth quarter sealed Washington’s 38-20 win and ended Miami’s historic 58-game home winning streak. Chambers finished his Husky career with 124 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks.
The list also includes B0 Cornell, a Seattle native and three-year letterwinner from 1968-70. He was a team captain and an AP honorable mention All-American as a senior.
Cornell ran 332 times for 1,266 yards and 19 touchdowns in those three seasons, and he was the top Husky selected in the 1971 NFL Draft when Cleveland took him in the second round. He spent two seasons with the Browns and then five with the Buffalo Bills.
In Other News...
Demond Williams Jr. Just Raised The Stakes For Washington
Washingtons camp is underway for Jedd Fischs Huskies, and one of the first items of business is the growing national profile of Demond Williams Jr. The junior quarterback landed on the Maxwell Award preseason watchlist, a sign that his breakout first full season as a starter is beginning to carry beyond Seattle. Williams already gave Washington plenty to build on with his passing and rushing production, and his Big Ten all-honorable mention recognition only reinforced how quickly he emerged as a key figure in the program.
For the Huskies, the watchlist nod does more than add another line to Williams rsum. It raises the expectations around a team trying to take another step in training camp and beyond, with the quarterback now positioned as one of the most closely watched players on the roster. Whether the award talk turns into something bigger will play out later, but it already puts a different kind of pressure and spotlight on a player Washington is counting on to keep driving the offense forward. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Sits In A Nebraska Stretch That Could Define The Big Ten Race
Nebraskas 2026 football calendar is the kind that can shape a season before fall really settles in, and for Washington fans the middle of that stretch deserves a close look. The Cornhuskers are projected to open with Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota before moving into a run that also includes Michigan State, Maryland, Indiana, Oregon, Washington, Ohio State, Illinois and Iowa, a lineup that asks a lot from a team trying to stay in the Big Ten conversation. Under Matt Rhule, Nebraska has shown enough progress to make people wonder whether the program is finally ready to compete with the leagues upper tier.
The concern is familiar, though, because Nebraska has too often paired promising nonconference starts with an early stumble once Big Ten play begins. Indiana lands in the middle of that pressure point, the sort of game that can either steady the Huskers before the schedule gets heavier or leave them scrambling to keep pace in a crowded race. From Washingtons side, the trip to Seattle sits inside a stretch that could say plenty about where Nebraska really stands, and whether Rhules team is ready to turn its early momentum into something more durable. [Read more 🡒]
Jedd Fisch Just Set The Tone For Washingtons Biggest Camp Battles
Jedd Fisch met with the media ahead of Washingtons third fall camp under his leadership and used the moment to frame what the next few weeks will look like. He touched on the Huskies injury situation, laid out how practice will be structured and offered a look at how the offensive and defensive groups will be organized as camp gets rolling.
There are already a few familiar camp wrinkles to monitor, especially with several players expected to spend the start of camp rehabbing. Fisch also pointed to the work of his coaching staff and said hes encouraged by where the program is heading, but the most interesting part of these early days is how the depth chart starts to take shape when the Huskies begin sorting out the first-team reps. [Read more 🡒]