With Washington’s 2026 opener against Washington State set for September 6, the Huskies’ countdown to kickoff has turned into a roll call of familiar names - and 55 days out, that means a look at the players who wore No. 55.
Ricky Andrews was one of the more productive linebackers to come through Montlake in the mid-1980s. A four-year letterwinner from Hawai'i, he arrived as a defensive back and eventually moved into the linebacker spot, where his production took off.
After starting five games at safety in 1987, he shifted up and piled up 170 total tackles in 1989, a mark that still ranks seventh in a single season at Washington. The San Diego Chargers selected him in the 10th round of the 1989 NFL Draft, and he went on to play one season each for the Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks in 1990 before continuing his career in the World League of American Football - later renamed NFL Europe - and the Canadian Football League.
Bruce Harrell’s name still carries weight in Husky linebacker history. A Seattle native and Garfield product, he turned down an invitation to Harvard to stay close to home and play for Washington.
During the early Don James years, Harrell became a four-year letterwinner and started 29 games over his final three seasons. He finished with 375 total tackles and 8 tackles for loss, and his 129 tackles in 1979 came with three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
That tackle total remains good for 10th all-time at UW. Harrell’s resume went well beyond the field, too: he earned All-League and All-Coast honors, was an Academic All-American, received a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete award, and picked up an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, making him one of only 15 Huskies to do so.
Rick Mallory built a strong Washington career on the offensive line, starting 23 games from 1982-83 and earning All-League, All-Coast, and Honorable Mention All-America recognition as a senior. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took him in the ninth round of the 1984 NFL Draft, and he spent five seasons with the team. Mallory later returned to Montlake as tight ends coach from 1994-98 under Jim Lambright, then moved on to coaching stops at Memphis, UAB, and Middle Tennessee State.
Roy McKasson was a key piece of Jim Owens’ 1959 and 1960 teams that both won Rose Bowls. He earned honorable mention All-American honors in 1959, then followed that with All-League, All-Coast, and First Team All-American recognition in 1960.
McKasson never played in the NFL, but he did spend one season with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He was inducted into the Huskies Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987.
Danny Shelton’s path to Washington carried a heavy personal weight. In May of his senior year at Auburn High School, before he ever arrived in Montlake, his older brother Shennon - nicknamed “Skeevie” - was shot and killed while trying to break up a fight.
Shelton still made it to UW, began his career wearing No. 71, and had long hoped to switch to No. 55 to honor his brother. He finally did so in his senior season, after defensive lineman Sione Potoa'e had graduated.
Shelton finished his Husky career with 208 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 11.5 sacks, then went 12th overall to the Cleveland Browns in the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent three years in Cleveland, was traded to the New England Patriots, and helped them beat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII during his first season there.
After two years in New England, he signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Lions and later agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Giants, where he reunited with former UW receiver Dante Pettis.
Ryan Bowman arrived at Washington as a walk-on defensive end/outside linebacker from Bellevue, by way of IMG Academy in Florida, and followed his brother Shane, who played for the Huskies from 2014-18. After redshirting in 2016, Bowman became a starter by the end of his second season.
The extra year of eligibility created by the shortened 2020 COVID season helped stretch his career to five seasons, and he ended up starting 26 games and appearing in 49 overall. His best year came in 2019, when he earned All-Pac-12 Second Team honors.
Bowman finished with 124 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks.
Troy Fautanu kept Washington’s recent offensive line draft run going when he joined Kaleb McGary, Nick Harris, and Luke Wattenberg as Husky linemen selected since 2019. In 2024, he was drafted alongside Roger Rosengarten. The 2023 Morris Trophy winner on offense played in 41 games for Washington and started 31 times, even though he still had another year of eligibility available if he had wanted it.
Jacob Bandes left Washington with one of the more notable durability marks in program history: most games played. The Pittsburg, Calif. standout appeared in 59 games for the Huskies and started 15 over a six-year career that included the shortened 2020 season. At 6-foot-3 and 307 pounds, the defensive lineman finished with 81 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception, which came at Indiana this past season.
In Other News...
Huskies Finally Landed The Kind Of DB This Class Needed
Washingtons secondary recruiting push got a needed jolt when cornerback Censere Gaylord, the California native now at IMG Academy, committed to the Huskies. For a class that has been building momentum, Gaylord brings the kind of profile Washington has been chasing in the defensive backfield, and his arrival gives the group a higher ceiling as it continues to take shape.
The commitment also comes amid a busy stretch for the program, with the Huskies already up to 11 pledges from the recent official visit weekend and more signs that the offseason is moving in their favor. Even as the roster and facilities keep evolving, including a new surface going in at Husky Stadium before the season, Washington still has competition on the trail and beyond it, with former defensive player Deven Bryant now at USC and positioned for a potentially larger role. [Read more 🡒]