Overall the 2025 Spring edition of the Washington Husky Football team stands in stark contrast to the previous year.  Last season after a national championship run new Washington Head Coach Jedd Fish was faced with a lot of departures leaving him with little depth and little positional competition.

Additionally, the roster is full and after Fisch’s winter health and nutrition, fitness and conditioning program, most players appear to be in much better shape.

And they found the beef as the offensive and defensive line rooms are filled with a body-types suitable for Big-10 Conference play.

Here are some early observations from the first day of Spring Football:

Quarterbacks:  With two games under his belt, Demond Williams is the incumbent. didn’t throw too much besides 2min drill at end of practice. Williams is a star, but we already knew that. Fisch said the freshman will push to compete with Tulane-transfer Kai Horton for backup at quarterbacks.

Running Backs:  That room should be really special this year with a versatile players.

Jonah Coleman looks like he’s in great shape compared to last year. He still has the massive thighs, but has a new “slimmed” look.  The second-year transfer from Arizona didn’t have a chance to show power, but he looks more explosive.

Adam Mohammad looks amazing.  The true sophomore has a large base and, a common theme this spring will be how much more explosive every one looks.

Speaking of being explosive, sophomore Jordan Washington has real potential to be a home run threat anytime he’s on the field.

Finally, true freshman Julian McMahon is a monster, biggest back on Montlake had in a while. 

Receivers: 

With Denzel Boston sidelined there is a huge opportunity for a lot of snaps for the receivers to plant their flag on the position this spring.

First up was Omari Evans who made 3 really good catches during the 2-monite drills including a couple scores. 

Rashid Williams is a breakout candidate.  He’s slimmed but more muscular.  At 6-1 and 190 he is a bigger body receiver.

The other Williams, Justice, looks smooth.  The long arms of the 6-4 Justice will be a story to keep an eye on this spring.  The sophomore is a physical mirror image of Boston.

The true freshman are impressive-looking.  Chris Lawson is really fast, just flies around. Late flip from Oklahoma, Marcus Harris looks like he’s will compete for slot reps.  Raiden Vines-Bright RVB is a lot bigger than expected at 6-1 and already over 210. 

Tight Ends:

Decker Degraaf will be a real weapon opposite a healthy Quentin Moore.  Fisch mentioned both in the pre-Spring Camp press conference.  Lynden’s Cade Eldridge, is a nice pickup from USC via the Transfer Portal.

Offensive Line:

There are a lot more bodies this year with 16 versus eight last Spring Camp.  The numbers and size make a huge difference from last year. The buzz of Day 1 was how much more Big 10ish the team looks overall.  However, the freshman are really impressive in terms of size, a couple of them could get some playing time early. 

Defensive Line:

As with the OL, new defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has favorable numbers this year compared to what Steve Belichick–and Big 10-size, as well.

Of note, the staff seems really impressed with Anterio Thompson. That said, UW has a group of 6 guys on the interior who look night and day from last year. 

Linebackers:

The graduation of Carson Bruener and Alphonzo Tuputala, left the position wide open.  However, two probable contributors are sidelined with true freshman Zaydrius Rainey-Sale and Arizona-transfer Jacob Manu leaving two new-comers looking to establish themselves early in camp.

Washington State-transfer Taariq “Buddah” Al-Uqdah had a nice interception in the team period.

At 6-2 and 223 pounds, former Idaho Vandal/UCF Knight Xe’ree Alexander, originally from Auburn, Washington, turned a lot of heads with his size, being bigger than expected. Epperson also looks a lot bigger than I expected coming in. 

Defensive Backs:

There will be battles everywhere on the backend of Washington’s defense.  While they have a lot of bodies, they will have depth with some young guys to really push the group forward. 

Biggest battle is going to be for safety reps between Makell Esteen, CJ Christian, AP All-American transfer from Northern Arizona Alex McLaughlin, and sophomore Vincent Holmes. 

The versatility of senior Dyson McCutcheon (and nose for the ball) will pay dividends as he will see time at several spots.

In all, those present looked to be much closer to the size and shape of a team that will be in better position for contention of a Big 10 Championship.

Evan Feather contributed to this story.