New Washington head coach Jedd Fisch is faced with a depleted running back position due to departures and injuries. Here’s a look at where the Huskies stand at the position.
Leaving Washington
Dillon Johnson (6-0, 218 pounds): NFL Draft. After playing a crucial part in the Huskies’ run to the national championship Dillon Johnson will be playing NFL football next year. Johnson played a big part in the Husky offense, accounting for 1,385 total yards and 16 touchdowns. The Huskies will have their hands full replacing him.
Tybo Rogers (5-11, 185): Transfer Portal. An unfortunate loss for Washington, Rogers was productive when he saw touches. He had two good games early in the year against Michigan State and Cal then was reintroduced into the rotation near the end of the year. Rogers appeared to be one of the guys that would fill in for Johnson but he’s in the portal now.
Richard Newton (6-0, 223): Out of Eligibility. Newton was on the 2020 Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List before injuries derailed his very promising career. He played in 13 games this season with limited duties.
Returning Players
Cam Davis RS Senior (6-0, 212): What would Washington’s run game have looked like with a healthy Dillon Johnson and Cam Davis? The year before Washington had more rushing TDs than passing, that’s how. Davis missed the entire 2023 campaign after going for 659 all-purpose yards including 522 yards on 107 carries and a team-leading 13 scores.
Will Nixon RS Junior (5-11, 202): Nixon started the year as the Huskies’ RB2 and saw a good number of carries as Dillon Johnson battled an injury early. Nixon totaled 285 all-purpose yards for the Huskies and will be expected to improve on those numbers in 2024. Nixon provided quality carries when giving Dillon Johnson a break. Given how Fisch likes to use various backs, Nixon should be expected to fill a similar, if not expanded role in the coming season.
Nixon will enter Spring Football as the Huskies’ number 2 back as Davis works his way back. Being 9 months away from Davis’ injury Nixon will have an ample opportunity to cement himself in Fisch’s offense.
Sam Adams II RS Junior (6-2, 207): Adams came off the bench in 2023 and only had 10 carries on the year. However, in the game against Cal, Adams took four of those carries for 22 yards and a score. As a four-star out of Eastside Catholic in Bellevue, Adams has a high, yet virtually untapped ceiling.
Transfers In
Jonah Coleman Sophmore (5-9, 225): During the 2023 campaign Coleman was an honorable mention for the All-Pac-12 Team. At Arizona, Coleman rushed for 871 yards on an impressive 6.8 yards per carry. As a pass catcher, Coleman had 283 yards, and 11.3 yards per reception. Along with all this big play ability Coleman was tied for the fewest fumbles in the nation with 0.
That mix of playmaking has Coleman looking like he will be the go-to guy for the Huskies next season—especially as Davis works his way back to full health.
Adam Mohammed HS Senior (6-0, 180): While Jonah Coleman stands at 5-9, Adam Mohammed looks a lot more like the big bruising back Huskies fans got used to with Dillon Johnson. At 6-0 180 pounds Mohammed is a physical beast. As a recruit out of Apollo High School in Glendale Arizona Mohammed had quite the list of offers and chose Arizona. But now Mohammed has flipped his commitment to the University of Washington to follow head coach Jedd Fisch.
Depth Perception
Given the injury status of Cam Davis and Sam Adams the depth at running back is a bit precarious. That makes the RB depth a bit difficult to project for spring so it’s likely that it Weill will be 2-man race between Coleman and Nixon with a splash of Mohammad as a role running back.
Once there’s some clarity to the injury situations for Davis and Adams, we’ll revisit the depth chart.
