Welcome to Day 18 of UWDP’s 30 Day Countdown! Today we will be going over what the strongest position group is on the Husky roster, so let’s not waste any time and get right into it!
Offensive Line
What a difference 2 years makes, huh? 2 seasons after the Huskies couldn’t have a first and second team offensive line at the spring game, Jedd Fisch and Michael Switzer have done a fantastic job of rebuilding the o-line room. With returning talent such as Drew Azzopardi, John Mills (who looks to build on a season where he was a Freshman All American) and Landen Hatchett (who is currently recovering from a broken wrist), the line looks to make holes for a running back room whose pecking order is far from settled, and to protect Demond Williams, as he continues to lead the Husky offense in his 3rd year. The depth pieces are also intriguing, as Fisch singled out Geirean Hatchett, Sam Houston State transfer Kolt Dietrich (who has been taking center snaps at camp), and Soane Faasolo, when I went to see him back in June.
But what excites me is this: given Fisch’s proclivity to play Freshmen (or first years, if you prefer), he also pointed to Kodi Greene as a potential Freshman All American like Mills was. There’s also the unsung depth pieces, the Lowen Colman-Brusas, the Champ Taulealeas, guys like that, who didn’t get much run last year, that could step up and make room for the skill positions to make big plays. While this could just be me personally, this is the best I have felt about the O-line room since the Joe Moore winning season, and I think they share that sentiment, something that Christian Caple wrote about at On Montlake over the weekend. I think that is a lofty goal, but we’ll start here: I think this unit will be very good, but they have to prove to me that they can be great! But they have all the pieces to do so!
Linebackers
Last year, Buddah Al-Uqdah and Jacob Manu were expected to lead the linebacking corps last year. However, both were sidelined for much of the year due to injury (with Al-Uqdah suffering his injury in the Apple Cup and Manu working his way back from an injury suffered in 2024). That led to the emergence of Xe’Ree Alexander and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale as the main linebackers. Personally, I was very impressed with both, and can’t wait to see what they do in year 2 of Walters’ defense, and with the return of both Al-Uqdah and Manu, this creates a stout, experienced position group that is well positioned to wreak havoc on the rest of the Big Ten! They return the second leading tackler on the team (Alexander, with 70), the third leading tackler in the PAC 12 in 2023 (Manu, with 105), and the team’s newcomer of the year, who has shown flashes of elite athleticism (ZRS). With another year of familiarity with Walters’ system, the proven production, and the potential for highlight worthy plays, this is another contender for strongest position group, and one that I am super excited to watch develop as the season gets going. The only thing holding it back, however, is the lack of experienced depth.
Safeties
This might be an odd one, but hear me out. The key pieces here are all back. Alex McLaughlin, the guy who led the Huskies in tackles (94), had 2 defensive touchdowns and was in on seemingly every play? He’s back. Rahshawn Clark, the hybrid nickel, who had 21 tackles, 1 sack, 2 picks and a fumble recovery? He’s back. Rylon Dillard-Allen, the man who they nicknamed Batman, who had 40 tackles last year? He’s back. With another year of Walters’ coaching, they should be even better, but that’s not all, as Gavin Day, the #7 safety nationally and the #2 prospect in Nevada, joins the fray. According to our own Luke Kemper’s assessment, “Day is a powerful safety who lays the lumber on unsuspecting ball carriers.”, and “Day uses his 6’3 190 Lbs. size to close passing lanes in a hurry”. I always love players who aren’t afraid to hit somebody! With Day leading the depth pieces and looking for playing time, and McLaughlin et al. returning, this should once again be a very productive and fun unit, with just enough exciting depth to make things interesting and merit inclusion on this list.
My Choice: Give me the big uglies up front, but only with a slight edge over the safeties. There is just enough production coming back mixed with depth to give me comfort that whoever starts in the backfield is going to do very well. With something like this, this pick was surprising to me, considering I usually go with skill positions. But, I wasn’t confident enough in the depth at running back, wide receiver, etc. to definitively state that any one position stood out. Except for the offensive line, with its mix of proven production (Mills, Azzopardi, Landen Hatchett), depth (Kolt Dietrich, Soane Faasolo, Geirean Hatchett) and a young standout freshman already penciled in as a starter (Kodi Greene). With those three factors, it was an easy call! But what do you think? Am I totally off base? Sound off in the comments below!