Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch speaks to the media following a scrimmage Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. | Teren Kowatsch/Roundtable Sports SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies football team, on its eighth practice session of fall training camp Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle, the Huskies commenced its first scrimmage of the fall. Washington wasn't full speed (or full strength) for the duration of the session, but was able to show some encouraging signs in the first game-like scenario of training camp. Here's several notes and takeaways from the Huskies first training camp scrimmage: Chris Lawson continuing to make most of opportunities Washington is still looking to determine the final starters and the rotation for the wide receiver room, and second-year wide receiver Chris Lawson is making a good case to earn significant playing time when the season opens against the Washington State Cougars on Sept. 6. Whether Lawson has had third-year starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. or third-year backup signal-caller Elijah Brown throwing him the ball, he's been one of the most consistent performers in practice. That trend continued Saturday. Lawson made multiple first-down catches, including a leaping 40-yard catch through contact from first-year cornerback Elijah Durr. Lawson has an ability to play either of the outside wide receiver spots or the slot for the Huskies. "Chris is getting better and better," Washington head coach Jedd Fisch said in an interview following the scrimmage Saturday. "The competition at receiver is really becoming better than it's ever been. ... I love the way Lawson's playing. ... Chris' flexibility at 'z,' at 'x' and at 'f' is a big difference-maker for us." Running backs continue to progress The Huskies haven't had their full running back room this training camp, but they're now mostly healthy and have steadily showed flashes in practice. That continued during scrimmage. Fourth-year Jayden Limar, second-year Quaid Carr and first-year Brian Bonner all had either decent runs or catch-and-runs out of the backfield Saturday.
Washington transfer RB’s Jayden Limar and Trey Cooley catching passes during warmups. pic.twitter.com/Qz3oo42NVw — Nick Lemkau (@nicklemkaucfb) August 16, 2026 "They're all super talented," Right tackle Drew Azzopardi said after the scrimmage Saturday. "We have a great running back room. Obviously, we weren't very healthy in the spring. So to have the older guys back like Jayden and (sixth-year Trey Cooley), who've played a lot of college snaps, that helps us for sure. But we have a lot of depth in the running back room. We have a lot of guys who can play on this team, whether that's Quaid, Jayden, Trey, Brian, (first-year Ansu Sanoe), no matter who it is I'm confident." Defense solid in scrimmage The defense has been banging the drums all offseason it believes it can be one of the best units in the country, and it looked dominant during the scrimmage. Aside from several chunk plays, including a long throw-and-catch between Williams and second-year tight end Baron Naone, the defense made its presence felt. Fourth-year safety Alex McLaughlin had a pass breakup on a throw intended for third-year tight end Decker DeGraaf and had a sack, first-year safety Gavin Day intercepted a pass in the end zone and fourth-year cornerback Emmanuel Karnley made a great effort to breakup what could've been a highlight-reel catch by sixth-year receiver Christian Moss. The defense also recorded several third- and fourth-down stops in live drive and red zone situations. "I think overall, we have certainly the best depth on the defense since I've been here," Fisch said. "I feel like those guys got a lot of opportunities (tonight)." Other notes -- First-year cornerback Jeron Jones, who has been filling in for injured second-year cornerback Dylan Robinson, earned praise from Fisch, who said the true freshman has been playing "elite defense." -- Per Fisch, the assumptive starter at right guard, seventh-year Geirean Hatchett, will be cleared for practice following the scrimmage. -- First-year wide receiver Jordan Clay, who's missed all of training camp to this point, should be cleared for Tuesday's practice, per Fisch.