The Washington Huskies have a lot of promising talent at wide receiver heading into the 2026 season, but the majority of it is unproven, including sophomore Chris Lawson. After the former four-star recruit's career on Montlake got off to a hot start in the spring of 2025, injuries limited him in the fall, which led to him playing in eight games and tallying 10 catches for 110 yards in his debut campaign before he was sidelined for about half of the workouts in the spring of 2026. Now, fully healthy, Lawson has been making his mark left and right during fall camp. During Saturday's scrimmage, Lawson compiled 5 catches for an estimated 90 yards, including an impressive 40-yard reception downfield from sophomore Treston Kini McMillan. While working against freshman cornerback Elijah Durr, he made a mid-air adjustment on a slightly underthrown pass to go up and over the defensive back to haul in the pass, as he has become a consistent contributor for the Huskies over the last few days of practice, which has caught the eye of coach Jedd Fisch.
"Chris is getting better and better. It's really making the competition at receiver is really becoming better than it's ever been, also, because you've got Chris, then you've got, and (Dezmen) Roebuck, you've got Rashid playing at a high level, and Christian (Moss), then you got Trez (Davis), and then Mason (James) makes some plays, messing a nice little catch down there, and a couple other plays," Fisch said of his depth of the position on Saturday. As Washington's young talent continues to shine at the position, even with four-star freshman Jordan Clay sidelined with an injury, Lawson's versatility has continued to set him apart. "So you got guys that are constantly working, and we've got to get Jordan Clay back," Fisch continued. "Jordan Clay should be back for Tuesday's practice. So he's got to step up, and he's got to go compete and make it hard. But, um, I love the way Lawson's playing. And the thing about Chris is he can play all three spots. So, Chris' flexibility at Z, at X, and at F for us is a big difference." This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Sophomore WR rising into important role for Washington football