Commentary: Has UW’s talent level risen enough to become Big Ten contenders?

Inside the recruiting lounge at Husky Stadium, the standard isn’t hard to see.

It’s scrolling by on a set of miniature ribbon boards, capitalized reminders in gold and purple type:

WELCOME TO HUSKY STADIUM

20 STRAIGHT WINS AT HOME

46 ACTIVE NFL PLAYERS

325 NFL PLAYERS IN PROGRAM HISTORY

MONTLAKE MADE

It’s blaring from above, as a separate ribbon board attached to a pillar on the ceiling lists CliffsNotes off a robust résumé:

18 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2X NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

WELCOME TO THE GREATEST SETTING

It’s staring back at you, 16 unblinking eyes, daring you daily to maintain the standard.

This is the vision of second-year Husky football coach Jedd Fisch, who unveiled his recently renovated recruiting lounge for a media event prior to the start of UW’s training camp. On Tuesday, standing at a podium with a purple “W,” he noted that the décor additions were “very intentional.”

Including, of course, the first-rounders in the room.

Behind Fisch, life-size prints of UW’s eight first-round picks currently in the NFL were pasted side by side along the wall, as well as their draft classes and scribbled signatures.

Vita Vea. Shaq Thompson. Michael Penix Jr. Troy Fautanu. Rome Odunze. Kaleb McGary. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Trent McDuffie.

The natural question: Who’s next?

The answer is unclear.

Which could be a concern for this team in 2025.

After 10 Huskies were drafted in 2024, and dozens more plunged into the transfer portal, UW’s talent and experience were depleted for Fisch’s debut. Zero Huskies earned All-Big Ten first- or second-team honors last winter, with linebacker Carson Bruener and running back Jonah Coleman receiving third-team accolades. Only Bruener — a seventh-round pick — was drafted last spring. UW was particularly porous on both lines of scrimmage, struggling to match physicality with the Big Ten’s best.

Washington went 6-7, and not by accident. The Huskies weren’t talented enough, deep enough or experienced enough to threaten the Big Ten’s best.

But after an offseason in which Washington added 27 freshmen and 18 transfers, does UW have the top-end talent to make a major leap?

“We’re getting closer to that,” Fisch said of the standard surrounding him in the room. “I don’t know how easy it is to replicate (2024), when you have three guys going in the first round and guys going in the second, third (rounds) that were there for four or five years. We’re only in year two. But I do believe we’ve got first-round talent on this roster. I believe we’ve got high-level talent, top-100 players in a few different areas.

“But that’s why we put those guys up there. I wanted our players to see, currently, in the NFL, we have that many first-round picks. Not just in the history of Washington football. Those guys are all currently playing. They’re all first-round picks, and we have to aspire to be that.”

The Huskies’ talent is incredibly clear at quarterback, where sophomore Demond Williams Jr. could excel in his first full season under center. Williams — who offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty called “one of the most electric quarterbacks in the country” — completed 78.1% of his passes and accounted for 10 touchdowns (eight passing, two rushing) and a single interception in 13 games and two starts in 2024.

Elsewhere, UW brings intriguing skill talent into training camp. Running backs Coleman and Adam Mohammed are a bruising backfield pair, and wide receiver Denzel Boston could become a first-round pick with an impressive season. Tight end Decker DeGraaf showed flashes as a true freshman last fall. And defensively, Arizona cornerback transfer Tacario Davis brings NFL measurables and proven production into Montlake.

But UW won’t contend in the notoriously physical Big Ten unless it makes significant strides on both lines of scrimmage. The Husky offense finished 91st nationally in yards per carry (3.96), 97th in tackles for loss allowed per game (6.15) and 117th in sacks allowed per game (3.0) in 2024. UW’s defense ranked 88th in opponent yards per carry (4.56), 109th in sacks per game (1.54) and 132nd out of 134 in tackles for loss per game (3.69).

As offensive line coach Michael Switzer said Tuesday: “Big wins.”

If it can’t get bigger and better, Washington won’t.

“We know from last year, we’ve got to improve dramatically, and I think we will,” Switzer assured of the Husky offensive line.

Added first-year UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters: “I don’t see a hole (on our defense). There’s not one group where I’m like, ‘Man, I’m worried about that group,’ or ‘We’ll see how it shakes out.’ There are still a lot of position battles and competitions this fall camp that we’ve got to work through. But I’ve been extremely pleased with the talent and depth we have at all positions.”

Still, seeing is believing.

And, to be fair, Geirean Hatchett has seen it all. The senior offensive lineman signed with Washington in 2020 and appeared in 25 games as UW dominated in 2022 and 2023. After spending last season at Oklahoma, he transferred back to Montlake for a grand finale. He played with four of the eight first-rounders staring at him from the wall.

So, is UW talented enough — especially up front — to return to title contention in 2025?

I remain unconvinced.

But Hatchett’s opinion has to count for something.

“Our main goal is the Big Ten championship, and we’ll worry about the CFP (College Football Playoff) and everything like that after. But I definitely think we have the group that can get us there,” he said, with three words — “BE A PRO” — printed on the shirt across his chest. “We’re just really focused on this 2025 team. We’re not focused on the past or the future, just this team. I really, really think this group of guys is talented and can get us where we want to go.”