Like most college football rosters in this new era of player mobility, NIL and the transfer portal, Washington’s personnel has been in a constant state of flux for the past few months.
UW faithful have said goodbye to 43 scholarship players since Washington departed NRG Stadium in Houston, along with the coaching staff that led the Huskies to their first College Football Playoff championship game appearance.
The Huskies also welcomed a new coaching staff, led by Jedd Fisch, and a new class of 14 incoming freshmen and 16 transfers before spring practice.
“I think the players have been great,” Fisch said following UW’s spring game on May 3. “They’ve done a really good job bringing along the freshmen, making the freshmen feel included. They’ve done a really good job bringing along the transfers, making the transfers feel included.”
Since the transfer portal reopened April 16, UW has added 14 players. Seven of the new arrivals play offense, six line up on defense, and one is a special teamer.
The Huskies are at 84 scholarships, one below the maximum allowed.
“We’re pretty close to having our roster full,” Fisch said May 3.
Washington’s need for help on both sides of the line of scrimmage was apparent throughout spring practices. Offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll, who also coaches offensive linemen, only had seven scholarship players available as sophomore Landen Hatchett and junior Gaard Memmelaar continue to recover from injuries suffered in 2023. UW has 14 scholarship offensive linemen.
The Huskies addressed their interior offensive line by landing commitments from sixth-year guard Enokk Vimahi, who spent five seasons at Ohio State, and former Portland State center D’Angalo Titialii. Both have one season of eligibility remaining.
Vimahiis listed at 6 foot 4, 310 pounds. He played in more than 30 games for the Buckeyes, but didn’t establish himself as a starter.
The 6-2, 320-pound Titialii, an Eastside Catholic alum and Auburn native, arrives for his final season of college football after establishing himself as a solid FCS lineman. He made 28 starts for the Vikings, providing proven center experience, starting nine games in 2023.
Titialii and Hatchett are the only players on UW’s roster with in-game snapping experience. Redshirt freshman Zachary Henning handled most of the center repetitions during the spring but has never played center in a collegiate game.
Washington’s tackle situation is less certain. The Huskies added sophomore Drew Azzopardi, a San Diego State transfer, before spring practices started, then landed a commitment from Maximus McCree, a two-time junior college All-American, on May 17.
McCree most recently played in 2022, appearing in two games for Maryland, before returning to the junior college level.
On the defensive line, Washington added two edge rushers and one tackle. Two of the new arrivals are joining from Miami. Junior defensive tackle Logan Sagapolu started his career at Oregon as an offensive lineman. He left for Miami in 2022, following coach Mario Cristobal.
Sagapolu, who stands 6-2, 340, only played four times in 2023, and will switch to defensive tackle for the first time in his collegiate career with the Huskies. Washington lost its top three interior defensive linemen from 2023.
Joining Sagapolu on the cross-country trip from Florida, sophomore edge rusher Jayden Wayne returns to the Puget Sound area after two years away. Wayne began his career at Tacoma’s Lincoln High School, where he was considered the top player in the state during the 2023 recruiting cycle.
Wayne committed to Miami and transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for his final year of high-school football so he could enroll early with the Hurricanes. The 6-6, 245-pound Wayne played in eight games as a true freshman, registering 13 tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss in limited action.
DeShawn Lynch, a 6-foot-5, 283-pound junior edge rusher, is UW’s final defensive line addition. He spent the past four years at Sacramento State, where he had 34 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2023.
The Huskies have also added four skill-position players on offense from the spring transfer portal. Two of the new arrivals — true freshman running back Jordan Washington and sophomore wide receiver Kevin Green Jr. — are former Arizona players.
Washington was one of the two four-star recruits in Fisch’s 2024 recruiting class at Arizona — quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who transferred to UW before spring practices, was the other.
Green spent two seasons at Arizona. The 5-foot-11 wide receiver played in 11 games and made two starts for the Wildcats in 2023, hauling in eight catches for 97 yards. When he committed to UW on May 6, Green became the 17th player who was either played for Arizona or was part of the Wildcats’ 2024 recruiting class to join Fisch and the Huskies.
UW’s final two offensive additions are senior tight end Keleki Latu and sophomore quarterback Shea Kuykendall. Washington also landed a commitment from former Colorado long snapper Cameron Warchuck.
Latu, the brother of former UW edge rusher and 2023 first-round draft pick Laiatu Latu, joins the Huskies with one year of eligibility. He started his career at California, before transferring to Nevada for the 2023 season.
The 6-7, 237-pound tight end suffered a season-ending injury six games into the campaign. Latu adds valuable experience, as only one tight end on Washington’s roster — sixth-year senior Quentin Moore — has a catch at the college level.
Kuykendall, the most recent UW commit, provides some additional depth at quarterback behind presumed starter Will Rogers and Williams. He played in four games, making three starts, at Northern Colorado, passing for 454 yards and a pair of touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2023.
UW added three players on defense who don’t play on the defensive line: seventh-year safety Justin Harrington, senior safety Cameron Broussard and redshirt freshman linebacker Hayden Moore.
Harrington, who spent four seasons at Oklahoma after playing the first two years of his collegiate career at the junior college level, mostly played nickel for the Sooners. He missed a majority of the past season with an ACL injury, earning a medical redshirt for his seventh and final season of college football.
Broussard is another former Sacramento State transfer. The 6-3, 200-pound safety was a first-team All-Big-Sky performer in 2023 and has been teammates with Lynch since playing together at Folsom High School. Broussard registered 73 tackles, two interceptions and five pass breakups during the 2023 season.
Moore is the final defensive newcomer. He played his true freshman season at Michigan but did not make an appearance during the Wolverines run to the national championship. He has four years of eligibility remaining.
“I’m just excited to see how good we can get this summer,” Fisch said. “That’s the biggest challenge. We’re not taking this summer and using this as a vacation. We’re taking this summer and really challenging ourselves.”
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