Big Ten Picks: Young Huskies Head to Maryland For Key Conference Matchup
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Washington Huskies true freshman wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck celebrates a touchdown against UC Davis on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 at Husky Stadium in Seattle Washington. Credit: Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures/Washington Athletics [/caption]
SEATTLE — The future is now for some young pups on the Washington football team.
Four true freshmen started for the Huskies, while another came in for the second snap and played most of the game last Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State. They’ll continue to play key roles as coach Jedd Fisch tries to win his first 2025 Big Ten road game after going 0-for-5 last season.
The youngest of the young is starting left guard John Mills, a 6-foot-6, 340-pound 17-year-old. He’s played next to 23-year-old left tackle Carver Willis this season, while the guard on the other side of the line is 24-year-old Geirean Hatchett. When teammates talk about things they grew up with, such as music or video games, Mills feels like part of a completely different generation. They might as well be talking about Blockbuster Video and RadioShack stores.
“I’ll be like… what’s that?” said Mills, who will turn 18 on Oct. 16. “And, they’ll be, like, damn, bro, you’re young.”
While it’s OK that Mills doesn’t sing along with the same songs, it’s crucial that he works in concert with the other four starters on the line.
So far, he’s held his own. His overall Pro Football Focus grade of 72.9 is up there with the veterans, and he’s the only starting lineman who has not been penalized through Washington’s first four games. Mills, a one-time Texas commit before flipping to Washington in December of 2024, showed up at UW in January as an early enrollee weighing in at 365 pounds. Since then, he’s gained strength and quickness while dropping around 25 pounds.
“We just worked every day, because I knew I wanted to come in here and make a change, and I knew that I had to lose weight for that to happen,” said Mills, a graduate of St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco. “So I dedicated every single day to losing weight. … And we’re going to continue to do that.”
Mills, who played mostly tackle in high school — and may be Washington’s left tackle of the future — said he’s enjoyed playing inside.
“You have to be a lot more firm in the pocket,” Mill said. “You can’t just give up depth. The guys you’re dealing with are a lot bigger, shorter, stockier guys, but still have some twist to them.
“I like guard a lot. You can be very physical and be very nasty — and I love that.”
While Mills worked in the weight room after graduating high school six months early, receiver Dezmen Roebuck and cornerback Dylan Robinson finished out their high school senior years. Though they missed spring practices, both caught on quickly enough to start for the Huskies against No. 1 Ohio State last Saturday.
“It was definitely hard just coming in late and trying to learn the playbook as fast as I can,” said Roebuck, whose 10 receptions for 176 yards are second among Washington’s wide receivers.
Roebuck was lightly recruited out of Marana H.S. in Arizona, but he made an impression on Fisch and his staff. When Fisch took the UW job, he continued to recruit Roebuck, who didn’t receive an offer from Arizona’s new staff.
“I come from a small town, small high school, so not a lot of people knew about it or even heard of the name, or been down in that area of Arizona,” the 5-11, 180-pound receiver said. “But, it just proves that it doesn’t matter where you’re ranked (by recruiting services). If you’re good at football, they’ll come and find you.”
Robinson was not expected to start this season, but the door opened last Saturday when senior cornerback Tacario Davis was unable to make it back from a rib injury sustained against UC Davis. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Robinson had played in parts of UW’s first three games, but found himself lined up across from Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith — a Heisman Trophy candidate — at times during his first start.
The freshman held up just fine, finishing with the UW defense’s second-best PFF grade (69.6), just behind senior cornerback Ephesians Prysock (70.1). While Smith finished with eight catches, the cornerback tandem helped hold him to 81 yards, and his 19-yard catch was the longest offensive play of the day by the Buckeyes.
“Iron sharpens iron,” said Robinson, who prepped at Bonita High School in La Verne, Calif. “They’re really great, and working against them gave me a great introduction to college football.”
Davis has a strong chance to return Saturday when the Huskies play at Maryland, but freshmen will continue to play key roles as Washington attempts to rebound from a 24-6 loss to Ohio State.
True freshman Raiden Vines-Bright will start along with Roebuck and senior receiver Denzel Boston. Safety Rylon Dillard-Allen played most of the game against Ohio State as UW used a three-safety look. Edge Devin Hyde could get more time if Zach Durfee remains out with an elbow injury that forced him out of the Ohio State game. Champ Taulealea is next up to play guard. With senior starting linebacker Taariq “Buddah” Al-Uqdah likely out for the year, Zaydrius Rainey-Sale is an option to play as a true freshman.
“I’m super proud of my guys,” Robinson said. “I think that our freshman class is a super special one, and we knew that coming in. That’s why we all decided to come here and make something special.”
Big Ten Picks
Wisconsin (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) at No. 20 Michigan (3-1, 0-1) -17.5
9 a.m., FOX
Luke Fickell is 0-6 against ranked teams in two-plus seasons at Wisconsin, and has lost six straight Big Ten games since going 3-0 against Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern in the middle of last year. Those trends aren’t changing Saturday. Michigan 34-17
No. 22 Illinois -9.5 (4-1, 1-1) at Purdue (2-2, 0-1)
9 a.m., BTN
This is where we find out if Illinois’ 63-10 loss to Indiana was a fluke. While I didn’t buy the Illini preseason hype, they’re better than the Boilermakers. Illinois 31-14
No. 7 Penn State -24.5 (3-1, 0-1) at UCLA (0-4, 0-1)
12:30 p.m., CBS
There are a lot of factors to consider here, including cross-country travel, Penn State seething after a double-overtime home loss to Oregon and UCLA’s rapid descent toward 0-12. Penn State 30-10
UL Monroe (3-1) at Northwestern (2-2) -11.5
12:30 p.m., BTN
Northwestern looks like a “they only won four games but they weren’t that bad” kind of team. One of those four comes this week against the Warhawks. Northwestern 20-6
Michigan State (3-1, 0-1) at Nebraska (3-1, 0-1) -11.5
1 p.m., FS1
Nebraska probably gets the job done, but 11.5 points is a lot of corn to husk. Nebraska 31-21
Minnesota (3-1, 1-0) at Ohio State (4-0, 1-0) -23.5
4:30 p.m., NBC/Peacock
The only question here is: How many points to the Buckeyes want to score? The Golden Gophers won’t put up many. Ohio State 27, Minnesota 3
Byes: Iowa, Oregon, Rutgers, USC
The Pick
Washington (3-1, 0-1) -6.5 at Maryland (4-0, 1-0)
12:30 p.m., BTN
Though it’s an infamous multiple-time zone travel game, many thought prior to the season that this was going to be a fairly easy win for UW against a Maryland program that finished 4-8 overall and 1-8 in the Big Ten in 2024.
After four games in 2025, though, it doesn’t look quite that simple. The Terrapins will employ a key true freshman of their own. Malik Washington, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound quarterback, has re-energized Maryland, which is 4-0 coming off a bye following a 27-10 win at Wisconsin.
“Just off the hoof, you look out there and it’s like you’re looking at Cam Newton,” Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said. “… Big, big arm. Throws with a lot of velocity, a lot of off-platform, throws that get to the right location — he’s accurate. Takes care of the football.”
The Terrapins received votes in the AP Poll this week — UW has not received a vote this season — and a 2-0 start in the conference would be massive for them.
Fisch did not update the injury status of any players this week, other than saying Davis has a strong chance to play. I would be a little surprised if Willis (knee) or Durfee (elbow) play this week. Coming out of this game healthy will be important for UW, which is very young in its depth.
Though Maryland’s win against a disappointing Wisconsin team raised an eyebrow, I’m still not sure if the Terrapins are any good. Washington’s strong arm will test the Huskies in their first-ever game at Maryland, but UW’s corners should be up to the task.
The freshman has passed for 1,038 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception, but has completed just 59.7 percent of his passes. UW should be able to take away the deep ball and minimize his arm.
This game will be an early indicator of which of these teams has a chance to win 8-9 games this year. I think the Huskies gut out an ugly one with a big play or two.
Washington 24-20
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Records
Last week: 4-2 overall, 2-4 against the spread
Season: 57-6 overall, 36-27 against the spread
Huskies picks (from preseason): 3-1 overall, 3-1 against the spread
Huskies picks (weekly): 3-1, 3-1 against the spread
