Camp Takeaways: Huskies Ramp Up Intensity, Competition in Week 2

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True freshman receiver Dezmen Roebuck, who has made an early impression on coaches, practices on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025 on the University of Washington east practice field. Credit: Aaron Coe/Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]

SEATTLE, Wash. — The temperatures may have cooled a little on the University of Washington east practice field on Monday, but things are beginning to heat up for the Huskies.

Day 5 of camp featured an uptick in intensity level and competition for playing time as UW marches toward its August 30 opener against Colorado State. Wearing shoulder pads for the third straight practice — but still shorts only from the waist down — players couldn’t help themselves from a few big hits on Monday despite coaches reminding players not to put anyone on the ground.

True freshman safety Rylon Dillard-Allen and junior receiver Kevin Green Jr. collided at one point. Green, at 5-11, 165 pounds, initially got the better of the freshman, but Dillard-Allen then pulled him down hard, setting up some woofing as the teams moved over the Husky Stadium for some 11-on-11 competition. Right tackle Drew Azzopardi continues to show improvement from last year, highlighted by displaying some good footspeed and a vicious block on Leroy Bryant to spring Jonah Coleman for a touchdown run.

Coaches seemed a little more amped up on Monday, vigorously challenging players for mental mistakes and lack of physicality a number of times. The team will wear full pads Tuesday for the first time during fall camp, which will likely kick things up another notch.

“Excited about that,” Washington head football coach Jedd Fisch said. “The last couple of days, we’ve had some good hitting with shoulder pads on. I like the energy of the team right now.”

Dezmen Roebuck Continues to Impress

True freshman wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck ran with the first team offense at times in Monday’s practice. There was quite a bit of rotation in the receiver combinations as Fisch, offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty and receivers coach Kevin Cummings work toward zeroing in on their main four. With No. 1 receiver Denzel Boston still working his way back into practice, true freshmen Raiden Vines-Bright and Roebuck are making a major push toward not redshirting this season. Roebuck may not have elite speed or size at 5-11, 175 pounds. But, the quickness, savvy and sure hands have all been present as he continues to adapt to the physicality of college football.

If the progression continues, Roebuck could prove as another example of why recruiting rankings are not always accurate. The Marana High School (Ariz.) graduate was ranked 17th by 247Sports out of the 26 members of Washington’s 2025 freshman class — and the fifth-best receiver. Fisch saw plenty of him as the head coach at the University of Arizona during football camps.

“I’ve always felt that this guy has an incredible opportunity to be a special player,” Fisch said. “And K.C. (Cummings) felt the same way. … The fact that we were able to bring him up here is pretty cool.”

Paopao Happy With TE Group’s Progress

Last year, tight end coach Jordan very quickly found himself relying mostly on a fifth-year senior transfer (Keleki Latu) and a true freshman (Decker DeGraaf) when starter Quentin Moore was lost for the season in the opener against Weber State.

What a difference a year makes. While Moore continues to work his way back, Paopao said the sixth-year senior out of Inglemoor High School (Kenmore, Wash.) would be able to play if there were a game Saturday. Decker DeGraaf, who was a freshman All-American, appears to be headed for a strong season as a pass catcher as a sophomore. Kade Eldridge, a sophomore transfer from USC, has given the offense another option as a versatile player who can block, catch and line up as a fullback.

“It’s nice to have a lot more numbers than we’ve had, quite frankly, in the past,” Paopao said. “…It’s so early in fall camp that all you’re trying to do is find the best mix. “What are people good at? What are they deficient at? How can we make sure that we personnel and package some things to make sure we put the guys in the right positions?”

It’s a different feel for DeGraaf, who was thrown into the fire a little more quickly than intended last season.

“Being able to run the playbook with confidence and speed,” DeGraaf said of the difference he feels with a full offseason at UW, “because the speed from college and high school is a lot different. You’ve got to be confident in your place so you can run at full speed.”

DeGraaf, who has received as many targets as anyone so far in camp, had one of the highlights of Day 5 with a 28-yard TD pass from Demond Williams Jr. despite some contact from edge rusher Hayden Moore as the ball arrived in the end zone. DeGraaf, who has good speed at 6-5, will be a mismatch Fisch looks to exploit against either smaller or slower defenders this season.

Secondary Competition Heats Up

Safety Alex McLaughlin and cornerback Leroy Bryant have recently cracked the first team in practice. Bryant continued to take second-team reps at outside corner, but also received the majority of time with the first team as a slot corner.

“I told the staff last night, ‘There is no depth chart. There’s guys — there’s a meritocracy,’” Fisch said. “And whoever plays the best the day before, we’ll start the next day. And Leroy had a really good practice (Sunday), so Leroy practiced today with the one group.”

Rahshawn Clark seemed like he took a big lead for the nickel spot during the spring, so that battle will be one to watch over the next 25 days.

McLaughlin, who Fisch said is up to about 200 pounds after coming in at 187 in the spring as a transfer from Northern Arizona, has been almost solely with the ones. The junior has been battling seniors Makell Esteen and CJ Christian for a starting spot, and has been entrenched on the first team for most of camp. Esteen has been out with a minor injury, and Vincent Holmes has played in his spot with the first team most of the time. Dillard-Allen could also factor into the competition.

“He loves physical football, which is great,” Fisch said of McLaughlin,” And he’s smart. So, we’re going to see more and more of Alex.”

Extra points

• Though the No. 1 offensive line (Carver Willis, Paki Finau, Landen Hatchett, Geirean Hatchett, Azzopardi) looks the same most of the time as it did in the spring, true freshman John Mills got a few first-team reps once again at left guard on Monday.
• In the linebacker corps, senior Jacob Manu and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale show no signs of offseason ACL surgeries as they work through individual drills, but both continue to be held out of team sessions.
• Former Washington offensive line coach Chris Strausser visited practice. He was on Chris Petersen’s staff from 2014-16 before moving on to the NFL, where he coached with the Houston Texans last season.