> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Huskies Depth Chart: A Look At The Expected 2026 Starters, Backups - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/depth-chart-washington-huskies-starters-backups-apple-cup/ - Published: 2026-08-29T18:11:44.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:47:44.000Z - Author: Aaron Coe - Tags: Analysis, Huskies Football, Huskies Depth Chart, Jedd Fisch, Demond Williams Jr., Ramzak Fruean, Apple Cup Eight days from now, 22 players will become official offensive or defensive starters for the Washington Huskies football team. The Washington football program might release an official depth chart. If there is one, it will likely contain some inaccuracies and be partially incomplete. We’ll see the word “Or” multiple times for a real position battle, but more likely to make the opposition prepare for multiple players at certain spots. Let’s cut through the mystery and figure out who the starters and key backups are for the Huskies this season, and in particular for the Sept. 6 Apple Cup against Washington State. The exercise requires some legwork. Sometimes a coach will spell it out, as Jedd Fisch did recently regarding true freshman Ramzak Fruean athe the edge position. “Ramzak’s going to start for us,” Fisch said. “There’s no question about that.” Other times, it takes a lot of observations at practices and reading the tea leaves placed in cups by coaches when they chat with the media. Washington’s staff is less mysterious than many programs. Many programs close most or even all practices, and the open portions are drill-oriented with no indication of the pecking order. UW coaches often seem to have a pretty good idea who’s starting on the first day of camp, though they will leave room for someone like guard John Mills in 2025 or edge Ramzak Fruean this season to make a move. Barring a last-minute injury, here’s who is expected to take the field first for the Huskies next Sunday based on my observations during spring and fall practices and chats with members of the football program. \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="3855"\] ![ Derek Colman-Brusa (5) is expected to start for on the Washington Huskies defensive line when UW opens the 2026 season in the Sept. 6 Apple Cup. Credit: Mason Coe ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/colman-brusa-jpeg-format-original.jpg) Derek Colman-Brusa (5) is expected to start for on the Washington Huskies defensive line when UW opens the 2026 season in the Sept. 6 Apple Cup. Credit: Mason Coe \[/caption\] ### Quarterback **First team:** Demond Williams Jr. **Second team:** Elijah Brown **The rest:** Dash Beierly, Kini McMillan, Derek Zammit Other than a few days in January when Williams announced he was entering the transfer portal, this is the most set position since Michael Penix Jr. stuck around for the 2023 season to lead Washington to the national title game. Williams was essentially announced as the 2025 starter during the 2024 season when he was a backup, and has been unchallenged since taking over as the full-time starter in the 2024 Oregon game. Elijah Brown transferred from Stanford to give UW an experienced backup, and has done nothing to lose that spot or gain on Williams. I thought McMillan was ahead of Beierly last fall, but he’s made some strides and appears to have an edge for now. Zammit, a true freshman, is unlikely to get on the field this season. ### Running back **First team:** Quaid Carr **Second team:** Jayden Limar **Rotation:** Trey Cooley, Brian Bonner **The rest:** Ansu Sanoe, Ryken Moon, Julian McMahan, D’Aryhian Clemons In April, running back appeared to be the most unsettled position on the team. Second-year back Quaid Carr enters 2026 with four career carries. He shared first-team reps with Jordan Washington the first week of spring, but Washington’s 2026 status became unclear when he left a scrimmage in the back of an ambulance. Freshman Brian Bonner Jr. arrived on Montlake as the team’s highest-rated recruit at the position, but needed more bulk and playbook work. Jayden Limar transferred from Oregon with 95 carries in three seasons, but missed all of spring after ankle surgery. Trey Cooley, previously of Georgia Tech, Louisville and Troy, also brings experience, but the sixth-year former four-star recruit missed all of 2025 with a knee injury. Other than Bonner’s potential emergence as a regular part of a potential rotation, the first three appear set. Carr seems destined to receive the most carries. Limar will get his share, and may be used in pass protection. Cooley and Bonner will fight for whatever’s left, and Sanoe might earn some goal-line or short-yardage carries. Washington has participated in warmups this week, but it’s unknown whether or not he could be cleared to play in 2026\. ### Wide receiver **First team:** Christian Moss (X), Rashid Williams (Z), Dezmen Roebuck (F / slot) **Rotation:** Chris Lawson **Rotation potential:** Jordan Clay, Trez Davis, Mason James, Justice Williams **The rest:** Deji Ajose, Asa Thompson, Blaise LaVista, Bodpegn Miller, Jace Burton Though light on experience, this may be the most loaded position at UW in terms of raw talent. When Christian Moss signed from the transfer portal in January, it seemed like he might be a hedge in case the highly-touted Clay wasn’t ready, or simply to add experience to a young group. Turns out, he’s just really good at catching footballs. Health has been a concern for the sixth-year senior transfer from Kennesaw State, but he’s got the size (6-3, 205), leaping ability and speed to win one-on-one matchups on the outside. After a relatively quiet first four seasons, Moss popped for 45 catches and 689 yards last season. Roebuck proved to be massively underrecruited when he earned a starting spot as a true freshman last year and finished second on the team in catches (42), receiving yards (560) and receiving touchdowns (7). Moss might push Roebuck in the yards and touchdowns categories, but look for Demond Williams Jr. to lean on his fellow Arizona native for the most targets. Roebuck took over at the Z position last season when Rashid Williams was injured. The fourth-year receiver reclaimed his spot in the spring, and has shown no intention of giving it up. Lawson was in the mix during spring for the X spot, and is now potentially the backup for all three positions. Fisch has historically kept his receiver rotation tight, but Lawson should be out there for double-digit plays in most games. Clay, who has battled soft-tissue injuries in spring and fall, could re-enter the mix and is likely to get on the field. Mason James, perhaps the quickest of the bunch, is in the mix for the return game. The freshman from Oklahoma seems like someone who could be used for reverses, screens, etc. Freshman Trez Davis is another one who could rise quickly. ### Tight end **Starter(s):** Decker DeGraaf OR Baron Naone **Rotation:** Kade Eldridge **The rest:** Charlie Crowell, Austin Simmons, Kekua Aumua, Sam Vyhlidal This is the one position that deserves an “Or” designation. Not because it’s a position battle — it’s more a matter of what play is called. There will be several snaps per game when both DeGraaf and Naone are on the field at the same time. Naone appears to be the better blocker of the two, while DeGraaf is more of a vertical threat in the passing game. Naone showed some nice hands throughout spring and fall camps, though, and a time-share at this spot would not be surprising. Eldridge serves as the Swiss-army knife of the group. He’ll play fullback or tight end in certain packages. ### Offensive line **First team:** Kodi Greene (left tackle), John Mills (left guard), Landen Hatchett (center), Champ Taulealea (right guard), Drew Azzopardi (right tackle). **Rotation:** Kolt Dieterich, Geirean Hatchett **The rest:** T/G Soane Faasolo, G Jack Shaffer, C Jake Flores, T Justin Hylkema, G Dominic Harris, T Elishah Jackett, G Ah Deong Yang, C Parker Cross, G Aidan Anderson Fisch said during his signing day press conference that he expected Greene to start as a true freshman, and that situation has never wavered. Greene has taken virtually every first-team rep since spring. Landen Hatchett had not yet been cleared to practice as of Friday, and is not certain to play in the Apple Cup. Dieterich, a transfer tackle from Sam Houston State, beat out Flores to fill in for Landen Hatchett and has been with the first team for the last few weeks. Dieterich will likely play quite a bit this season at multiple spots, and I would expect a heavy rotation at center in the Apple Cup even if he doesn’t start. He’d never played the position, and began working on it during the spring while recovering from offseason shoulder labrum surgery. “Coach Fisch came up to me and was just like, ‘Hey, we're going to get you snapping.’ I was like, ‘All right, sweet.’ I mean, I wasn't doing anything else, so it was kind of exciting to get to do something at practice and see where that could lead.” Geirean Hatchett begins his seventh college season as a backup on the interior line. He will also get some significant game time. Soane Faasolo would be next up at the tackle and guard positions. Lowen Colman-Bruse suffered a significant lower-leg injury at the Aug. 22 “mock game,” and his status for the season is not known. ### Defensive line **First team:** Elinneus Davis, Derek Colman-Brusa **Rotation**: Darin Conley, Kai McClendon, DeSean Watts, Omar Khan **Rotation potential**: JD Hill, Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais **The rest**: Victor Sanchez Hernandez, Joseph Peko, Ta’a Malu **Ummmm**: Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei In case you haven’t been following courtroom battles, Uiagalelei was ineligible, eligible, ineligible and then maybe could be eligible at some point — possibly. Like all class of 2022 high school grads who played five or more regular-season games for four college seasons, he was initially excluded from the new 5-in-5 rule. There was an injunction that applied to all college football players, but now a Washington court would need to decide his fate. That could have changed five times by the time I’m done typing this sentence — maybe. Ellineus Davis enters 2026 as the only defensive lineman who played a significant role for Washington last season. Colman-Brusa, a rare true freshman interior line starter, has been running with the first team since spring. Darin Conley and Kai McClendon will play a lot, and Watts and Khan will have regular roles, especially if Uiagalelei is not cleared. JD Hill, listed as a 6-2, 285-pound edge, could steal snaps at edge or on the interior because of his potential to create havoc, and fellow freshman Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais could also carve out some meaningful snaps. ### Edge **First team**: Jacob Lane, Ramzak Fruean **Rotation**: Russell Davis II, Logan George, Isaiah Ward, Devin Hyde **The rest**: JD Hill, Hayden Moore, David Schwerzel Fruean, an off-ball linebacker in high school, learned the edge position during spring and then looked dominant in the fall. He has freshman All-America potential. Jacob Lane, in his fourth year at UW, is a steady presence who can also get into the backfield. Davis has played three games in the past two injury-riddled seasons, but was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in one of them. George dominated at Idaho State before transferring to Ohio State. He missed last season with injury, and looks to play in the regular rotation for the Huskies. Isaiah Ward and Devin Hyde are likely to be a regular part of defensive coordinator Ryan Walters’ game plan as well. JD Hill is going to be a very good college football player, but it remains to be seen how much he can break into the lineup this year at either edge or on the interior. ### Linebacker **First team:** Jacob Manu, Zaydrius Rainey-Sale **Rotation:** Xe’ree Alexander, Taariq “Buddah” Al-Uqdah **The rest:** Donovan Robinson Jr., Ezaya Tokio, Beck Walker, Jesse Ewell Jr. This is Washington’s deepest, most experienced position, and one of the strongest units in college football. Alexander will push for a starting spot, and Al-Uqdah will play a lot as well. All are proven players with starts under their belts. Manu suffered an ACL injury while at Arizona in 2024, and played just four regular-season games with Washington in 2025 in order to be eligible for a fifth season. Rainey-Sale, a second-year player who is the most athletic of the group, also missed part of the season while recovering from a high school ACL injury. The Huskies could have all three on the field at times. Al-Uqdah started three games in 2025 but missed the rest of the season after a knee injury in the game at Washington State, his former school. Robinson has shown this fall that he is ready to play in the Big Ten if needed. ### Safety **First team:** Alex McLaughlin, Rylon Dillard-Allen **Second team**: Rahim Wright II, Paul Mencke Jr. **The rest:** Gavin Day, Ksani Jiles The starting tandem of McLaughlin and Dillard-Allen might have been the clearest first-team unit going into spring ball. McLaughlin worked his way up the depth chart last season after transferring from Northern Arizona, and Dillard-Allen flashed as a true freshman role player in 2025\. Wright and Mencke have been steady in camp, but Day might have the most long-term potential. ### **Nickel** **First team**: Rahshawn Clark **Second team**: Ramonz Adams Jr. Clark took over the starting spot last season, pushing Leroy Bryant into the transfer portal. Adams looks like a very capable backup. Safeties Jiles and Wright would be next up if needed. ### Cornerbacks **First team**: Dylan Robinson, Emmanuel Karnley **Rotation**: Jeron Jones **The rest**: Elias Johnson, Elijah Durr, Rahsjon Duncan, Kayden Greene Robinson, a raw five-game starter as a first-year player last season, could well turn out to be the highest draft pick among this group of Huskies in a couple of years. At 6-3, 210, he was also heavily recruited at the receiver and safety positions. Karnley, a fourth-year corner who played for Fisch at Arizona before transferring to Virginia, looks solid on the other side. Freshman Jeron Jones opened a lot of eyes filling in while Robinson was held out of team sessions for a couple of weeks. He’s been sticky in coverage, and should play a lot this season. ### Specialists **Kicker:** Tyler Robles **Punter:** Hunter Green Washington brought in transfers to fill the main three roles this season. Robles and Hunter Green are both on preseason award watch lists, while long snapper Ryan Kean has been consistent throughout camp. Hunter McKee has been handling kickoffs. Kicker Grady Gross, in the same eligibility situation as Uiagalelei, started for the Huskies for three years and could serve as a key backup. Luke Dunne, the starting punter last season, will back up Green. **Returners** Players are still jostling for return jobs. Roebuck and/or Clark will return a majority of the punts, and Clark is making a move as the main kick returner. Carr has also been back for kickoff returns. Mason James could be a factor at those spots, but coaches favor experienced hands in those roles. Lawson and Bonner have been back there as well.