From Dry Cleaning to Washington, CJ Christian Takes Unique Path to Huskies

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1559"]

Washington Huskies safety CJ Christian, a senior transfer, speaks with the Emerald City after a spring practice session on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at Husky Stadium. Credit: Aaron Coe, Emerald City Spectrum. [/caption]

SEATTLE, Wash. — Though college football players move around more than ever before, not a large number show KFC and a dry cleaning store on their list of previous stops.

College has been a long, winding road for Huskies safety CJ Christian, and it appears it may well conclude with him starting as UW’s deep safety. Playing at Washington for coach Jedd Fisch and safeties coach Taylor Mays likely would have sounded absurd to Christian back when he was a senior at Normal (Ill.) Community High School in 2019. For a time, playing college football anywhere felt unlikely when he left Division II Augustana in South Dakota after being told he didn’t qualify academically. He moved back home to Normal and spent three days working at a Kentucky Fried Chicken before he was recruited by his youth football coach to work at his dry cleaning store.

Six months later, he walked on at Iowa Central CC, only to see the fall season shut down by the pandemic. His next stop was Florida International, where he found what he believed to be his final college team. However, head coach Mike MacIntyre was fired after a 4-8 season in 2024, which led to Christian looking for yet another home.

This time around, football coaches were looking for him to play football. Don’t expect to see him handing out buckets of extra crispy or starched garments any time soon.

“I feel like I wouldn’t be who I was today without those prior stops, just because it taught me so much,” Christian said on Tuesday after UW’s seventh spring practice. “… Every day, I had to work on my craft and get better and better.”

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="4778"]

Washington Huskies safety Makell Esteen, a senior transfer, work with safeties coach Taylor Mays during a spring practice session on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 on a practice field at the University of Washington. Credit: Aaron Coe, Emerald City Spectrum. [/caption]

Christian is one of three safeties most often seen working with the first team through seven spring practices, along with four-year veteran Makell Esteen and Alex McLaughlin, a junior transfer from Northern Arizona. Mays, who once starred at O’Dea High School just a few miles away from Husky Stadium before playing for Pete Carroll at USC and six seasons in the NFL, is tasked with putting the back end of the defense together in his first season at UW. He requires the safeties to play in multiple spots but sees some natural fits for newcomers McLaughlin and Christian.

“Alex, especially coming from his previous schools, is used to playing a lot closer to the ball, so naturally he’s a guy that you want closer to the ball, running down the ball carrier,” Mays said. “And then — kind of similar with CJ — but he was used to playing deep in kind of more in the post or deep zone downfield. But to me, you got to be able to do both.”

So far, Christian prefers UW to KFC and Starcrest Cleaners. After deciding to move on from FIU, the 6-1, 205-pound safety heard from multiple schools. He said Fisch was clear that former defensive coordinator Steve Belichick was likely to split for North Carolina to team up with his father, Bill Belichick. He’s been pleased by what he’s seen from Fisch, first-year Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, and Mays.

“Washington was one of the first schools to hit me up, and I just felt like a family connection with Coach Fisch,” Christian said. “After I took my first visit, I didn’t want to take any more.”

Notes

• Though there’s no certainty when it comes to college football rosters in 2025, it seems unlikely that UW will lose anyone expected to play significant roles when the transfer portal opens Wednesday. It appeared that all contributors were accounted for on Tuesday, but it will be something to watch for during the Thursday session. Likewise, I would not expect UW to add much during the spring portal, though they’re likely looking for a punter after the departure of Australian punter Dusty Zimmer during the first week of practice.
• The offensive line appears more and more set with left tackle Carver Willis, left guard Paki Finau, center Landen Hatchett, right guard Geirean Hatchett and right tackle Drew Azzopardi dominating first-team reps. Zach Henning and Champ Taulealea would seem to be next up in the interior. Max McCree is working at right tackle with the second unit. John Mills, a 6-6, 320-pound true freshman, saw some time with the twos on Tuesday, as did redshirt freshman Michael Levelle Watkins. Geirean Hatchett, who spent last season at Oklahoma after starting for the Huskies in the 2023 national championship game, spent the first week of spring ball primarily on the second unit.
• Most of Tuesday’s practice featured drills and 7-on-7 work. Starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. hit some nice deep passes to sophomore receiver Rashid Williams and found receivers on pass plays inside the 10-yard line. Rashid Williams also made a strong sideline catch. During a no-huddle portion at the end of practice, Williams and Williams connected for a 35-yard TD. Demond Williams Jr. also drove the offense to the 25, and kicker Grady Gross capped practice with a 32-yard field goal.