New-look Washington Huskies Set to Open 2025 Against Colorado State
SEATTLE, Wash. — It’s time for some football.
After an active offseason that included new coordinators, additions to the coaching staff and recruiting department, facility grades and 47 new players, the Huskies host Colorado State for their first of 12 regular-season tests this season.
“We’re excited about it,” said Jedd Fisch, whose team went 6-7 last year in his first season at Washington. “We’ve practiced really well. We’ve worked very hard this offseason, this summer, this fall, to be able to have 12 shots at achieving our goals and dreams.”
As speculated in The Emerald City Spectrum’s Season Preview, two true freshmen will be among UW’s new starters. Fisch confirmed Thursday that John Mills will “start the first snap at guard,” though redshirt freshman Paki Finau will play left guard as well. Joining Mills in the lineup will be fellow true freshman Raiden Vines-Bright, who Fisch announced on Monday as the starter at slot receiver.
“I expect multiple guys to be playing [at most positions] Fisch said. “I expect that we’ll certainly have series where we rotate who goes in. And as we’re trying to create depth in this program, we need to get as many people as we can playing, especially when they’re equal in talent or equal at this moment in time.”
About Colorado State
Colorado State, of the Mountain West Conference, finished 8-5 last year in Jay Norvell’s third season as head coach. The Rams have agreed to move to the Pac-12 starting in 2026, so both teams have made or will be making some monumental changes in conferences.
The Rams, picked in the Mountain West media poll to finish fourth behind Boise State, UNLV and San Jose State, feature an experienced quarterback and a lot of new faces.
Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi starts at quarterback for the third straight season. The 6-2 junior passed for over 300 yards in each of Colorado State’s last three games last season, including a 43-17 loss to Miami of Ohio in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl. In 27 games, which include two appearances in 2022, Fowler-Nicolosi has completed 60.8% of his passes while throwing 37 touchdowns and 27 interceptions.
“I remember recruiting him in 2022, so certainly familiar with him coming out of high school,” said Fisch, the head coach at Arizona from 2021-23. “I think there’s something to be said about experience — there’s no question about it — especially at the quarterback position.”
The Rams return six starters on offense, but will have a new-look defense under coordinator Tyson Summers, who spent the past three seasons at Western Kentucky. Summers brought in 17 new defensive transfers from the portal, so Fisch and UW offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty face some mystery heading into this matchup.
Colorado State is ranked 92nd in overall “recruiting talent” by 247Sports, while UW is 37th, so the Huskies would appear to have a significant edge in raw talent.
Washington’s What to Watch
Demond Williams Jr.: It’s his team now. After playing in every game as a true freshman last year — including two starts — the sophomore looks to take charge and put a charge into the Huskies offense. It will be interesting to see how Williams is utilized in this game. Fisch has mentioned “a responsibility” to bring attention and marketability to his players. While the Don James- and Chris Petersen-type coaches would tend to be conservative in early matchups against inferior foes, Fisch could potentially use these games as an opportunity to get Williams started with some strong passing and rushing stats in college football’s new era.
Offensive line: There will be a few new Dawgs up front for the Huskies. Carver Willis, a senior transfer from Kansas State, will start at left tackle next to Mills at guard. Right guard Geirean Hatchett returns to Washington after a year at Oklahoma to start next to his brother, center Landen Hatchett. Drew Azzopardi — who coaches believe is much improved from last season — returns at right tackle. The line has the potential to be the most improved position group on the team. The blocking schemes could be a little vanilla the first few weeks against non-conference opponents. Finau will get time at guard, and I would expect sophomore Zachary Henning to see some time at center (and possibly guard), while true freshman guard Champ Taulealea will also likely get in to spell Geirean Hatchett.
Receiver rotation: Vines-Bright will get the start along with Denzel Boston and Rashid Williams. Boston was named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List and has been mentioned as a potential first-round draft pick. His rapport with Demond Williams Jr. will be crucial to the team’s offense. Another true freshman, Dezmen Roebuck, had a strong fall camp. Speedster Omari Evans, a senior transfer from Penn State, has fallen out of a starting spot but would seem to be in line for some playing time. Audric Harris and Kevin Green Jr. are also fighting for key roles.
True freshmen contributors: Mills, Vines-Bright, Roebuck and Taulealea are among seven true freshmen who seem likely to play roles early this season. Cornerback Dylan Robinson, safety Rylon Dillard-Allen and edge Devin Hyde are others who might rotate in throughout the season.
New-look defense: Ryan Walters brings his 5-1-5 defense to UW. Though he’s unlikely to unleash the full arsenal of blitzes in the first few games, he may be able to bring some heat in 2025 with 6-4 corners Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock locking up receivers on the outside. The Huskies will have a versatile 5-man front with the base defense, and it will be interesting to see how the tackles and edges rotate through the opener. A healthy Zach Durfee could cause the Rams some problems on the edge.
Jonah Coleman: It seems wrong to not mention Washington’s star running back, who is poised for a big season. He looks a little quicker this year after re-shaping his body, which is still built to deliver blows against defenders. If bruising backup Adam Mohammed and speedster Jordan Washington don’t snipe too many carries, Coleman could be one of the nation’s top backs this year.
Big 10 picks
There are four Thursday games this week, and we’re publishing this too late for Ohio-Rutgers and Buffalo-Minnesota. Here are picks for the rest of the games.
Thursday
Nebraska -6.5 at Cincinnati (at Arrowhead Stadium): Nebraska 27-24
Miami (OH) at Wisconsin -18.5: Wisconsin 30-10
Friday
Western Michigan at Michigan State -20.5: Michigan State 40-20
Western Illinois at No. 12 Illinois -45.5: Illinois 49-3
Saturday
No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State -1.5: Ohio State 26-24
Florida Atlantic at Maryland -14.5: Maryland 28-14
Ball State at Purdue -17.5: Purdue 21-10
Northwestern at Tulane -5.5: Tulane 34-14
Old Dominion at No. 20 Indiana -23.5: Indiana 49-20
Nevada at No. 2 Penn State -43.5: Penn State 45-14
Montana State at No. 7 Oregon -27.5: Oregon 43-10
Albany at Iowa -38.5: Iowa 38-7
New Mexico at No. 14 Michigan -34.5: Michigan 33-11
Missouri State at USC -35.5: USC 56-20
Utah -5.5 at UCLA: Utah 27-21
The Pick
This Washington-Colorado State line has shifted from about -20 to -21.5 over the last few days. I think the Washington defense will be up to the task, but the offense might take a while to get the engine started. I see UW pulling away from a fairly close game at the half and taking a couple of knees in Colorado State territory from some bad beat material.
Washington gets the win, 31-13, but “no cover,” as retiring ESPN analyst Lee Corso would say.
