> ## 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 Ready For Some Football as Fall Camp Begins With Optimism - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/washington-huskies-ready-optimism-2025-fall-camp/ - Published: 2025-07-30T18:16:33.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:19:01.000Z - Author: Aaron Coe - Tags: News, Washington Football, Huskies, Jedd Fisch, Jimmie Dougherty, Ryan Walters, Zach Durfee, Geirean Hatchett, Landen Hatchett, Demond Williams Jr. [Embed from Getty Images](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2213612390?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) SEATTLE, Wash. — Washington Huskies players never got very far away from football, but the official march toward the August 30 opener against Colorado State begins Wednesday. While players have been in the weight room, watching film and sharpening technique on a consistent basis since the end of the 2024 season that ended with a 6-7 record, they’ll hear coaches bellowing and whistles blowing along with the sounds of Lake Washington a few steps away from the east [practice field for many of the next 31 days](https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/home/washington-coach-jedd-fisch-confirms-huskies-football-practices-open-to-fans-media). A chaotic offseason followed the 2023 season, but the waters seem much calmer heading into this fall. Head coach Jedd Fisch enters his second UW season with familiar faces, both from his coaching stop at Arizona and the 2024 UW squad that was hastily put together after Kalen DeBoer’s departure to Alabama and an unusually large number of players who scatted to the NFL and other college programs. “Last year was last year, this year is this year,” center Landen Hatchett said. “Obviously, we didn’t live up to the standard last year, and that’s been something that we’ve really focused on this offseason and going into camp. So, I think we’re excited for the opportunity we have this year, and you know, we’re kind of moving on from that.” Geirean Hatchett, who is expected to start at guard next to his younger brother, wasn’t at Washington last year after transferring to Oklahoma shortly after being a part of a UW line that won the 2023 Joe Moore Award as the nation’s best offensive line that helped the Huskies reach the College Football Playoff championship game. Back with the Huskies, he brings high expectations. “Our main goal is to win the Big Ten Championship, and we’ll worry about the CFP and everything like that after,” Geirean Hatchett said. “But I definitely think we have the group that can get us there.” While the team’s roster has not been updated with official weights of the players, Fisch mentioned that the team as a whole has gained 700 pounds of bulk to help compete against Big Ten opponents after finishing 4-5 in the league last year. The biggest tests of Washington’s improvement will come in the form of home games against Ohio State (Sept. 27) and Oregon (Nov. 29) and on the road at Michigan (Oct. 18) and Wisconsin (Nov. 8). “There’s been a lot in the last 15-16 months to digest what we’ve been going through in this process — probably 18 months since we were hired,” head coach Jedd Fisch said. “A lot of changes. A lot of changes to college football — a lot of changes within the program. It’s nice to feel grounded. … We know our team really well. We understand the community really well. “And now I think we’re at a point where we can take that next big step.” If a big step is coming, a significant portion of it will come from the legs and right arm of sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. Williams got his feet wet last year behind sixth-year senior Will Rogers before starting the final two games of the season. Now the unquestioned starter, Williams looks to fulfill the promise shown in limited playing time during his true freshman year. With several of his top weapons — including Denzel Boston, Omari Evans and Rashid Williams — missing much of spring ball with injuries, he has worked with his targets during the summer and hopes to refine that during fall camp. “You’re throwing to a lot of guys you’re not used to, so trying to build that chemistry early,” Williams told the Emerald City Spectrum. “I feel like we definitely practiced that over the summer, getting those reps with the young guys and transfers that weren’t here last year.” Williams hopes to be in lockstep with new offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty, who was promoted from passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach after the 2024 season when Brennan Carroll left to work for his dad, Pete Carroll, the new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. With the offense in good health heading into fall, Dougherty expects big things. “We’ve got playmakers on offense now,” said Dougherty, who will continue to cede playcalling duties to Fisch. “We’ve got guys that can do special things with the ball in their hands, and that’s something that’s obviously going to correlate to scoring a lot of points.” On the other side of the ball, Ryan Walters takes over at defensive coordinator after the departure of Steve Belichick, who joined his father at North Carolina. Walters led a 2022 Illinois defense that finished second in FBS in points allowed before a two-year stint as Purdue head coach. “He’s super hungry, too, and that just feeds all of us, too,” said Zach Durfee, healthy after an injury-riddled 2024 season. “We’re all super hungry. That defensive room — I think we’re going to do some very special things this year.” Durfee, who missed almost all of 2023 due to transfer rules and most of 2024 as well as 2025 spring ball with various injuries, has been waiting for the first day of practice for some time. “I’m very excited,” Durfee said. “We’ve been having our own player-run practices throughout the summer, and just playing football again. No coaches \[were\] out there, but just playing football and doing drills again. Just being out there and being pain-free is very fun. Obviously, fall camps have grind, and it’s not always the most fun, but I’m just super excited.”