Washington Huskies: 5 Players to Watch in 2026
By Owain Jones
The Washington Huskies’ rebuild has taken shape; Now comes the next step.
After reaching the national championship game before enduring inevitable change, the Huskies responded with a nine-win season in 2025, proving Jedd Fisch’s program is moving in the right direction.
Now expectations will naturally rise.
The next step is no longer returning to bowl games. It is establishing Washington as a genuine contender in the Big Ten. That will require navigating one of the nation’s deepest conferences with greater consistency, particularly on defense, while continuing to build around one of college football’s most exciting young quarterbacks.
Washington has won at least nine games in three of the last four full seasons, evidence that the program’s expectations have shifted dramatically from simply rebuilding to competing.
If the Huskies are going to break into the conference’s upper tier and begin knocking on the College Football Playoff door, these five players will have a major say in how far the program can climb.
Washington’s X-factor is Demond Williams Jr.
The sophomore sensation followed an encouraging freshman campaign by establishing himself as one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the Big Ten, throwing for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns while adding another 611 yards and six scores on the ground. Few quarterbacks in college football place as much stress on a defense before the snap and after the play breaks down.
His performance against Rutgers perfectly captured that ability. Williams threw for 402 yards, rushed for 136 more, and accounted for four touchdowns while breaking Michael Penix Jr.’s single-game school record for total offense.
But that game wasn’t an outlier. It was a glimpse of what Washington’s offense can become when everything clicks.
After briefly entering the transfer portal before reaffirming his commitment to the Huskies, Williams now returns as one of the sport’s most intriguing quarterbacks and the player capable of carrying Washington into the playoff conversation.
Jacob Lane is one of those players that every defense needs when games become physical.
The senior edge defender started every game in 2025 while steadily developing into one of the leaders of Washington’s defensive front. His numbers, including 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks, only tell part of the story. Lane consistently disrupted games against some of the Big Ten’s better offensive lines, recording tackles for loss against Michigan, Oregon, Purdue, Washington State, and Boise State.
Inside the program, his progress has been recognised through the Iron Dawg Award and the L. Wait Rising Defensive Lineman of the Year honor.
Now comes the next step. If Lane can turn consistent disruption into more finishing production as a pass rusher, Washington’s defense could take a significant leap in Ryan Walters’ aggressive system.
Despite suffering injuries in the last two seasons, Jacob Manu is essential to the Huskies ‘ defense,e stepping up in 2026.
Statistics can sometimes hide how important a player really is. Manu is one of those cases.
Limited to just five games in 2025 while recovering from injury, the former Arizona Wildcats standout never had the opportunity to show Washington fans the player who dominated the Pac-12 two years earlier. In 2023, Manu led the conference with 116 tackles while adding 9.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and an interception, earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors under Fisch.
Few linebackers understand Fisch’s expectations better, and even fewer bring Manu’s instincts and leadership to the middle of a defense.
In a conference where disciplined run fits often decide games, Washington needs Manu directing traffic as much as making tackles.
If he stays healthy, he could become one of the Huskies’ most valuable players.
Williams gets all the plaudits on the Washington offense, but a quarterback’s success starts with the offensive line. And Drew Azzopardi is a lockdown tackle with NFL aspirations.
The 6-foot-7, 322-pound right tackle enters his second full season as the cornerstone of Washington’s offensive line after making 24 starts across the last two years.
Washington’s offense thrives when Williams has time to extend plays and attack vertically, making reliable tackle play essential against the NFL-caliber pass rushers scattered throughout the Big Ten.
Meanwhile, Azzopardi’s importance inside the program is reflected by the Tough Husky Award he earned following the 2025 season, recognising the mentality he brings every week.
Washington already has the quarterback capable of changing games. Keeping him upright is just as important.
Dezmen Roebuck flourished in his freshman season in 2025, looking extremely comfortable receiving passes from the creative Williams.
The Arizona native appeared in every game during his first collegiate season, starting 10 while finishing with 42 receptions, 560 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. Along the way, he became the first Washington true freshman since 2017 to record a 100-yard receiving game, flashing the route-running polish and run-after-catch ability that made him one of Arizona’s most decorated high school players.
What makes Roebuck especially exciting is how naturally he complements Williams.
As defenses increasingly devote resources to containing the quarterback’s scrambling ability, opportunities should continue to open underneath for receivers capable of creating after the catch. Roebuck has already shown he can punish those mistakes.
Another offseason in Fisch’s system could transform him from a promising young receiver into one of the Big Ten’s breakout stars.
OWAIN JONES
COLLEGE FOOTBALL & NFL DRAFT ANALYST
OWAIN jones COVERS EVERYTHING college football & NFL DRAFT. COMING WITH PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE, OWAIN was PREVIOUSLY a writer for pfsn and WAS THE NFL DRAFT EDITOR AT NINETY-NINE YARDS WHERE HE CREATED DRAFT TALK. YOU CAN FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @OwainJonesCFB