Up-and-coming UW Huskies making moves this spring

The UW Huskies are one-third of the way through their spring practice schedule, as Jedd Fisch’s first-year coaching staff begins to get a sense of what their current players are capable of.

UW Huskies Spring Practice, Day 5: A look at Valdez, D-line and more

Aside from returning veterans and proven playmakers, who’s seeing playing time at each position?

This isn’t intended as a list of names already familiar to UW fans, but rather an appraisal of which up-and-coming players at each position are standing out or regularly seeing 11-on-11 repetitions.

QB Demond Williams Jr.

It couldn’t be more obvious that Fisch and staff are sky-high on Williams, the former four-star recruit who signed with Arizona but followed Fisch to Seattle. Through five practices, he continues to shine with both an impressive arm and with quick mobility when he decides to tuck and run. Williams also has thrown a handful of interceptions, but he’s not afraid to give receivers a chance to make plays, and on Thursday, in particular, placed the ball perfectly on a couple of deep throws. Will he challenge senior Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers for the starting job? We’ll see, but he certainly appears to be taking command of the backup job.

RB Adam Mohammed

Jonah Coleman is the clear No. 1 at this point, with senior Cam Davis still working back from injury. Davis should push Coleman for starter’s reps once he returns, but Mohammed, a true freshman, has been a regular in the tailback rotation thus far, and could contend for the No. 3 tailback role, if nothing else changes. Listed at 6-foot and 200 pounds, Mohammed, also a former Arizona signee, already looks pretty sturdy.

OL Soane Faasolo

It’s possible only one or two of the Huskies’ current first-team offensive linemen will actually see the field this year — at least as starters — but Faasolo, a redshirt freshman, has taken No. 1 left tackle reps the past couple practices, with Drew Azzopardi flipping to take some reps at the right side (and Faasolo repping on both sides, too). Surely, the Huskies will target an experienced tackle (or two) in the spring transfer portal window, but Faasolo is at least getting valuable experience on the practice field at present. Those reps might not pay off in 2024, but they could in the future.

WR Jeremiah Hunter

Though he’s mostly spent this spring with the No. 2 offense, Hunter made a number of impressive catches during Thursday’s practice and, as California’s top receiver the past two seasons, obviously has the experience and career production necessary to make you believe he’ll be a major factor for the Huskies this season.

TE Quentin Moore

With just three scholarship tight ends on the roster for spring practices, it’s hard to ignore Moore, even if he would have projected as the starter, anyway. He didn’t get much chance to show off his pass-catching capabilities last season, but he’s made a couple of impressive grabs through the first five practices.

DL Elinneus Davis

The former three-star recruit from Minnesota was injured for much of last season, though he would have redshirted, anyway. At 6-foot-2 and 322 pounds, he already has the kind of stout frame needed to hold up in the middle of the D-line, and he’s getting a lot of reps with the No. 2 defense so far. This is another position where the Huskies might dip back into the portal, but coaches are at least giving Davis a chance to show what he can do this spring.

EDGE Lance Holtzclaw

Zach Durfee is a player to watch, and fourth-year junior Maurice Heims and Arizona transfer Isaiah Ward are getting plenty of reps with the No. 1 defense, too. But so is Holtzclaw, a third-year sophomore who originally committed to Jimmy Lake in the 2022 recruiting class. Listed at 6-3 and 225 pounds, he wins with speed and explosiveness, and appears to have bulked up a bit since last season.

LB Drew Fowler

A special-teams standout the past two seasons, Fowler, formerly a walk-on, is a good bet to start the season on the depth chart. Even if Alphonzo Tuputala, Carson Bruener and San Jose State transfer Bryun Parham have all played more snaps at linebacker in their college careers, Fowler nevertheless projects as a rotational player for the first time, and has been a mainstay with the No. 2 defense thus far.

CB Leroy Bryant

Even in a crowded cornerback room, it’s hard to ignore Bryant, a redshirt freshman, who has so far provided tight coverage and made a handful of plays on the ball. Don’t be surprised if he plays his way onto the depth chart, at least.

S Peyton Waters

Kam Fabiculanan is back, and Makell Esteen brings at least some college experience, but at least one safety spot seems pretty wide open for the Huskies this spring. With Esteen apparently not participating on Thursday, Waters stepped in with the No. 1 defense and held his own, even snagging an interception on an overthrow. He was an impressive two-way athlete in high school and plays a position of need for the Huskies.

This column from UW Huskies football insider Christian Caple is exclusive to Seattle Sports. Subscribe to OnMontlake.com for full access to Caple’s in-depth Husky coverage.

More on the UW Huskies

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• UW Huskies Practice Notebook: Why two veteran players stayed
• Caple: The three big UW Huskies questions for spring ball
• Jedd Fisch, Steve Belichick and Brennan Carroll preview UW Huskies’ spring

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