Huard: Fisch’s 2026 recruiting class has UW Huskies nearing ‘sweet spot’

Over the past few months, UW Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch has been busy reeling in a strong 2026 recruiting class.

The Huskies flipped five-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene (Santa Ana, Calif.) from the archrival Oregon Ducks. They landed the top in-state recruit in four-star edge rusher Derek Colman-Brusa (Kennedy Catholic High School). They secured a commitment from four-star quarterback Derek Zammit (Wayne, N.J.).

And last week, they added four-star wide receiver Mason James (Norman, Okla.). According to 247Sports, it marks the first time in at least a quarter-century that the Huskies have landed a recruit from the state of Oklahoma.

At the moment, Washington is No. 17 in 247Sports’ 2026 recruiting class rankings. That’s just two spots off the Huskies’ best-ever 247Sports recruiting ranking, when they finished No. 15 in 2019.

“Jedd’s doing his thing in the recruiting process,” former UW quarterback Brock Huard said during last Friday’s Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

While the transfer portal has become a major pathway to accumulating talent in this new age of college sports, Huard emphasized that high school recruiting and development are still vital.

That was particularly evident with the Huskies’ 2023 team that reached the national championship game and finished 14-1. Although their biggest star was transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr., 18 of their 22 starters in the national title game were players that UW signed out of high school.

“Yes, the transfer portal certainly helped with Michael Penix, but it was (also) Rome Odunze, it was Jalen McMillan, it was Roger Rosengarten,” Huard said, listing several key players on that team who were UW recruits. “You’ve gotta recruit well. And you don’t have to be in the top five. You’re not going to be in the top five with Georgia and Ohio State. But you can’t be outside the top 25.

“And your real sweet spot, as it was with (former UW coach) Chris Petersen, is being right there in the top 15. If you’re in the top 15, you coach well, you’ve got a great stadium to play to – you can play at the highest level.”

Listen to the full Blue 88 segment at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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