Huard: The big selling point Jedd Fisch has for UW Huskies recruits

With the season coming to an end earlier this week, the focus for Jedd Fisch and his UW Huskies coaching staff is now on the recruiting trail.

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Fisch, who was hired after Kalen DeBoer’s sudden departure last January, is looking to put the finishing touches on his first full recruiting class at UW, and the program will surely be working ahead for its 2026 class and beyond.

The Huskies’ 2025 class currently ranks 23rd in the country, per 247Sports.com. The group includes six four-star high school recruits and recent transfer portal commit Johntay Cook II from Texas, one of the nation’s top receivers in the portal. The 2026 class currently has six commits, including one four-star high school prospect.

As Fisch and his staff look to continue to add, they have a big selling point to pitch to prospective recruits. Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard highlighted the pitch during his Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“First- and second-round picks by Big 10 programs over the last decade: No. 1, Ohio State (with) 33 first- and second-round picks. No. 2, the University of Washington with 23 first- and second-round picks,” Huard said.

The X account @WestCoastCFB recently shared the breakdown of first- and second-round picks by Big Ten programs from 2015-2024. As Huard mentioned, UW ranked behind only Ohio State on the list. It was also notably well ahead of rival Oregon, which has produced just 11 such picks despite consistently bringing in some of the nation’s top recruiting classes over the past decade.

“Even more than Oregon has placed, which is a little bit of a surprise,” Huard said. “Over the last decade, they’ve had a lot of talent. But as far as bona fide first- and second-round picks, Ohio State is No. 1 (and) No. 2 on that list is Washington. Obviously the Rome Odunze’s and the Michael Penix’s and Vita Vea’s – you go through these guys – there’s been a bunch of first- and second-round picks.

“So why does Jedd Fisch think this job’s attractive? Why does (new defensive coordinator) Ryan Walters think this job is attractive? Why did (former defensive coordinator) Steve Belichick and (offensive coordinator)Brennan Carroll think this could be attractive? Because this is a place that has put together NFL players. This is a place that won a national championship in the 90s, played in college football semifinals in the (2010s) and played in the national championship game just 12 months ago.”

The Huskies’ 23 first- and second-rounders over the past decade are well spread out through a variety of positions. The group includes one quarterback, four wide receivers, one tight end, three offensive linemen, three defensive linemen, three linebackers, six cornerbacks and two safeties.

“Pretty compelling stat when you want to sell guys that this is a program that can get you to the next level,” Huard said. “You’ve got O-linemen, you’ve got receivers, you’ve got quarterbacks, you’ve got D-linemen, you got corners, you’ve seen safeties, you’ve seen it at just about every level. This program has pumped out a bunch of first- and second-round picks.”

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

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