UW HUSKIES

UW Huskies Depth Chart Projection: Early thoughts on new-look defense

Feb 1, 2025, 12:24 PM | Updated: 12:29 pm

Though some feeling of stability should underpin coach Jedd Fisch’s second season at Washington, it occurred to me recently that the UW Huskies’ 2025 defense is going to be a little like their 2024 offense.

Upon Further Review: Caple reviews his 2024 UW Huskies predictions

The statistic which best illustrated Fisch’s offensive rebuild last year, I thought, was that none of UW’s top 15 offensive players, in terms of snaps played, returned from the 2023 team. The turnover isn’t quite as stark for the Huskies’ defense this offseason, but it’s not far off.

Consider: of the 10 players who led UW’s defense in snaps last season, only one returns (Ephesians Prysock, come on down). Gone, too, are 10 of the Huskies’ top 12 tacklers (Prysock and Makell Esteen will carry the torch) and every player who intercepted a pass. The guy who called the plays and the guy who coached the safeties are both working elsewhere, too. Plus, the Huskies are still over the 85-scholarship limit Fisch wants to maintain, so there will be more attrition during the spring portal window (or before it, or after it). You never know which other potential returners they might lose before August.

Between the influx of new personnel — and the arrival of a new defensive coordinator with his own ideas about scheme and alignment — projecting Washington’s depth chart is, in some ways, more challenging than ever. But the addition of so many experienced transfers — seven or eight of whom, by my count, have a chance to be starters — also simplifies things to some degree, because it’s fair to assume many of those players will sit atop the depth chart.

Ryan Walters’ defense has been described as a 3-4, a 3-3-5 and even a 5-1-5. My guess is you’ll see looks which fall in each of those categories (and more). Broadly speaking, Walters likes to put five guys on the line of scrimmage, and often plays with a nickel package in the defensive backfield.

For reference, Purdue’s first depth chart last season listed 12 positions:

• Three defensive linemen weighing 302, 333 and 290 pounds
• Two “rush ends” sized 6-6, 265 pounds and 6-4, 251 pounds
• Two inside linebackers
• Five defensive backs

I’ll use the same format for my own early defensive depth chart projection (i.e. don’t yell at me when you notice there are 12 positions listed), though actual nomenclature could always change. I look forward to revisiting this after spring ball. Consider this my early sketch of what Walters’ first defense could look like at Washington.

Defensive line

Starters: Jayvon Parker, Simote Pepa, Anterio Thompson
Rotation: Ta’ita’i Uiagalalei, Elinneus Davis, Logan Sagapolu, Bryce Butler, Omar Khan
Depth: Armon Parker, Caleb Smith, Dominic Macon

Pepa (6-3, 340), the Utah transfer, is an easy call at nose tackle, assuming he can stay healthy. Thompson (6-3, 293), another portal addition from Western Michigan, sports a frame similar to Jayvon Parker (6-3, 297), who was trending up before his season-ending Achilles injury at Rutgers. I assume Parker will be limited this spring, but if he’s fully healthy come August, I won’t be surprised to see him back on the top line of the depth chart.

My guess is that in Walters’ defensive scheme, a player like Uiagalalei (6-4, 280) is more likely to play inside the offensive tackles than as a straight rush end/outside linebacker, though he has diverse experience and could move up and down the line as needed. Sagapolu gives UW another big body to rotate behind Pepa, and Davis showed promise in a somewhat limited capacity as a redshirt freshman; at 6-2 and 309 pounds, he should compete for time with guys like Thompson and Parker. The same could be true for Khan, who is currently listed at 6-3 and 296 pounds.

Is Armon Parker healthy? The previous coaching staff saw him as a potential star, but he’s been hurt and hasn’t made a single appearance in three college seasons. He could really help the depth here by emerging as a regular contributor — as could Butler or Khan.

Rush end

Starters: Zach Durfee, Russell Davis II
Rotation: Ta’ita’i Uiagalalei, Isaiah Ward, Deshawn Lynch, Jacob Lane
Depth: Devin Hyde, Victor Sanchez Hernandez

This room cleared out via the portal, with Maurice Heims (Idaho), Jayden Wayne (California) and Lance Holtzclaw (Utah) all moving on. While the coaching staff clearly believes Durfee has star potential and will presumably give him every opportunity (once healthy) to win a starting job, the rest feels pretty unsettled. The primary competition might be exclusively among former Arizona players. Ward led the team in TFLs last season and had three sacks. Russell Davis II missed most of the year due to injury, then had three sacks in one game before sustaining a season-ending injury. Lane had a big TFL against Michigan but was otherwise pretty quiet. Lynch’s size could always allow him to play as one of the three interior linemen, but he played outside exclusively last season.

For what it’s worth, Purdue had four rush ends who played more than 62 snaps last season; star Will Heldt, who has since transferred to Clemson, played the second-most snaps on the defense with 726, and Shitta Sillah, Purdue’s next-most active player listed as a rush end, played 358. (Also for what it’s worth: UW’s roster still uses the “edge” terminology for this position, but that could always change.)

Inside linebacker

Starters: Taariq “Buddah” Al-Uqdah, Xe’ree Alexander
Rotation: Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, Deven Bryant
Depth: Anthony Ward, Hayden Moore, Jonathan Epperson, Donovan Robinson
TBD: Jacob Manu

This position won’t look anything like it did in 2024, when Alphonzo Tuputala, Carson Bruener, Khmori House and Drew Fowler took most of the snaps. Al-Uqdah was among Washington State’s top defensive players last season and is the top candidate to lead this position in snaps played in 2025. Alexander, too, was productive at UCF, finishing second on the team with 68 tackles plus 6.0 TFLs. Rainey-Sale, the four-star Bethel High product, has a clear path to early playing time as a true freshman. He’ll presumably battle Bryant and Ward for snaps. I haven’t seen enough of Moore to have much of a grasp on his chances of making the depth chart.

Of course, the Huskies also added a former first-team All-Pac-12 player to this group, but it’s unclear when Manu, another Arizona transfer, might be available after an October ACL tear.

• Cornerback

Starters: Ephesians Prysock, Tacario Davis
Backups: Leroy Bryant, Dylan Robinson
Depth: Caleb Presley, Elias Johnson, D’Aryhian Clemons, Ramonz Adams Jr.

UW had cornerback drama this offseason, with Thaddeus Dixon, granted additional eligibility by the NCAA’s JUCO waiver, ultimately transferring to North Carolina rather than potentially moving to nickel for the Huskies. That came after Fisch added Tacario Davis, Prysock’s teammate at Arizona and a player who many believed would transfer to UW last offseason. The duo are each coming off a disappointing season, by their standards, but both are listed at 6-foot-4 and bring plenty of experience; Davis was voted second-team All-Pac-12 by the Associated Press in 2023.

Related: UW Huskies land transfer portal’s top-ranked cornerback

Bryant, an intriguing prospect in the 2023 class, spent last season as UW’s fourth cornerback. Robinson, a four-star 2025 signee, is listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds and was recruited at multiple positions on both sides of the ball. We haven’t seen much of Presley, another 2023 signee.

Safety

Starters: Alex McLaughlin, Makell Esteen
Rotation: CJ Christian, Vincent Holmes
Depth: Rahim Wright, Rahshawn Clark, Paul Mencke Jr., Rylon Dillard-Allen

McLaughlin has a lot of experience playing in the box, and his numbers as a sophomore at Northern Arizona last season — 7.0 TFLs and 5.5 sacks last season — help tell that story. Esteen, who will be a sixth-year senior, has experience both in the box and at free safety, as does Christian, a transfer from FIU. Those three should play a lot, while Holmes appears in line to be the fourth safety, at least for now. Everyone else in this room is either a redshirt freshman or true freshman. I’ll be interested to see if any of them emerge this spring. That includes Dillard-Allen, who is already on campus.

Nickel

Starter: Dyson McCutcheon
Rotation: Dylan Robinson

The Huskies would have liked to retain Jordan Shaw, who played the majority of the nickel snaps in 2024 (or Dixon, for that matter), but he transferred to Texas A&M. McCutcheon brings some decent nickel experience, though Walters might have a different idea of how best to man this position. I keep thinking it could be a viable entry point for Robinson, who along with Rainey-Sale is among the most college-ready prospects UW signed in its 2025 recruiting class. That’s admittedly just a guess — Robinson has said coaches want him to start out at cornerback — but his athletic ability should allow him to play wherever needed, and nickel appears to be the most up-for-grabs spot in the secondary. There will be others in the mix here, certainly — maybe one of those young returning safeties — but we don’t know enough yet about how Walters sees the roster.

Specialists

Kicker: Grady Gross
Punter: Dusty Zimmer
Long snapper: Ryan Kean (Cameron Warchuck)
Punt returner: Denzel Boston
Kick returner: Jordan Washington

Gross will look to bounce back after something of an off year in 2024, when he made 18 of his 26 field goal attempts, though he made eight of his final nine tries (and, in the Sun Bowl, squibbed one of the most perfect onside kicks you’re ever going to see). Zimmer arrives from Adelaide, Australia, as a third-year sophomore and the presumed replacement for Jack McCallister. Kean transferred from Utah Tech, presumably to compete with Warchuck.

Boston spent last season as UW’s primary punt returner, so we’ll pencil him in there for now. Jonah Coleman is the only returning player who returned any kicks last season, and he did it just once, in the Sun Bowl. So if we’re guessing, I’ll throw Washington’s name out there. He might be the fastest player on the team, and his offensive role could be limited, with tailbacks Jonah Coleman and Adam Mohammed returning, so kickoff return could be a good way to put his speed to use. Maybe receiver Kevin Green Jr. could be an option in the punt- and kick-return game, too. That will be another position to monitor this spring.

This article was originally published at OnMontlake.com, the home for Christian Caple’s full UW Huskies football coverage. Subscribe to On Montlake for full access to in-depth UW Huskies coverage.

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