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| Darius Taylor, Minnesota |
10. Washington Huskies
There were understandable growing pains in Year One of the Jedd Fisch era in Seattle. The Huskies started off a respectable 3-1 but faded down the stretch, before a heartbreaking loss in the Sun Bowl dropped them to 6-7 on the year.
Despite the frustrations of the second half, an important development did occur: the emergence of quarterback Demond Williams. Williams finished the regular season strong, then went for five total touchdowns in the eventual Sun Bowl defeat, a sign of what Washington hopes is to come. Williams earned rave reviews over the offseason and now enters his sophomore season as a popular breakout candidate.
Williams will benefit from a quality supporting cast, as veteran tailback Jonah Coleman joins him in the backfield, and Denzel Boston is set to reprise his role as top option at wide out. Coleman has proven to be a reliable workhorse, while Boston has caught the eye of NFL scouts with a strong frame and staggering catch radius at 6'4", 207 pounds. Add in Penn State transfer Omari Evans at receiver, this could be a fun passing attack.
The offensive line was a problem area in 2024 and despite additions in the portal, the group appears to still have questions entering this fall. There has been significant turnover in this unit over the last couple years, so simply finding stability should be a goal this season.
The defense was an interesting one last season, struggling against the run but boasting the second-best pass defense numbers anywhere in the country. Now, Ryan Walters takes over as coordinator after being booted as Purdue head coach after only two seasons.
Walters will try to instill an edge to a front seven that simply didn't have much bite last fall. There are a host of transfers likely to man important roles, including Jacob Manu, a former Arizona Wildcat under Fisch who should be a key leader.
There is a chance we could still a slight drop in the numbers in the secondary, but this still figures to be a strength for the Huskies. Ephesians Prysock teams back up with his former Arizona Wildcat teammate Tacario Davis, who said no to the NFL Draft to reunite with Fisch and staff. With those two, Washington has a pair of accomplished, reliable veterans who have played a lot of football with each other.
Bottom Line: It was almost a Year Zero for Fisch in 2024 considering just how much turnover there was on this roster last offseason. He's still in the early stages of developing and building this roster, but 2025 looks like it could be a season of progress. There's some interesting talent offensively and if the front seven can find something, the defense has a chance to be quite strong. A soft non-conference slate is promising, but things look brutal inside the league this year, which means 7-8 wins feels like the ceiling for the Huskies.
11. Minnesota Golden Gophers