As the afternoon rolled on, the players and coaches moved into the individual podium breakout sessions at Big Ten Media Days. Washington head coach Jedd Fisch sat down behind the microphone outside the left hash at the 40-yard line inside Lucas Oil Stadium to address the media. During his presser, he revealed some promising information surrounding the team’s health entering Fall camp. Fisch also announced the kick time for the Huskies road game at Iowa in October. His breakout session also included some great insight into the quarterback room at Washington and what he wants that group to look like going forward.
Promising Injury Updates
Fisch discussed two offensive linemen who have been rehabbing from leg injuries during his individual podium session. He said he expects both Landen Hatchett and Gaard Memmelaar to be healthy enough to compete in a mock game on August 17th. Hatchett suffered a leg injury leading up to the Sugar Bowl against Texas in December. Memmelaar went down with an injury during Fall camp last season that sidelined him for the entire 2023 year. Fisch expects both linemen out there with the starting offensive line for their mid-August exhibition. This news is significant. As far as projecting the starting offensive line, having these two players ready for the season would give the Huskies much-needed experience up front.
Fisch was also asked if there were any players on the roster that wouldn’t be available for Fall camp. He responded by saying there was no one on the top of his head that would be unavailable. In addition to Hatchett and Memmelaar, Zach Durfee was another player who missed some time this Spring due to an arm injury. According to Fisch, the roster should be entirely healthy for Fall camp.
Speaking of the exhibition game, Fisch described it as a “mock game.” He said that he hopes to have 25,000 fans in attendance for the Fall scrimmage. It seems Fisch is sticking with the idea of granting fans access to practice as he did this Spring. Fans were allowed to attend every practice over the Spring. With the mock game, fans will get a preview of their team ahead of the August 31st home opener. Granting this kind of access to the team goes lengths in building excitement around the program, and that is exactly what this new coaching staff aims to do.
Road Trip to Iowa City
During his media breakout session, Fisch also revealed the kick time for their road trip to Iowa in October. The game will be Iowa’s annual Black and Gold Spirit Game where Kinnick Stadium will be striped out. Fisch discussed their road trip to Iowa City saying, “I understand it’s going to be a Big Noon game.” Kickoff will be at 9:00 am Pacific Time on FOX, the network’s premier Saturday window. To get acclimated to the change, Fisch said that the Huskies will head to Iowa City an additional day early.
Jedd Fisch on the Quarterback Depth
“I’d like to have a quarterback room of four scholarship players,” Fisch said during his podium session at Big Ten Media Days. But right now, Washington only has three. The Husky quarterback room is led by one of the most statistically accomplished passers in the nation in Will Rogers. Behind him, the two other scholarship quarterbacks are true freshman Demond Williams Jr. and redshirt sophomore transfer Shea Kuykendall. Williams was a four-star recruit and has turned some heads this Spring with his abilities. Kuykendall started three games at Northern Colorado in the FCS. Not only is the drop-off in experience significant, but the room is smaller than the head coach would like.
But Fisch understands the landscape of the game these days. “Football has become this weird world where your quarterback rooms aren’t very big anymore because people like to leave.” Fisch explained his view on quarterbacks who transfer saying, “They like to just quickly transfer to another spot without letting the process play out.” He continued, “It’s crazy now because you don’t have a lot of ‘build-your-depth’.” Washington experienced this first-hand with the exit of true freshman Dermaricus Davis this Spring. It’s a part of the game now, as players have the freedom to go where they feel their best opportunity exists. For Davis, he found it at UCLA.
Though the depth is relatively limited right now, Washington’s 2025 recruiting class currently consists of two quarterback commits in Dash Beierly and Kini McMillan. The two are rated as three stars and would bring much-needed depth to the room on Montlake in 2025. Next season, the Husky quarterbacks will be youthful, with Kuykendall the eldest of the group as a redshirt junior. But projecting forward, that hypothetical room would have four scholarship guys, just as Fisch would like. Right now, Washington has a quarterback with a lot of football under his belt. And into next season, the team figures to be building a talented foundation for its quarterback room of the future.
Photo from Nick Lemkau
