The Washington running back room had an unexpected shake-up on December 17th when Adam Mohammed entered the transfer portal. The projected starter in 2026 had been strategically prepared to become the lead tailback after playing in all 26 possible games since arriving at Washington in the Winter of 2024. He now plays for Cal, and Jedd Fisch said on Wednesday that he’s still unsure of the former Husky’s motives.
Fisch Talks UW Running Backs
Mohammed’s Curious Decision to Leave
“I’m not sure why he left, I don’t know that,” Fisch said. In the LA Bowl, Mohammed only had two carries on nineteen snaps. That was coming off of back-to-back 100-yard games against UCLA and Oregon. “I got the impression there towards the end of the bowl week that he was looking to move on.” Fisch described. “I wish him the best. I’ve known Adam since he was a junior in high school… Obviously, you’d love to be able to hold on to every player. You can’t.”
Mohammed joins new Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi and several other transfer portal pickups in Berkeley. In addition to Mohammed, the other four-star transfers on that offense include former Rutgers wide receiver Ian Strong and former New Mexico tight end Dorian Thomas. It’s a program in rebuild mode that’s had just five winning seasons since 2010. It hasn’t won nine regular-season games since 2006. But there’s promise with the talent they’ve added and the star-power of rising sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.
Building Back the Backfield
Said Fisch, “With our running back room, we’ll continue to just move forward.” And that’s what they’ve done. Washington added Jayden Limar to fill a veteran presence that’s now missing. “Jayden Limar coming in at running back really helps fill the Jonah-Adam void,” Fisch said.
The Husky head coach also said that they feel really good about where Jordan Washington is currently. The 5’-11” and 185-pound track-speed tailback played in 10 games last year with 27 carries, 233 yards, and a score. “With where we believe that Jordan [Washington] is progressing, we brought in Jayden [Limar] to be the senior in that group… See what he can do for us, see if he can take on that role of Adam or Jonah.”
Based on his comments, it appears as though Fisch and staff want Limar not only for his senior presence but to replace Mohammed as much as possible. That’s a tall ask, especially given the experience that Mohammed had in Washington’s rushing system. We detailed the complexities and decision-making that go into being a successful running back in a zone scheme. Mohammed ran in the zone scheme 114 times during his two years at Washington. Limar and Jordan Washington have combined for 70 zone runs in their entire careers.
That’s not to say the two won’t find success in this offense. Washington’s rushing sample set is small, but he averaged 8.6 yards per carry last year. He’s also been in this system under Fisch for his entire collegiate career. And Limar certainly has the experience to adapt quickly to a new college offense. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry at Oregon last year with 46 attempts. Both Washington and Limar have a nearly 50% breakaway yardage percentage, indicating their explosiveness on the ground. This metric tracks the percentage of yards gained on 15-plus yard runs to total rushing yards.
Running Back Depth
Behind those two, Fisch also noted that Quaid Carr is back to full health. The true freshman in 2025 logged four carries on six offensive snaps with a five-yard reception. He dealt with an ankle injury in the late part of last season that held him out of the final two regular-season games. The room also has Julian McMahan, who stands at 6’-2” and 225 pounds. He has the biggest frame of all the running backs in this group, and redshirted last season. The Huskies signed Brian Bonner to their 2026 class. The four-star was a top-10 running back in the class nationally, and he also brings speed to the backfield.
Main Image: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
