Jedd Fisch has made Spring practice open to fans, students, and the media for five seasons. This will be the sixth, and it begins for Washington Football on Tuesday, March 31st. “The best part of Spring practice when I was a college student was the opportunity to go watch a Florida Gator practice on my way home from class,” Fisch described on Monday. The third-year Washington head coach studied at Florida before becoming a graduate assistant for Steve Spurrier in 1999. Fisch has made it a point to repay that opportunity to his program’s fans and students. His 2026 roster at Washington will look a little different, with several starters off to the next level. There are also some changes to note regarding position group skillsets and position changes as a whole.
UW Opens Spring Practice
Player Availability
Of the 94 players on the roster, 12 will either be unavailable until the Fall or limited in some capacity this month. Among that list are four returning players. Buddah Al-Uqdah, Rahshawn Clark, Russell Davis, and Kade Eldridge are each rehabbing injuries and will be unavailable until the Fall. Transfer running backs Jayden Limar and Trey Cooley are also out the entirety of Spring, along with defensive tackle Kai McClendon. True freshman and early enrollee receiver Blaise LaVista is also sidelined for the month.
The other four players are CJ Christian, Landen Hatchett, Justice Williams, and transfer offensive tackle, Kolt Dieterich. Fisch noted that each of these guys will be available at some point throughout the Spring, but not immediately.
In place of Hatchett at center, Fisch said that Geirean Hatchett will be the team’s starter at center to begin the month. The older Hatchett was granted an additional, seventh year of eligibility. In his career, Hatchett has played 71 career snaps at center. Forty-one of those were at Oklahoma in 2024 before his injury that year. The other 30 were as a Husky in 2022. Lowen Colman-Brusa, Parker Cross, and Jake Flores will also be in the rotation at center this month.
Running Back Depth
The running back position is expected to have eight players available and healthy to begin practice. Even after the departures of Jonah Coleman and Adam Mohammed, and with injuries to Limar and Cooley, this position room is loaded with talent. Among that group will be D’Aryhian Clemons, originally a defensive back for the Huskies. “We had him here as a DB,” Fisch said on Monday. “And with both Jayden Limar and [Trey] Cooley being out for Spring, we wanted to make sure that we would have good competition at running back.”
Clemons played running back in high school. At Spanaway Lake High School, he had 17 touchdowns and over 1,800 rushing yards on 288 carries. Said Fisch, “We wanted D-Clem to be rewarded for how hard he’s been working, and give him an opportunity to compete at that running back spot.”
Overall, this group of runners will differ in terms of its skill set from recent years at Washington. “They’re extremely fast,” running backs coach Scottie Graham said on Monday. “We could probably win the 4×100 NCAA’s with our running back room.” Graham pointed to the 100-meter speed of Jordan Washington (10.2 seconds), true freshman Brian Bonner Jr. (10.4 seconds), and redshirt freshman Quaid Carr (10.5 seconds). “They’re different,” Graham continued, “But one of them will step up just like Jonah stepped up in the past.”
New Voices of the Locker Room
Demond Williams will still be the leader and voice of this team. But outside of the rising two-year starter, Fisch pointed to the offensive line as a strong source of leadership in the locker room. “John Mills has certainly elevated his voice. For another young player, he has done an incredible job in leading.” Fisch continued, “That offensive line group in general has been elite in leadership. Elite.”
Earlier this offseason, Mills mentioned the position group’s goal of winning the Joe Moore Award at the end of the season. The trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s top offensive line. Four of Washington’s five starters return from last season, with a total of 2,552 snaps played in 2025. It’s the most experienced group Fisch has had in his time at Washington.
Offensive line coach Mike Switzer confirmed that they identified it as a position group goal back in January. But this Spring, he’s focused on the now. “All we can worry about is getting better each day. Obviously, having a goal in sight, but that’s far, far off.” Switzer said the priority is getting better as individuals and as a unit throughout April. “I love that they have that thought and that goal, and that’s fantastic,” Switzer said on Monday. “But our real focus is how do we continue to be as good as we can be, as fast as we can be this Spring as a group.”
Spring practice at Washington begins in the afternoon on March 31st, and runs Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday until the last week of April. It will be capped off with the Spring Game, “Dawgs After Dark” on Friday night, May 1st.
Main Photo: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
