National Signing Day was last week, and the Huskies completed their 2024 class with the 49th national-ranked class. The Spring transfer portal window opens up on April 15th, and Jedd Fisch said that they will be targeting more. He said he wants to add four to five offensive linemen in the upcoming portal window. Fisch added that Washington will hold a Spring “Signing Day Event” to welcome their next wave of new players. To date, the mixture of the early signing period, the transfer portal, and the extended transfer window due to coaching changes have been a lot to keep up with. To help with that, let’s break down the transfer portal class that this new staff has brought to Washington up to this point.
Will Rogers: QB1
At quarterback, Will Rogers transferred in from Mississippi State after becoming the SEC’s second-leading all-time passer with 12,315 yards. The fifth-year senior will be Washington’s expected starter and veteran for this group. Rogers re-entered the transfer portal in January to evaluate his options, but Fisch was able to retain the quarterback. The coaching staff sat down with Rogers and told him they wanted him to run their offense and that he’d be the guy in 2024. Rogers announced he’d stay in Seattle on social media, beginning his role as the leader in the locker room.
Arizona Transfer Haul: Offense
Fisch brought nine Arizona Wildcat transfers with him from Tucson to Seattle. That includes 2024 quarterback recruit Demond Williams Jr. who enrolled early at Arizona before transferring to Washington. The Elite 11 Finalist was responsible for 93 passing touchdowns and 42 rushing touchdowns in high school with nearly 13,000 all-purpose yards. The dual-threat will be competing with fellow class of 2024 quarterback Dermaricus Davis for the future starting role at Washington.
At running back, Jonah Coleman and Adam Mohammed were among that first wave of transfers to Washington a few weeks ago. Coleman is a proven starter and All-Pac-12 rusher. Last year he averaged 6.8 yards per carry with five rushing scores. Mohammed was one touchdown away from tying the state of Arizona’s high school touchdown record last year prior to early enrolling at Arizona.
Audric Harris is a class of 2024 wide receiver who signed with Arizona prior to Fisch’s departure. Harris attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and was tabbed a three-star wide receiver. As a senior, he caught 51 passes for 1,051 yards and 13 touchdowns. Harris entered the transfer portal in January and ended up staying with Fisch and heading to Washington.
Arizona Transfer Haul: Defense
On the other side of the ball, Washington was able to get Ephesians Prysock to transfer to the Pacific Northwest. The 6’-4” 190-pound cornerback was labeled a four-star transfer and is Washington’s second-highest rated transfer behind Williams Jr. Last season at Arizona, Prysock tallied 61 tackles (4th on the team), seven passes defended, and an interception. He has played in 23 games, including 10 as a true freshman in 2022. The Washington staff sees Prysock as an NFL cornerback. They’re making it their job to continue to shape him into a future professional.
Washington also brought in Jordan Shaw at the cornerback position. He played the 2023 season at Indiana as a true freshman. Shaw appeared in four games in Bloomington with 12 tackles, a half sack, and one pass defended. The three-star high school recruit then transferred to Arizona after last season before following Fisch to Washington.
The other three Arizona transfers line up in the front seven. Isaiah Ward played 13 games as a sophomore last season in Tucson. He had 30 tackles, five tackles for loss, and four sacks. The former class of 2022 defensive lineman was tabbed a three-star transfer. Russell “Deuce” Davis II was also a class of 2022 defensive lineman who played in 12 games as a freshman and 11 games last season. Davis II has 23 tackles in his career with 3.5 sacks. And at linebacker, Washington brought back Anthony Ward, who played for Washington in 2020 and 2021. He transferred to Arizona where he saw his first action in 2023. Ward blocked a punt and returned it for six against Utah last season. After entering the transfer portal for the second time in his career, Ward will suit up in purple and gold again next season for Washington.
Washington’s Transfer Portal Haul
One of the other big names Washington was able to land in the portal was former Cal wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter. The 6’-2” wide receiver played in 33 games in Berkeley where he caught 13 touchdown passes for 2,084 yards. He’ll be in Seattle beginning next month and is going to be the new number-one wide receiver. With the departure of Washington’s “big three” from last year, Hunter is stepping into the wide receiver room as the player with the most experience, and the best numbers. He and Rogers are both fifth-year players and, along with Coleman at running back, will be the focal point of next season’s offense.
Linebacker Bryun Parham entered the transfer portal as an indirect result of Kalen DeBoer’s move to Alabama. After Fisch replaced him at Washington, San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan left to become Arizona’s next head coach. That prompted the San Jose State linebacker Parham to enter the portal. He landed at Washington and will be key for this defense next year. Parham led the Spartans last year with 106 tackles and was second in the Mountain West Conference with 60 solo tackles. He also tallied five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Parham is entering his fourth year of college football and is an excellent addition to Washington’s front seven.
At the point of attack, Drew Azzopardi transferred in from San Diego State at offensive tackle. At this point, he’s slated as a starting tackle for this young offensive line. The class of 2022 linemen has an elite frame at 6’-7” and 315 pounds. He played in seven games last year for the Aztecs with six starts. On the other side of the line is Sebastian Valdez. The Montana State transfer was tabbed a four-star in the portal who has played three seasons with over 1,700 snaps at the defensive line. Valdez had seven sacks and 28 quarterback pressures last season for the Bobcats.
