With Jedd Fisch’s future becoming clear, UW Huskies look toward 2026
Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch hugs wide receiver Denzel Boston during Senior Day before the start of the game Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025 in Seattle. 231765 (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter
Jedd Fisch started his postgame news conference by thanking his seniors.
Minutes earlier, Washington lost its final game of the regular season, falling 26-14 against No. 6 Oregon. But Fisch wanted to make sure he acknowledged the 24 players honored before the game before addressing the outcome.
He thanked the players like running back Jonah Coleman and cornerback Ephesians Prysock, who followed him to UW from Arizona. He thanked the holdovers like safety Makell Esteen, edge rusher Zach Durfee and tight end Quentin Moore, who stayed after Kalen DeBoer’s departure to help rebuild the Huskies. And he thanked the transfers, like wide receiver Omari Evans and left tackle Carver Willis, who entrusted their final seasons of eligibility to him and the UW staff.
Then, Fisch gave his appreciation to the team’s young players.
“They’ll continue to shine,” Fisch said. “There’s no doubt about it. They’re just getting better and better and better. As we continue to build the program the way we want it, our program will continue to elevate.”
After a wild Sunday for the college football coaching carousel, Fisch and the young roster he’s cultivated at Washington look increasingly likely to remain on Montlake for the 2026 season. Several power four coaching vacancies were filled Sunday, including — most relevantly for Washington — Florida.
Advertising Skip AdSkip AdSkip Ad
The Gators officially announced the hiring of Jon Sumrall, who spent the past two seasons coaching Tulane, Sunday. Fisch, a Florida alumnus whose coaching career started with the Gators under longtime coach Steve Spurrier, had been linked to the job by multiple reports shortly after Florida fired Billy Napier Oct. 19. Speaking Saturday, Fisch said he’s excited about UW’s future.
“I feel like we had a lot of nice steps,” he said. “I really do. I think that from where we were a year ago to where we are today, we’ve done a really nice job of becoming a better team.”
Washington has undoubtedly shown growth during the second season of Fisch’s tenure. The Huskies (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) won more games — overall and in conference play — than they did in 2024. The defense improved, particularly against the run, and UW finished the season with a winning record away from Husky Stadium. Washington was competitive in every game it played.
But there were shortcomings, too. UW lost all three games it played against teams currently ranked in the College Football Playoff poll. Vanquished at home, 24-6, against No. 1 Ohio State on Sept. 27. Snuffed out, 24-7, on the road against No. 15 Michigan on Oct. 18. And Saturday’s rivalry loss against Oregon.
Washington’s 13-10 upset defeat against Wisconsin in the snow was the worst defeat of the bunch, effectively crushing any hopes of a CFP appearance in 2025.
Fisch said this season’s highs and lows are all part of the program’s evolution. Now that UW has shown it can hang with the conference’s best teams — Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and No. 2 Indiana — it has to prove it can beat them, he said.
Advertising Skip Ad
“We’ve got to be able to take that next step,” Fisch said. “But I do believe our guys have really focused on the build.”
Fisch was particularly optimistic about the way his young players developed throughout the season. The Huskies had 52 scholarship players who were sophomores by eligibility or younger in 2025, including 27 true freshmen.
Several of UW’s first-year players made an immediate impact including offensive lineman John Mills, wide receivers Dezmen Roebuck, Raiden Vines-Bright and Chris Lawson, cornerback Dylan Robinson, safety Rylon Dillard-Allen and linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale.
Fisch has generally done a good job retaining his roster up to this point. Of the 20 UW players who entered the transfer portal after the 2024 season, only four were players who’d committed to Fisch’s program and not previous coaching staffs.
“We probably played more freshmen in total snaps than anybody,” Fisch said. “We have a ton of experience coming back now.”
And Fisch will ink his second class of high school prospects at UW when the early signing period begins Wednesday. Washington’s 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked 16th nationally by the 247Sports composite ratings, one of the highest-graded classes in UW program history.
Advertising Skip AdSkip AdSkip Ad
The Huskies have 21 public verbal commits as of Sunday, including 10 composite blue-chip prospects: offensive lineman Kodi Greene, running back Brian Bonner, edge rusher Derek Colman-Brusa, defensive back Rahsjon Duncan, defensive tackle JD Hill, safety Gavin Day, wide receiver Mason James, two-way standout Dre Pollard, quarterback Derek Zammit and cornerback Jeron Jones.
“We have a lot of great players signing with us on Wednesday,” Fisch said. “We have a lot of people that want to be in the program.”
Fisch, who has never spent more than four years in a single location during a coaching career that spans around two-and-a-half decades, previously affirmed his commitment to Washington Nov. 10, days after UW’s upset loss against Wisconsin, but Sumrall’s hiring at Florida eliminates the likeliest candidate to poach Fisch.
Florida hired Sumrall, who is 19-7 during two seasons at Tulane, hours after the college football world was shaken by Lane Kiffin’s decision to leave No. 7 Ole Miss for LSU, taking the role vacated when the Tigers fired Brian Kelly Oct. 26.
Kiffin’s departure triggered a series of hirings as Southeastern Conference schools raided the American Conference for coaches. Along with Florida hiring Sumrall from Tulane, Auburn announced it appointed former South Florida coach Alex Golesh and Arkansas added former Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield Sunday.
UCLA, the other coaching opening that had briefly been connected to Fisch, remains vacant, but the Bruins were recently connected to James Madison’s Bob Chesney by CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
“My hope,” Fisch said Nov. 10, “is that our players, our coaches, our families understand how much we love it at Washington.”
Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes .com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.