Washington’s entire offense is gone. The Huskies must replace all 11 starters from the national championship game earlier this month. Every single one.
Jedd Fisch, who was hired away from Arizona to replace Kalen DeBoer after his departure to Alabama, is starting from scratch. Literally. He will be tasked with completely rebuilding the nation’s 12th-ranked offense from the foundation.
Never before in the history of the BCS and College Football Playoff eras, has a team returned zero offensive starters. Especially not after playing for a national title. It is an unprecedented turnover!
- QB — Michael Penix Jr., NFL Draft
- RB — Dillon Johnson, NFL Draft
- WR — Rome Odunze Jr., NFL Draft
- WR — Ja’Lynn Polk, NFL Draft
- WR — Jalen McMillan, NFL Draft
- TE — Devin Culp, NFL Draft
- LT — Troy Fatanu, NFL Draft
- LG — Nate Kalepo, Transfer Portal: Ole Miss
- C — Parker Brailsford, Transfer Portal: Alabama
- RG — Julius Buelow, Transfer Portal: Ole Miss
- RT — Roger Rosengartner, NFL Draft
That doesn’t even include the changing of the guard on defense! Washington could lose as many as 13 players or more from last season’s starting defensive unit.
The exodus, in large part due to graduation, is certainly not ideal. However, fortunately for Fisch, it is much easier to reload in the era of college football through the transfer portal. He will be able to bring some of his former Wildcats with him to Seattle and add other players — like former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers — to be part of the Huskies’ new-look roster.
Still. It is pretty jarring to see an entire offense gone in the blink of an eye.
Washington fans and alumni are trying not to panic. Former Husky Jordan Reffett, who had a cup of coffee in the NFL, is doing his best to keep things calm by getting very fiesty online.
He said that although his alma mater is “last in off season natty so far,” he expects the program to “fly under the radar right into the Big 10 Championship game” in its first year with Fisch at the helm in a new conference. BOLD!
This year’s Washington team will serve as a fascinating case study. If the Huskies are able to replicate its success from a year ago without its head coach and entire offense, it would be a really awesome story.