SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies football team is now just two days away from the "mock game" set for Aug. 22 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

The closer the Huskies get to the mock game and the beginning of the 2026 season, the more the team will get a clearer picture on who the starters will be and who will be likely candidates to get reps when the season begins against the Washington State Cougars at 1 p.m. PT on Sept. 6 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

The deeper Washington gets into fall camp, the more days look similar to the one that came before, but that hasn't prevented the team from making the best out of every single day.

Here's several notes, takeaways and observations from Washington's practice Aug. 22:

The Huskies linebacking corps has been singled out as a position that will likely be the linchpin of the defense this season.

However, the group has rarely been at full strength this training camp despite entering Day 1 of practice with a generally clean bill of health.

One of the most experienced linebackers on the team, fourth-year player and preseason Dick Butkus Award watchlist selection Xe'ree Alexander sported a gold jersey in Thursday's practice, indicating limited-to-no contact. The decision was seemingly more precautionary than a result of an active injury keeping him out of action.

"Everything's going well," Alexander said after practice Thursday. "Just trying to keep me healthy, that's it. That's all coach wanted for me today."

Second-year linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale and fifth-year linebacker Jacob Manu have also either been limited or held out of practice for what insider linebackers coach Brian Odom has described as "minor" injuries that likely won't affect their ability to play in the season opener against Washington State.

This has led to second-year linebacker Donovan Robinson Jr. receiving more opportunities in the fall camp. He was one of the team's best performers in the spring and that trend has continued in the fall.

"He's had a good camp," Odom said after practice Thursday. "Had a good spring ball. Obviously got here late last year, that's all really in the past. It's kind of about looking at now and projecting not only this season, but in the future. He has come on strong. He's flashed, he's diving into the playbook, he's done a great job."

Entering the spring, one of the most talented wide receivers in UW's 2026 recruiting class, four-star Jordan Clay, seemed positioned to make a break into the rotation of wide receivers.

An undisclosed injury kept him out for portions of spring ball, and he had a delayed start to training camp, as well.

Other wide receivers competing for starting roles, such as Chris Lawson, Rashid Williams and Christian Moss, have stayed healthy and have had solid camps.

This might make it difficult for Clay to break into the top rotation of receivers his true freshman season, at least right away.

However, the San Antonio native had arguably his best practice as a Husky on Thursday. He had a pair of deep-ball receptions from second-year quarterback Dash Beierly.

If the wide receiver room is able to stay healthy and perform throughout the year, there might not be a lot of snaps available to Clay. However, more practices like Thursday will likely make him the next man up if head coach Jedd Fisch has to go one wide receiver down on the depth chart.

-- First-year edge rusher Ramzak Fruean showed off his speed again during team drills. After being sealed on the edge, he shifted inside and made a sprint to quarterback Demond Williams Jr. that likely would have been a sack in a live game.

-- Third-year wide receiver Justice Williams had arguably the best play Thursday when he caught a pass down the sidelines despite pass interference that was called during team drills.