The Washington Huskies football team will enter this season with a healthy amount of expectations.

The Huskies have been featured on various top 25 lists from several different publications this winter, including CBS Sports, ESPN, On3 Sports and others.

The hype behind UW isn't unwarranted. The team is returning several key contributors, including 2025 All-Freshman offensive lineman John Mills and wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck and junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr.

Williams is coming off a season where he led the Big Ten in total yards (3,676) and posted 31 total touchdowns (25 passing, six rushing).

The Huskies lost their leading receiver and rusher from last season, wide receiver Denzel Boston and running back Jonah Coleman, both to the 2026 NFL Draft. However, the team replaced the depth lost at both positions in both the transfer portal and via a 2026 recruiting class that ranked 12th in the country.

Washington landed Ohio State and Kennesaw State transfer receivers Bodpegn Miller and Christian Moss, respectively, and running back Jayden Limar, who entered the portal from Oregon.

In addition to the incoming transfers, several players from the '26 recruiting class, including four-star wide receiver Jordan Clay, four-star running back Brian Bonner and five-star offensive lineman Kodi Greene, are expected to contribute in their true freshmen seasons.

Despite the combination of returners and incoming players and a solid season to improve upon (9-4 record in '25), not everyone is a believer in the Huskies.

ESPN, On3 Sports and Yahoo Sports college football contributor, Josh Pate, shared a post on "X" listing his top 12 football programs in the nation, in which Washington was absent.

Pate's list was, in order: Ohio State, Georgia, Indiana, Oregon, Texas, Notre Dame, Alabama, Miami, Texas A&M, Michigan, Texas Tech and Tennessee.

According to Pate, the list was based on a three-year "rolling criteria" of on-field results, talent acquisition, resource pool, organizational stability and structure and a slight look into the future.

Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch had two words in response in a quote post on "X," simply stating, "Got it."

Last season was Washington's second under Fisch, meaning the current iteration of the program doesn't fit under the three-season roll-over of Pate's criteria. However, in the program's third-to-last season, its last under Kalen DeBoer, the Huskies made it to the College Football Playoff national championship game.

The Huskies will begin spring practice in kind in the next several months and will have ample opportunity to prove themselves as one of f the best teams in the country.

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