5 Best UW Football Position Battles Entering Fall Camp

All of the most competitive jobs in question for the Huskies come in the trenches.

Will Rogers works with center Landen Hatchett during spring ball. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Over the next 31 days, Jedd Fisch and his coaching staff need to settle on 20 new University of Washington football starters.

That's nearly one per day for the next three weeks.

That's all hands on deck to replace everyone except two-year starting linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala and 15-game, first-unit cornerback Elijah Jackson, providing someone such as a determined Thaddeus Dixon doesn't make a successful bid to supplant Jackson, as he suggested he might do during spring football.

With fall camp unfolding on Wednesday, the intense competition for game snaps begins with the Huskies trying to replace more starters at any time all at once since two-platoon football was introduced to Montlake in 1964.

With Fisch's staff in charge of these endless personnel decisions, the Huskies have all new coaches running around and trying to decide who warrants game-opening assignments or not.

Out of these 20 holes in the lineup that need filling, we've singled out five position battles, or one-fourth of them, that should merit more attention than the others.

1. Left tackle. Troy Fautanu, the NFL Draft's 20th overall selection for the Pittsburgh Steelers, held down this spot in 2023. He'll be replaced by 6-foot-8, 295-pound redshirt freshman Soane Faasolo or 6-foot-6, 295-pound JC transfer Maximus McCree, or maybe a surprise candidate such as 6-foot-5, 299-pound redshirt freshman Zach Henning or 6-foot-8, 323-pound freshman Justin "Moose" Hylkema. McCree, who once played for Maryland, earlier had to walk away from the game to support his family when both of his parents became ill. His new teammates say he's athletic enough yet a little on the shy side. The UW lists McCree at 272 on the roster, but line coach Brennan Carroll says he close to 20 pounds heavier than that.

2. Center. This position previously was manned by Parker Brailsford, now being considered for All-America honors at Alabama and still answering to ex-Husky coach Kalen DeBoer. This UW position usually is carefully scripted with replacements in promoted players such as Coleman Shelton, Nick Harris, Luke Wattenberg and Corey Luciano molded to become able snappers. If fully healthy, Landen Hatchett would an automatic center solution here. The 6-foot-2, 310-pound Hatchett is trying to come back in eight months from an ACL injury that typically takes 12, but this strong-willed player could beat the odds. If he's delayed in coming off his medical sabbatical, look for Portland State transfer D'Angalo Titialii, all 6-foot-2 and 320 pounds of him, to step in.

3. Left guard. This could be a most interesting position battle if it involves promising 6-foot-5, 297-pound freshman Paki Finau, who held the No. 1 job all spring, and 6-foot-4, 301-pound Ohio State transfer Enokk Vimahi. Finau could be similar to Nick Harris or Trey Adams as a Husky offensive lineman who doesn't need the requisite redshirt season and could take on significant responsibility right away. He's already put on 30-35 pounds in a hurry. Vimahi, a sixth-year senior, is down to his final college season attempting to become a full-time starter after emerging from Hawaii as a can't-miss recruit and, well, missing. He appeared in 36 games for the Buckeyes, but started just twice. It's a player of the future against one trying to overcome the past.

3. Defensive tackle. Considering Montana State transfer and 6-foot-4, 305-pound strongman Sebastian Valdez likely has one of these two positions up front locked up, the other could be a battle between 6-foot-3, 297-pound junior Jayvon Parker, 6-foot-3, 307-pound senior Jacob Bandes or 6-foot-5, 292-pound Sacramento State junior transfer Deshawn Lynch. While Bandes has three starts to his name, Parker has steadily increased his playing time, from 8 games to 13 and would be favored to become the starter alongside Valdez. Lynch will get a long look.

4. Right guard. A year ago, Gaard Memmelaar seemed poised to be a serious challenger for this role with a cast of characters before he injured a knee and the youthful Brailsford beat out Julius Buelow and Geirean Hatchett, who now play for Ole Miss and Oklahoma, respectively, before moving to center as an injury replacement. The 6-foot-4, 299-pound Memmelaar, one of the strongest players on the roster, could emerge as the starter here in competition with Henning, Titialii and 6-foot-5, 338-pound redshirt freshman Kahlee Tafai. The knee injury made him way overdue for a career breakthrough.

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