5 Guys We Want to See Who Didn't Play a Down for UW

These players were either held up by development or waylaid by injuries during the 2024 season.

Omar Khan watches the Sun Bowl from the Husky sideline. / Dan Raley

For college football games, media members typically receive access to the playing field with five or six minutes remaining so they can get to the postgame interviews and not get stuck in the crowd exiting the stadium.

Such was the case at the recent Sun Bowl, where I walked through the crowd, down a stairway and onto the surface , and up close saw the University of Washington football team score a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and boldly go for the win with a two-point conversion pass that was tipped away.

Yet before making my way to behind the end zone to watch the final drive unfold, I stood behind the Husky bench and nearly bumped into freshman defensive tackle Omar Khan, who was stationed behind his older teammates and being unassuming.

Standing next to Khan, what struck me about him was he was an extra-thick human being. While listed at 6-foot-3 and 296 pounds, he appeared much bigger than that, though it would have been all muscle and very little baby fat.

From Cypress, Texas, Khan was back in his home state for this bowl game, though he was hundreds of miles from his suburban Houston neighborhood.

He finished as one of a handful of Husky scholarship players who didn't pull any game snaps this season. That was no reflection on his talent level -- rather offensive and defensive linemen typically don't always draw game time in their first seasons as they continue to develop into players physically able to handle themselves in the trenches.

The following are five players who have yet to be unveiled by the Huskies in a game situation and we're eager to see what they have to offer:

Omar Khan, a native Texan, shows up for the Sun Bowl with the UW football team. / Omar Ornelas / USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

OMAR KHAN

Khan, who was recruited by Kalen DeBoer's staff and chose to stay with Jedd Fisch's coaches, is an interesting prospect not just because of his obvious big-body stature, but he was an accomplished Texas schoolboy wrestler, as well. For his Bridgeland High School as a senior, he finished 43-1 with 28 pins, losing only in the 6A state semifinals, so he should understand the leverage aspects of being a mobile Husky defensive lineman.

"He's big and strong and he likes contact," Fisch said. "He's done a really nice job with the service team helping our offense get better as interior defensive lineman."

JUSTIN HYLKEMA

One couldn't help but notice this 6-foot-8, 323-pound freshman standing in uniform along the Husky sideline at the Sun Bowl. He towered over everyone around him. We want to see him play just to see how he carries his nickname "Moose." After a learning year, he'll probably move up and draw some game time this coming football season and maybe become a factor for serious playing time in 2026.

KEVIN GREEN JR.

Green was in uniform for the Sun Bowl, though he wasn't going to play because of his long layoff. The 5-foot-11, 155-pound sophomore suffered what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury in an August scrimmage, making him the only veteran Arizona player who accompanied Fisch to Montlake who didn't show up in any UW games this season. In 2023, he appeared in 11 games for the Wildcats, started twice, and caught 8 passes for 97 yards. He should be in the middle of the competition to fill the two open Husky wide-receiver jobs.

Wide receiver Kevin Green Jr., shown with Arizona in 2023, missed all of last season with the UW because of an injury. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

DAVIT BOYAJYAN

Discussing this recruit, DeBoer told how he was surprised he didn't learn about this Fresno, California, product sooner because Boyajyan was playing just down the street from DeBoer, when the coach was at Fresno State. The 6-foot-5, 307-pound Boyajyan, with a rangy beard and big frame, at least looks the part like he can get after it inside.

PAUL MENCKE JR.

This Texas safety came in with three others at his position, with each of others getting into at least one Husky game this past season. His father, Paul Sr., was a Washington State quarterback and wide receiver, bringing added intrigue to what sort of athlete the son might be.

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