Inside The Huskies

Pinning Down Omar Khan, He's Making UW Progress

The defensive tackle from Texas brings unique skills to Montlake.

Dan Raley

Omar Khan interacts with the Husky fans.
Omar Khan interacts with the Husky fans. / Skylar Lin Visuals

While Jedd Fisch's University of Washington coaches have shown themselves fully capable of pulling commitments out of highly regarded prospects -- with a top 20 recruiting class for 2025 in hand -- they still have to be more than a little impressed by some of the young talent left behind by Kalen DeBoer, whose staff had a knack for finding the unsung player.

Defensive tackle Jayvon Parker, who hails from Detroit but was totally ignored by Big Ten recruiters, is a powerful player on the verge of becoming a UW starter. The multi-purpose Keith Reynolds played for a 1-9 high school team but had a half-dozen touchdown plays of 70 yards or more in his career and returns Husky kickoffs now. Edge rusher Zach Durfee was a walk-on tight end for the University of Sioux Falls who is a star in the making on defense.

When his turn comes, Omar Khan could be surprisingly good, as well.

It's not that he was an under-appreciated college football recruit -- he drew 22 scholarship offers, coming from the likes of USC, Utah, Kansas, Baylor and even Fisch's Arizona team -- but the young Texan brings a skill set different than most.

Khan is a 6-foot-3, 296-pound defensive tackle from the Houston suburbs who was nimble enough as a heavyweight wrestler that, as a senior at Bridgeland High School, he won 43 out of 44 matches with 28 pins, losing only his state semifinals match. That's quickness mixed with strength. He has a little feistiness, too.

"He likes contact," Fisch said, currently using him to prepare his first-teamers for battle. "He's done a real nice job with the service team."

Khan is a striking athlete because he's so filled out at such an early age. When he walks out for Husky practice or even home games, he's noticeable because he's extra thick as a freshman.

His only roadblock right now is the Huskies are committed to a bunch of veterans at his position, using Montana State transfer Sebastian Valdez, sixth-year senior Jacob Bandes, redshirt freshman Elinneus Davis and Parker first out in the DT manpower shuffle.

"He's competing really well with some of the older guys in the defensive line," Fisch said. "You've got a lot of guys in that rotation. Omar is learning, getting some good mental reps."

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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