Inside The Huskies

Reserve Corner Elijah Jackson Ruled Out of USC Game

The junior had played in 26 consecutive Husky outings going back to 2022.

Dan Raley

Former UW starter Elijah Jackson is still making plays even while coming off the bench at corner.
Former UW starter Elijah Jackson is still making plays even while coming off the bench at corner. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Reserve cornerback Elijah Jackson, who had appeared in 26 consecutive University of Washington football games, was ruled out of the Huskies' Saturday outing against USC with an unspecified injury, according to the Big Ten availability report.

Jackson, a 6-foot-1, 193-pound junior from Carson, California,, was one of five UW players unable to play against the Trojans, joined by junior edge rusher Zach Durfee, tight ends in senior Quentin Moore and sophomore Ryan Otton, and sophomore wide receiver Kevin Green Jr.

Also, junior safety Makell Esteen, who started last weekend at Indiana and had a career-best 13 tackles in the 31-17 loss, was listed as questionable.

Jackson started all 15 games in 2023 before losing his first-team job this season to senior Thaddeus Dixon. He hadn't missed a Husky outing since late in the 2022 campaign against Oregon State. He has 15 tackles and a pair of pass break-ups this season.

The Huskies have been a little light on cornerback depth because of injuries, though redshirt freshman Leroy Bryant made his season debut at Indiana after injuring a hand in fall camp. Bryant appeared in seven games in 2023, including all three postseason outings, and was able to preserve his redshirt status.

Esteen started the first two games of the season before giving way to Sacramento State transfer Cam Broussard and playing behind him for five contests. Broussard, however, missed the Indiana game because of some unspecified injury and Esteen reclaimed his starting spot.

Durfee, who is dealing with toe injuries, will miss his third consecutive game, and fourth overall. Moore hasn't played since the second quarter of the season opener after suffering a knee injury. Green was injured during fall camp and Otton has been saddled with a long-term injury since spring ball.

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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