Inside The Huskies

UW Adds Another Transfer, Picks Up Former Nebraska Receiver

Will Nixon previously was recruited by Purdue and JaMarcus Shephard.

Dan Raley

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Continuing to stockpile offensive personnel, the University of Washington on Wednesday dipped into the transfer portal once more and picked up former Nebraska wide receiver Will Nixon.

The son of the Carolina Panthers running-backs coach, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Nixon is the second roster addition in two days for the Huskies, joining Virginia running back Wayne Taulapapa. Add to them a high school commitment from Southern California wide receiver Keith Reynolds.

Nixon, from Midway High School in Waco, Texas, spent two years at Nebraska and never really got going. He injured a knee before the 2020 season and sat out. He appeared in just three games for the Cornhuskers last fall and caught a pass against Northwestern.

Interestingly, Nixon, on his social media post announcing his commitment to the UW, said he was coming to play running back and wide receiver. 

As a senior at Waco's Midway High, Nixon generated 2,087 yards of total offense and scored 29 touchdowns, rushing for 1,837 yards and 27 scores. As a junior, he caught 40 passes for nearly 500 yards. 

He was considered a 3-star recruit and fielded offers from Purdue, Notre Dame, Penn State, Baylor and Kansas State, among others. In dealing with the Boilermakers, he made a connection with JaMarcus Shephard, now the UW receivers coach.

Nixon's father, Jeff, was a running back at West Virginia and Penn State before making the move into coaching and he's spent two seasons with Carolina. He served as a co-offensive coordinator at Baylor, among several stops.

Will Nixon is the eighth portal transfer brought to the UW by new coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff, the second from the Big Ten, and the fifth offensive player. 

The former Cornhusker joins quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (Indiana),  linebacker Cam Bright (Pittsburgh), running back Aaron Dumas (New Mexico), running back Wayne Taulapapa (Virginia), wide receiver Lonyatta Alexander Jr. (Arizona State), cornerback Jordan Perryman (UC Davis) and punter Kevin Ryan (Idaho State).

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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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