Stepping up: 8 players who could raise Washington's ceiling in 2025
Rather than focus on established stars, let's look at less-heralded players who could step up.
I told you who I think Washington’s most important players will be in 2025. Your own list probably would include a lot of the same guys.
But who are some of the players not considered for that list who could do the most to raise the Huskies’ ceiling?
By definition, these are players you likely aren’t thinking about among the team’s most likely difference makers — not Jonah Coleman, not Denzel Boston, not Carver Wilis or Ephesians Prysock or Tacario Davis. Maybe it’s an upperclassman who hasn’t contributed much yet, or a player returning from injury. It could be a true freshman at an unsettled position, or a likely backup who could improve depth by excelling.
Here’s last year’s list, for what it’s worth. There were maybe three or four “hits” — Thaddeus Dixon, certainly, plus Jacob Bandes and maybe Gaard Memmelaar, maybe Maximus McCree and, to a lesser extent, Adam Mohammed. Meanwhile, three of the players on that list didn’t play a single offensive or defensive snap last year. That’s sort of how it goes when trying to forecast a group like this. (With the benefit of hindsight, I’d say players like tight end Keleki Latu, linebacker Khmori House and defensive tackle Jayvon Parker could have been described as players who similarly “stepped up.”)
Here are the eight players I’m thinking about this year: