For its size and divergent outcomes — and the number and caliber of players who once pledged to be part of it before changing their minds — Washington’s 2022 recruiting class is among its strangest ever.
It was always going to be a smaller group. Like many programs, the Huskies had limited space on the roster to begin with, because the COVID-19 pandemic led to additional eligibility for current players; as a result, only six players on their 2021 roster had expiring eligibility. And with the transfer portal fully up and running, some of those roster spots would inevitably be filled by incoming veterans.
On top of that, of course, UW fired coach Jimmy Lake and hired Kalen DeBoer, leading to inevitable commitment churn and a final signing class that included only eight high-school players — nine, technically, but we’ll get to that — plus two junior-college transfers. The Huskies eventually added nine players from the portal, too: RB Wayne Taulapapa, RB Will Nixon, RB Aaron Dumas, WR Lonyatta Alexander, LB Cam Bright, LB Kris Moll, CB Jordan Perryman, P Kevin Ryan and a left-handed quarterback named Michael Penix Jr.
Due largely to the small class size, the Huskies finished the cycle with the No. 102-ranked class in the 247Sports Composite.
Of those eight high-school prospects, four had committed to Lake’s staff, with the other four surfacing after DeBoer’s arrival. The group included two NFL Draft picks — both Lake recruits — plus a third, Germie Bernard, who committed to Lake and signed with DeBoer, was released from his letter of intent following the departure of receivers coach Junior Adams to Oregon, then transferred back to UW as a sophomore in 2023 after one season at Michigan State … before transferring again to follow DeBoer to Alabama (phew).
The group of players who originally committed to Washington but never played for the Huskies also includes two NFL Draft picks (so far). And, of course, a number of former signees and commitments are entering their fifth season of college football in 2026, though none remain on Washington’s roster. In fact, only two of UW's high-school signees finished their careers at the school, and one of them had to take a medical retirement.
Let’s look back at the class, player by player, in order of how I would rank them based on college performance — and then look at what happened to each of the Huskies' former commitments in this class. All rankings via the 247Sports Composite. All snap counts via Pro Football Focus, and are offense and defense only.