4 former Oregon Ducks who should follow Jayden Limar to the Washington Huskies

Washington’s Monday addition of former Oregon running back Jayden Limar was a big move for a Huskies team which is currently looking to reload at a variety of positions. However, several other Oregon players with past ties to Washington are currently in the portal. Here are four former Ducks who Jedd Fisch should convince to fly north for the 2026 season.

Wide receiver Cooper Perry

The many injuries Oregon suffered at wide receiver this past year allowed Perry, a true freshman from Scottsdale, Ariz., to see action in 12 games. He finished with only 10 catches for 25 yards, but don’t let those numbers fool you. Perry, who was a consensus four-star receiver coming out of Notre Dame Preparatory High School in 2025, would be an impactful addition to Washington’s thin receiving ranks.

At 6-foot-1 and 194 pounds, Perry possesses enough size to play outside, but he’s got the skills to line up anywhere. Check out his senior highlights against ALA-Gilbert North, where he took 12 catches for 302 yards and three touchdowns and also scored a 53-yard rushing touchdown:

Perry committed to the Ducks in April 2024, but still visited Washington that May. The Huskies were unable to flip his commitment then, but Fisch and company stand a good chance of landing him on their second attempt. Perry, who received a three-star grade of 88.00 from On3 upon entering the transfer portal, could compete for starting reps in a Washington receiving corps which has lost three young talents to the portal.

Tight end Vander Ploog

No one on this list came closer to becoming an official Husky than Ploog, who was committed to Washington from May to November of 2024. The consensus four-star recruit took three total visits to the Huskies that year, two of which came during the 2024 regular season. However, Ploog then took two October visits to Eugene, and ultimately flipped his commitment to Oregon less than a month later.

One redshirt year later, Ploog is in the transfer portal. Though the 6-foot-6, 242-pound native of Fullerton, Calif., didn’t record any stats as a Duck, his potential remains sky-high. On3 rated him a four-star transfer with a grade of 92.69 due to his large frame, his multi-sport background, and his ability to threaten defenders downfield.

Ploog is leaving perhaps the nation’s deepest tight end room following Oregon’s portal addition of Andrew Olesh, who was previously rated a five-star prospect and 2025’s top college TE by On3. But a move to Washington would certainly result in more playing time for Ploog: No Husky tight end besides rising junior Decker DeGraaf tallied six catches or 90 receiving yards in 2025.

Defensive tackle Jericho Johnson

This offseason has seen Washington’s defensive line completely reshaped. Most of last year’s interior defenders have run out of eligibility, and another five are set to leave via the transfer portal. Fisch has already responded with three additions from the Group of 5 conferences, but a former top prospect like Johnson would provide this new group with a young anchor to build around.

Johnson was a consensus four-star and top-200 prospect coming out of Fairfield, Calif.’s Armijo High School, and Washington wanted him early. The Huskies were the second of 20 FBS teams, behind only San Jose State, to offer Johnson. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound defender ended up visiting Washington in June 2023, and though he ultimately committed to Oregon that December, Johnson had plenty of positive things to say regarding his visit to Montlake:

Johnson appeared in two games as a redshirt freshman in 2024, but gained a bigger role in the Ducks’ defensive rotation as the 2025 season concluded. He finished his redshirt freshman season with five total tackles and a pass deflection, but decided to enter the transfer portal on Sunday after Oregon’s entire starting defensive line announced that it would be returning in 2026.

Johnson earned a three-star rating and grade of 87.00 from On3 after hitting the transfer portal. That’s a higher grade than any of the three defensive tackles Washington’s added so far, making Johnson a tempting plug-and-play candidate. However, Johnson also has three years of eligibility remaining, which means that unlike two of Washington’s currently-committed interior defenders, he’d have plenty of time to develop if he weren’t made an immediate starter.

Linebacker Kamar Mothudi

Washington’s need at linebacker may not be as glaring as the holes at wide receiver and along the defensive front, but a need exists nonetheless. Linebackers Xe’ree Alexander and Jacob Manu are both entering their final year of eligibility, while both Deven Bryant and Jonathan Epperson Jr. have left via the portal. Taariq ‘Buddah’ Al-Uqdah has dealt with severe injuries across four seasons, and rising sophomore Zaydrius Rainey-Sale lacks a clear long-term partner at the position.

Mothudi, who tallied four tackles as a redshirt freshman in 2025, isn’t a proven producer at the collegiate level. However, he was highly recruited as a consensus four-star prospect out of Los Angeles’ Los Alamitos High School in the Class of 2024. Mothudi's competitive recruitment saw him visit the Huskies, who gave him his first Power 4 scholarship, in June 2023:

Mothudi then visited Oregon a week later, and listed both schools among the final five teams he was considering. However, Mothudi ultimately committed to the Ducks that July, where he remained until he entered the transfer portal with a three-star On3 grade of 88.00 on Sunday.

Could Mothudi be headed to Montlake? It’s possible given the other teams in his previous top five. Michigan State and Utah have taken on new head coaches since Mothudi’s visit (although, so has Washington). The final school, Texas, has already taken two linebackers from the portal.

If Mothudi indeed decides to become a Husky, he’d likely see an immediate uptick in his playing time, with the potential to transition into a true starting role as soon as 2027.