From FCS to 'DBU': Expect nothing but excellence from Alex McLaughlin

Through two weeks, no Washington Husky has played better than fourth-year safety Alex McLaughlin. His incredible play makes it all the more unbelievable that his UW coaches didn’t always see greatness within him.

When McLaughlin graduated from Chandler, Ariz.’s Hamilton High School in 2023, Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch wasn’t sure he was scholarship-caliber. He offered McLaughlin a walk-on spot, which McLaughlin declined in favor of an FCS scholarship at Northern Arizona. Two seasons of first-team All-Big Sky play later, McLaughlin accepted a scholarship offer from Fisch–now at UW–but defensive coordinator Taylor Mays wasn’t initially convinced.

Despite Mays' inital misgivings, McLaughlin went on to start all 13 games for the Huskies in 2025. He led the team with 94 tackles, earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors, and was named the Huskies’ most valuable defender at the team’s postseason banquet. But the best part?

He’s been even better in 2026.

Through two games, McLaughlin leads the Huskies with 17 total tackles and two interceptions. He’s also tied for the team lead in sacks (2) and passes defended (2).

He was excellent in Week 1 against Washington State, when he tallied six tackles and a game-icing fourth quarter interception, and he was even more dominant against the Aggies in Week 2. McLaughlin finished last Saturday’s contest with nine total tackles, including eight solo stops. He also tallied two sacks, two passes defended, and another clutch interception.

His first sack came midway through the third quarter, with the score 13-7 and the Huskies defending a high-stakes third-and-1 at Utah State’s 48-yard line. When Aggies quarterback Grady Brosterhous rolled out to the right, McLaughlin crashed the line from linebacker depth, blowing past an outstretched blocker and straight through Brosterhous for a loss of nine.

Two drives later, whilst again positioned at linebacker, McLaughlin went unblocked around the right side of Utah State’s offensive line for a second sack. Then, on the ensuing second-and-16 pass attempt, McLaughlin outmuscled 6-foot-2 Aggies receiver Kaina Watson to secure Washington’s second interception of the game.

That turnover would ultimately prove crucial, as it allowed Washington’s offense to kick a field goal which made the score 16-7 Huskies. However, Utah State responded with a 13-play touchdown drive which cut Washington’s lead to just two decisive points. Had McLaughlin not turned the Aggies away and given the Huskies an opportunity to score, the game’s outcome could have been dramatically different.

McLaughlin is blitzing towards ‘DBU’ stardom

Washington has gained a national reputation over the years for producing excellent defensive backs. Former Huskies DBs like Budda Baker, Trent McDuffie, Marcus Peters, and Desmond Trufant all found success at the NFL level, and as a result, Washington has grown protective of its self-proclaimed ‘DBU’ title. 

Rookie cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock, who were both drafted in April, are in the midst of their first chance to strengthen Washington’s case for ‘DBU’, but McLaughlin is looking more and more like a contender in that regard. 

Through two weeks, McLaughlin has Washington’s third-best Pro Football Focus (PFF) defense grade (84.7) behind edge rushers Isaiah Ward (84.8) and Jacob Lane (89.4). He leads all Huskies with a stellar 88.7 grade in pass coverage, and his tackling grade of 77.6 is second only to Rahshawn Clark’s 77.8.

As a result of his two sacks, he also holds a team-best pass rush grade of 79.1. Safeties don’t often find success in the pass rush, but McLaughlin’s been honing his skills all offseason.

"He's really bright,” Fisch said of McLaughlin after Washington’s Aug. 15 fall scrimmage. “He has a really good feel for when to come, when not, how to read it, what track to take, how to time it out right. And the position he plays permits us to use him in every disguise, drop, play the linebacker position, play the safety position, be a blitzer. Certain guys have a great feel for blitzing and he's done a great job of that." 

McLaughlin and Rylon Dillard-Allen, who made three starts in 13 games a year ago, form a formidable last line of defense for the Huskies. Cornerback Manny Karnley, who transferred in from Virginia this offseason, had glowing praise for his supporting cast during an Aug. 21 practice.

“It’s amazing,” Karnley said of playing alongside McLaughlin and Dillard-Allen. “You don’t really gotta worry about them not being in the middle, or not making a check with you, or not [making] the right call. If I don’t know something, they’re telling me, ‘Hey, hey, listen to this,’ and then I can do the same for them. It’s just amazing to have someone that has a lot of snaps under their belt and knows what they’re doing.”

Saturday’s 4:15 p.m. PST clash against Eastern Washington will represent a return to FCS-level competition for Alex McLaughlin, and the year’s biggest test for the Eagles. Husky fans should expect a third elite performance from the leader of their defense, and yet another reminder of how far the leader of their secondary has grown.

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