So many things have changed on Montlake in recent months. Since the end of the stellar 2023 Washington Huskies football season that saw Washington go 14-1 and make it all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship game against Michigan, there have been drastic changes to the Huskies football program.
And just about all of those changes will be tangible this evening. This is a new era of WAshington Huskies football. So, let’s go over the key storylines that will be evident in the Washington football season opener against the Weber State Wildcats.
No. 1: Jedd Fisch’s debut with the Huskies
Arguably the most significant change for the Washington Huskies happened when Kalen DeBoer left Seattle to coach in the Southeastern Conference. When DeBoer left for the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Huskies picked up Jedd Fisch after he completed an impressive three-season rebuild with the Arizona Wildcats that culminated in a 10-win season and a bowl victory over Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners.
Fisch was able to bring the bulk of his coaching staff over to Washington and he’s got a ton of experience in both college football and NFL football all around the sidelines with him. It will be interesting to see how, with all of the new faces around Seattle now, the Huskies adapt to his offense and mold the program in his image.
No. 2: Will Rogers set to start at quarterback
Michael Penix Jr. was phenomenal in DeBoer’s offense and he made all sorts of incredible plays on a regular basis for the Huskies last season. It’s more than fair to say that Penix was a huge reason for Washington’s success in 2023. But his eligibility ended and the Huskies needed a new quarterback, so before DeBoer left, the now former UW head coach picked up Will Rogers through the transfer portal.
Rogers stayed on with the Huskies after DeBoer departed Montlake, but it will be intriguing to see how Fisch and Washington offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll are able to adapt Rogers’ skill set into this new offense. How quickly can Rogers get adjusted to this new system, that is very different from Mike Leach’s Air Raid that he thrived in?
He’s got big shoes to fill and we’ll see how he’s able to perform.
No. 3: Steve Belichick takes over on defense
Brennan Carroll isn’t the only son of an NFL coaching legend helping the Washington Huskies. Bill Belichick’s son Steve is the new defensive coordinator for the Huskies and we’re going to very quickly find out how his coaching experience can translate from being at the NFL level to leading a college defense. The game is functionally the same, but there are differences still in place.
Plus, we’re going to find out how Belichick does with helping to unite and improve a defense that lost many key contributors from last season. It’ll be fun to keep up with throughout this season.