At the Corner of Dixon and Jackson is a Fierce Position Battle

The two defensive backs plus Leroy Bryant are all chasing the same secondary spot.

More positions than not for the University of Washington football team could use another veteran player or two out of the transfer portal, but Husky cornerback is not one of them.

Ten practices into UW spring ball on Tuesday, Arizona transfer Ephesians Prysock and one-time JC transfer Thaddeus Dixon ran as the No. 1 corners throughout the two-and-a-half-hour session in sunny conditions on the East field, offering lockdown ability at times.

There was nothing wrong with that combination at all -- except that returning 15-game starter Elijah Jackson was on the second unit, paired with Leroy Bryant, which means past performance does not give him a pass for retaining his job.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Prysock, an All-Pac-12 honorable-mention selection and a 13-game starter in 2023 in Tucson, is so big and accomplished he's almost certain to be penciled in as a Husky cornerback starter. Yet after him, who knows?

So far, three players have been given plenty of opportunity to line up in the spot opposite Prysock, who has teamed with redshirt freshman Leroy Bryant, Dixon and Jackson.

Lately, the 6-foot-1, 192-pound Dixon, who appeared in 14 games and started against USC last season, is getting his shot. Since arriving for spring football last year, he has never lacked for confidence.

"I feel like I'm the best player in the country," he said. "My head is always going to be big so I can compete at the highest level."

Cornerback play has been so fierce that junior Davon Banks, who had started twice and had success in each of the past two seasons, headed for the portal last week rather than stick around and battle it out.

In the latter half of Tuesday's practice, Dixon showed why he's a serious candidate when he went one-on-one with wide receiver Denzel Boston, a spring standout, in a goal-line passing situation and won that particular battle, knocking the ball away from Boston as they hugged the back end line.

Epheisans Prysock, with Thaddeus Dixons, greets safety Kam Fabiculanan at the beginning of spring ball.

Skylar Lin Visuals

Dixon also has the added advantage, same as Prysock, of knowing new UW cornerbacks coach John Richardson as a recruiter since he was in high school at La Mirada in Los Angeles and later at Long Beach City College.

"It's really competitive," Dixon said. "Coach J Rich asks a lot of us, Just to be able to dial it in every time, and take what he's telling us and being able to put it on the field, it takes great mental discipline."

Elijah Jackson makes game-ending and game-saving play against Texas.

Skylar Lin Visuals

Jackson missed a few spring practices, apparently needing to get his class schedule right if not dealing with some health issue or both, and has had to work his way back up the rotation. He ran with the third set of corners on Saturday before running with the twos on Tuesday.

He's coming off a career moment in the Sugar Bowl, where he preserved a 37-31 victory over Texas with a last-play pass break-up in the end zone. He and linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala are the only returning starters from that game and the national championship matchup against Michigan. He never once thought of entering the portal like so many of his teammates did.

"I didn't pick Washington because of the coaches, I didn't pick Washington because of the name -- I picked Washington because I really found a family here," Jackson said. "I love the culture. I love Washington the place. I love the fans."

Prysock, sort of a reserved personality, was seen talking for the longest time in the middle of Tuesday's practice with coach Jedd Fisch, who brought him from Arizona to Montlake and obviously is a big proponent of the big corner.

Fisch calls him an NFL cornerback and likes to tell how Prysock played injured against Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl in December.

Asked what Fisch said to him to get him to come to the UW, Prysock said there were no promises of starting or anything like that. The message was fairly simple.

"It was I've got to come in and compete," he said. "That's what all those guys are up here for. I'm just competing."

Prysock and a bunch of cornerbacks all can make that claim and it's entertaining to watch.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington