Jedd Fisch Plays Strict Numbers Game With Huskies

The UW football coach didn't like what he saw with one of his tight ends.

As Jedd Fisch wandered through the opening University of Washington spring football practice last Wednesday, looking over his assembled Husky manpower, he saw something that annoyed him.

To most coaches, this sort of thing was a non issue, but not to Fisch. He made sure his people knew mid-workout he wasn't pleased by the situation.

"We have a tight end wearing 91 -- that's ridiculous," the coach said.

That was not the end of it either.

By the next day, the player in question, John Frazier, a 6-foot-6, 244-pound junior and a walk-on from Mountain View, California, had traded in jersey No. 91 for 89 as he ran through the tight-end drills in Husky Stadium.

For the time being, Frazier was the only player on the field with a nameless jersey, wearing one that was blank on the back of his shirt so sudden was the switch that didn't permit the equipment guys enough time to sew something on it.

College football often is not overly restrictive over who wears what number, especially the higher ones, because teams such as the UW carry 120-player rosters and find it difficult to match everyone with digits that normally correspond to their positions.

For that matter, 22 numbers currently are shared by Huskies on offense and defense, though they can't be on the field at the same time.

Frazier joined the UW football program shortly after Kalen DeBoer took over as coach and had worn No. 91 for two seasons. He has yet to appear in a Husky game. No one before seemed too bothered by his jersey choice.

The non-scholarship tight end now wears No. 89, which belonged to freshman Keith Reynolds in 2023 and was sort of an obscure digit for a scholarship wide receiver. Reynolds, in the offseason, claimed No. 15, which became available when fellow freshman receiver Taeshaun Lyons transferred to Utah.

DeBoer clearly was a detail guy, but apparently not as fastidious as Fisch when it comes to appearances. For the latter coach, it might be the NFL background in him, where numbers must be worn appropriately at all times.

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