5 UW Players Making Spring Moves for Fall Playing Time

Spring football is the best place to make a move up the University of Washington football depth chart.

Fifteen practices are set aside for everyone to show off their winter weight gains, to pull the warning labels off their youthful inexperience, to simply audition for regular work n Montlake.

Some guys don't realize it, but there are only small windows made available in their careers to show the coaching staff that they're better than the others think, that they have hidden talent, that they deserve to be on the field come game day.

Reaching the halfway point of spring ball -- through seven practices, with one of the remaining ones merely a walk-through for the Spring Game -- the following are five players who have helped greatly themselves so far in the quest for meaningful playing time.

Rahim Wright II is getting long looks at No.1 safety this spring. | Dave Sizer photo

RAHIM WRIGHT II, S

He missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, but the well-regarded Wright has run at safety with the No. 1 defense much of the spring after projected starter Rylon Dillard-Allen went out early with an injury.

Not only is the 5-foot-10, 195-pound sophomore from Fontana, California, making up for lost time, he's put himself in position to challenge Dillard-Allen for the starting job in fall camp. Wright has appeared in just one UW game so far, the 2024 season opener against Weber State. He's not that far behind, though.

“He sat in a lot of the meetings that we had last year, so he didn’t miss a ton from a meeting and schematic standpoint,” safeties coach Taylor Mays said. “The kid is athletic, he’s physical, he’s got a great frame, and he’s a great kid. It’s not a lot more that you could ask for, from a coach’s perspective.”

Redshirt freshman cornerback Elias Johnson makes a 2025 Spring Game interception. | Skylar Lin Visuals

ELIAS JOHNSON, CB

Entering his third season in the program, this 6-foot-2, 179-pound sophomore cornerback from Portland has stood out among the non-starters by making big play after big play in his pass overage, and occasionally getting beat. Boom or bust. Over three practices, Johnson provided 5 pass break-ups to have everyone's attention.

He likely isn't going to unseat returning sophomore starter Dylan Robinson or Virginia transfer Manny Karnley as a starting corner, but he's putting himself in the conversation to play next fall. Johnson's past experience involves three UW games in 2025 of mop-up duty.

Ball State transfer Darin Conley keeps getting No. 1 snaps at defensive tackle, rewarded for getting upfield. | Dave Sizer photo

DARIN CONLEY, DT

This defensive tackle might have been the least heralded of the three transfers brought in at this position, with Kai McClendon arriving from the SEC and Mississippi State and DeSean Watts showing up as an All-Big Sky selection from Sacramento State, but Conley seems to have made the most progress so far.

"Obviously, we brought him in for a reason and that's to compete for a starting job," defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said.

At 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, the junior from Kansas City showed up considerably heavier than he was at Ball State, where he was a 12-game starter last season.

Demonstrating ample strength and power to jam up holes, he's run with the No. 1 defense at times.

Baron Naone played nearly a dozen plays against Illinois. | Dave Sizer photo

BARON NAONE, TE

The Huskies seemingly have a lot of capable tight ends among the seven scholarship players at that position, but Naone has been a steady No. 2 participant this spring behind returning starter Decker DeGraaf.

As a freshman in 2025, the 6-foot-4, 263-pound Naone from the Portland suburbs was physical enough to play in seven UW games. Now it's time to show he can catch the ball, too.

RAMONZ ADAMS JR., NB

With Rahshawn Clark out for the spring following shoulder surgery, Adams has handled the No. 1 nickelback duties in his absence and put himself in good position to challenge for the position in fall camp.

The 6-foot, 176-pound Adams, a redshirt freshman from Smithville, Texas, is a very confident and vocal player. He has four games of UW experience from mop-up roles in his first season.

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