Alex McLaughlin, UC Davis To Hold Big Sky Reunion

The Big Sky has high-quality football players, no doubt about it. Those teams just don't have nearly enough of them to stand in there and withstand a lot of punishment meted out by a Big Ten opponent.

Or worse case, somebody such as the University of Washington football team has no qualms about coming in and pirating some of this elite talent away from the FCS level.

The Huskies did this three years ago in welcoming UC Davis cornerback Jordan Perryman to Montlake.

They stepped up the personnel procurement last year by adding Sacramento State safety Cam Broussard and edge rusher Deshawn Lynch, and Montana State defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez to the roster, all decorated players of some sort.

And the UW has done it once more with former Northern Arizona strong safety Alex McLaughlin changing schools and making his way into the lineup in Montlake.

When Jedd Fisch's team hosts UC Davis on Saturday night, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior defensive back from Chandler, Arizona, will be there to hold a Big Sky reunion, starting in the Husky secondary for the second time.

"He's very active, can run and hit," Fisch said of McLaughlin. "He likes to throw his body around in there, which is great."

Ah, but UC Davis knows all about Alex McLaughlin.

Alex McLaughlin transferred from Northern Arizona to the UW. | SI

Two years ago, he helped Northern Arizona dish out a 38-21beating at home to the Aggies from the greater Sacramento, California, area.

With his team leading 3-0, McLaughlin intercepted a UC Davis pass near the end of the first quarter and returned it 57 yards to the Aggies' 8-yard line.

Two plays later, NAU had its first touchdown on the way to a decisive victory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

After twice earning All-Big Sky recognition, McLaughlin entered the transfer portal and joined the UW, having twice played against Fisch's Arizona teams and lost by 35 and 12 points. He has two seasons to play in Seattle.

"When the season ended, I just felt it was time for me to take the next step," McLaughlin said of his time in the Big Sky. "I just felt I proved myself at that level and I was ready to compete at this stage."

Alex McLaughlin moves through a spring drill meant to simulate interceptions. | Skylar Lin Visuals

In his Husky debut against Colorado State, the safety finished with 8 tackles, an alert nine-yard tackle for loss on a reverse play and a pass break-up.

"For a first game showing up, in a Big Ten uniform, I thought he responded really well," Fisch said.

Always the aggressive one, McLaughlin was flagged for a face-mask penalty in the opener, but he'll be forgiven for that.

UC Davis will get reacquainted with this former conference rival, no doubt glad he's moved on from the Big Sky, though not quite far enough away.

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