Four Husky Freshmen Out to Become Instant Starters

Every once in a while, a freshman shows up at the University of Washington ready to play football and become a starter the moment he runs out of the tunnel.

This season, there might be as many as four.

Six practices into 28 for fall camp, there's no hiding the fact that players such as Rylon Dillard-Allen, John Mills, Dezmen Roebuck and Raiden Vines-Bright are supremely gifted and hardly awed by the sights and sounds of Montlake.

One sign that a player has arrived is when his coach starts speaking about him in a quaint manner such as how Jedd Fisch now refers to Mills, the 6-foot-6, 330-pound freshman offensive guard from San Francisco.

"Millsie keeps getting better," Fisch said earlier this week, putting his stamp of approval on a young lineman seemingly as talented as any who have joined the program over the past decade.

John Mills and Jack Shaffer leave the practice field. | Dan Raley

Mills has been alternating more and more at No. 1 left guard in scrimmage plays with redshirt freshman Paki Finau, himself a highly regarded player in his own right though a year older.

"Guys will tell you if you ask them what's the essential thing of the program, they'll all say the same thing -- it's competition, and it's not changing," Fisch said.

Unlike most young offensive linemen, Mills showed up big enough and strong enough to play right away.

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— Coach Roebuck (@RoebuckCoach) August 6, 2025

Wide receiver has become the most competitive position area on the team with two of the three starting jobs opening up following last season and freshmen Chris Lawson and Marcus Harris playing impressively during spring ball but slowed by injuries so far this fall.

That's provided openings for two more first-year players in the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Roebuck and the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Vines-Bright to seriously audition for those spots, though it likely will be just one that's available for the season opener.

In the end, junior Denzel Boston will be medically cleared and likely paired with sophomore Rashid Williams as the certain starters.

Raiden Vines-Bright comes down with an acrobatic touchdown catch in the Spring Game. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Vines-Bright was the standout of the Husky Spring Game by catching 8 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown in the early May event. He's been no less impressive during the fall workouts. He's more physically advanced than most freshmen pass-catchers with the weight he carries.

Roebuck, Arizona's all-time leading high school receiver with 352 receptions, likewise has caught everything thrown at him during UW practices. He's been making acrobatic grabs since the first fall workout.

Both Vines-Bright and Roebuck have been given plenty of opportunities to run with the No. 1 offense.

Dezmen Roebuck makes an acrobatic catch. | UW

That leaves the player nicknamed "Batman" to challenge for the safety spot opposite Northern Arizona transfer Alex McLaughlin.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Dillard-Allen had everyone's attention in the Spring Game when had a pick-6, returning an interception 30 yards to the end zone.

The Huskies' Caped Crusader has been extra aggressive this fall, throwing players down when all he had to do was wrap up on a tackle. He also got into a fairly involved fight with junior receiver Kevin Green Jr., someone he had previously tossed down.

Similar to the other precocious first-year players, Dillard-Allen acts as if he belongs in the starting lineup, that it's not up for debate.

"He's very excited," Fisch said, "that he's going to make a big impact early."

Consider the Huskies have brought in 28 freshmen and the most touted one of the entire bunch, linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, hasn't even practiced yet while he recovers from offseason knee surgery.

When healthy, it probably won't take him long to convince others he needs to play, too.

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