How Huskies' Class of 2025 Freshmen Fared This Past Season

It's been five weeks since the LA Bowl, and it's time to take stock of the 27 University of Washington scholarship freshmen football players from the Class of 2025 who since have turned into sophomores and redshirt freshmen on the roster.
A few of them, considering the nature of college football these days, turned into ex-Huskies.
Of those 27 newcomers, 21 received game snaps this past season, with six appearing only in the LA Bowl against Boise State.
Nine freshmen pulled so many game appearances, they didn't redshirt and will be designated as sophomores going forward.
Six of them became Husky starters, with offensive lineman John Mills opening 11 games at two different positions and wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck pulling 10 game-opening assignments.

Six UW freshmen left the program after one season, with wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright transferring to Arizona State, wide receiver Marcus Harris moving to UCLA and defensive tackle Caleb Smith turning up with Alabama, and the other waiting to be called.
The 6-foot-6, 342-pound Mills by far was the most impactful freshman, turning up on at least four Freshman All-American teams.
He opened at two different positions, left guard and right tackle.
Only a high-ankle sprain prevented him from playing in two midseason games.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Roebuck finished as the Huskies' second-leading receiver by hauling in 42 receptions for 560 yards and 7 touchdowns, and similarly picked up a Freshman All-American reward.
Offensive guard Champ Taulealea appeared in five games and still met the qualifications to preserve his redshirt status because the LA Bowl didn't count against the game four-game limit.

Cornerback Ramonz Adams Jr. was the only other player who appeared in as many as four games, which included the LA Bowl, and kept his redshirt.
Quarterbacks Kini McMillan and Dash Beierly made their Husky debuts by alternating and each handing off the ball a few times on the final series of the LA Bowl.
Of the six freshmen who didn't play, we're still waiting to see what running back Julian McMahan, edge rusher Victor Sanchez, linebacker Donovan Robinson and offensive lineman Lowen Colman-Brusa can do, while defensive tackle Dominic Macon and the aforementioned Smith will debut as college players elsewhere.
As UW coach Jedd Fisch said all along, he's not afraid to play freshmen right away. He proved that point by using 77.7 percent of his 2025 class in real time this past season, and coming away from that first season with a 77.7 percent roster retention rate.
CLASS OF 2025 | HOW THEY DID |
|---|---|
1. John Mills, OG | Played and started 11 games at left guard and right tackle and named Freshman All-American |
2. Dezmen Roebuck, WR | Started 10 of 13 games and caught 42 passes for 560 yards and TD, and was named Freshman All-American |
3. Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, LB | Started 2 of 8 games played and had 21 tackles, interception and sack |
4. Rylon Dillard-Allen, S | Started 3 of 13 games, had 40 tackles and named Freshman All-American |
5. Dylan Robinson, CB | Started 5 of 12 games played and had 16 tackles and sack |
6. Raiden Vines-Bright, WR | Started 7 of 12 games played, caught 24 passes for 238 yards and TD, and transferred to Arizona State |
7. Devin Hyde, ER | Played as reserve in all 13 games and had a sack |
8. Baron Naone, TE | Played in 7 games, including LA Bowl |
9. Chris Lawson, WR | Played in 8 games and had 10 catches for 115 yards |
10. Champ Taulealea, OG | Played 4 regular-season games plus LA Bowl and redshirted |
11. Jack Shaffer, OT | Played against UCLA and redshirted |
12. Austin Simmons, TE | Played in 3 games, including LA Bowl, and redshirted |
13. Marcus Harris, WR | Played in LA Bowl, redshirted and transferred to UCLA |
14. Quaid Carr, RB | Played in 2 games, including LA Bowl, rushed 4 times for 14 yards and redshirted |
15. Ramonz Adams Jr., CB | Played in 4 games, including LA Bowl, and redshirted |
16. Kini McMillan, QB | Played in LA Bowl and redshirted |
17. D'Aryhian Clemons, CB | Played in 2 games, including LA Bowl, and redshirted |
18. Dash Beierly, QB | Played in LA Bowl and redshirted |
19. Jake Flores, OT | Played in LA Bowl and redshirted |
20. Caleb Smith, DT | Didn't play in any games, redshirted and transferred to Alabama |
21. Donovan Robinson, LB | Didn't play in any games and redshirted |
22. Deji Ajose, WR | Played in LA Bowl and redshirted |
23. Julian McMahan, RB | Didn't play in any games and redshirted |
24. Jonathan Epperson Jr., LB | Played in LA Bowl, redshirted and entered transfer portal |
25. Victor Sanchez-Hernandez, ER | Didn't play in any games and redshirted |
26. Lowen Colman-Brusa, OG | Didn't play in any games and redshirted |
27. Dominic Macon, DT | Didn't play in any games, redshirted and entered the transfer portal |
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Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.