How the Husky Starting Wide Receivers Might Shake Out

Every college football wide receiver in America who saw what University of Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. did in the Sun Bowl probably took a moment to envision himself in Giles Jackson's shoes, or hands -- catching four touchdown passes from the freshman in a single afternoon against Louisville.

With Williams' overly accurate touch, the Huskies shouldn't have any trouble putting together a fleet of wide receivers to complement him.

On Thursday night, they began the process of replacing four scholarship receivers, including two starters, who either graduated or transferred out by gaining a portal commitment from former Penn State pass-catcher Omari Evans, who reportedly visited Montlake at mid-week.

While the UW might yet add another veteran receiver, the 6-foot, 189-pound Evans will come in as a potential starter, though he drew just six game-opening assignments in 38 games for the Nittany Lions.

Denzel Boston warms up before the UW-Oregon game in Eugene. | Skylar Lin Visuals

He has the experience of catching a 38-yard touchdown pass against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl and CFP playoffs,, which gave Penn State a two-score lead in what became a 31-14 Nittany Lions' victory on New Year's Eve -- hours after Williams had delivered those four TD throws to Jackson in the Sun Bowl against Louisville in a 35-34 defeat.

With Jeremiah Hunter and Jackson out of eligibility, and Jason Robinson Jr. and Keith Reynolds transferring to North Carolina and Miami of Ohio, respectively, and Evans now on board, here's what the UW's starting receiver corps might look like if the Colorado State season opener was played this weekend rather than at the end of August.

The starters: Denzel Boston, Rashid Williams and Evans.

The back-ups: Audric Harris, Kevin Green Jr. and maybe one of two freshmen in Marcus Harris or Chris Lawson.

As a sophomore and a 13-game starter, the 6-foot-4, 209-pound Boston solidified himself as one of the Big Ten's top receivers with 63 catches for 834 yards and 9 touchdowns -- with his scores ranking him sixth, his receptions eighth and his yards10th in the conference.

As a 6-foot-1, 181-pound sophomore who appeared in all 13 games, Williams always has been considered a potential starter and he offered glimpses of what he could do this past fall with 11 catches for 138 yards and a lone TD catch coming against Iowa.

The UW's Rashid Williams is heavily covered while he goes up for a pass at Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Evans, whose first name is Donovan but goes by his middle name, finished with 21 catches for 415 yards and 5 scores while appearing in all 16 Penn State games and starting six, including four of the last seven.

Among the others trying to move up, the 6-foot, 189-pound Harris played in eight UW games and caught 2 passes for 17 yards as a true freshman.

Arizona wide receiver Kevin Green gets up field against UCLA with a reception. | Zachary BonDurant-Imagn Images

An Arizona transfer, the 5-foot-11, 155-pound Green most likely would have played a lot for the Huskies last season as a sophomore had he not suffered a knee injury in an August scrimmage, missed the entire season and took a medical redshirt. In 2023 for Fisch's Wildcats, he played in 11 games, started twice and caught 8 passes for 97 yards.

From there it's all freshman and second-year players who have no college stats, with the UW encouraging any of the newcomers or inactive players to step up and earn playing time. After all, they a quarterback who can put the ball in the end zone.

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