Inside The Huskies

Huskies Could Feel Compelled to Find Portal Running Back

Adam Mohammed's departure made physicality an issue in the UW backfield.
Dan Raley|
Jordan Washington looks for room to run against Boise State in the LA Bowl.
Jordan Washington looks for room to run against Boise State in the LA Bowl. | Dave Sizer photo

The logic was the University of Washington football team would make it a top transfer portal priority to secure the services of a veteran defensive tackle, considering the state of the position following graduation losses, an early departure and lingering injuries.

Once the LA Bowl was over, however, Adam Mohammed's unexpected exit might have shifted the emphasis to finding a veteran running back.

The Huskies appear to have plenty of speed in sophomore Jordan Washington, redshirt freshman Quaid Carr and and incoming freshman Brian Bonner, and noted physicality in redshirt freshman Julian McMahan and another freshman in Ansu Sanoe.

Yet after losing its 1-2 rushers from last season in Jonah Coleman and Mohammed, Jedd Fisch's staff might pursue a veteran running back with enough size to carry the ball 20 times or more against Indiana or Penn State on a frigid night in Montlake and take a Big Ten pounding.

Washington, as in the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Jordan, who felt compelled this week to publicly disclose his UW return for 2026, had the longest scoring run of any Husky running back this past season, going 68 yards against Purdue.

Yet six is the most Husky game carries he's been given to date, turning that workload into 33 yards gained against UC Davis.

While Washington's speed meshes well with that of Husky quarterback Demond Williams Jr., can he take hit after hit?

Brian Bonner and Scottie Graham shared a recruiting image from the running back's Montlake visit.
Brian Bonner and Scottie Graham shared a recruiting image from the running back's Montlake visit. | UW

Bonner, the highest-rated UW running back recruit in the modern era, brings a 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame and comes off a 113-carry, 1,051-yard, 15-touchdown senior for Valencia High School in Southern California.

"A really good running back is what he reminds me of," Fisch said of Bonner. "He has elite speed."

Still, both Coleman and Mohammed were 220-pound backs capable of dishing out as much punishment as they took.

Perusing a list of top 20 transfer portal backs supplied by Saturday Blitz, Mohammed turns up No. 4 on it with his perceived talent level. He had 108- and 105-yard rushing outputs against UCLA and Oregon, in two of of his final three UW appearances to bring attentionto himself.

The top backs listed alongside him, such as North Texas' Caleb Hawkins or North Carolina State's Hollywood Smothers, most likely are too expensive considering the bidding war they presumably will invite.

Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards had a 166-yard rushing game against UCF in 2025.
Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards had a 166-yard rushing game against UCF in 2025. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Yet two backs singled out had significant interactions with the Huskies during their recruitment, though with different coaching staffs: Kansas State's Dylan Edwards and Florida State's Gavin Sawchuk.

Kalen DeBoer's UW staff made a serious run at Edwards, a Kansas native and an explosive ball carrier yet just 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds in stature and limited to four games in 2025 by injuries.

He had a 166-yard rushing game aginst UCF last fall. He ran behind the blocking of UW portal pick-up Carver Willis in 2023. He has two seasons remaining.

Florida State running back Gavin Sawchuk runs for a touchdown against East Texas A&M.
Florida State running back Gavin Sawchuk runs for a touchdown against East Texas A&M. | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

The 5-foot-11, 202-pound Sawchuk from Littletown, Colorado, was pursued aggressively by Jimmy Lake's Husky staff before choosing Oklahoma and then transferring to Florida State.

He comes off a 486-yard, 8-TD season for the Seminoles. He has one season of eligibility left.

A new Husky defensive tackle might have to wait.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

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.

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