Huskies Pull Wraps Off New 'Turnover Needle'

While the Seattle Mariners have their "Home Run Trident," the University of Washington football team across town now has its "Turnover Needle," unveiling it this past weekend during the Apple Cup against Washington State.

Come up with an interception or a fumble recovery, and the Huskies deflate a football on the sideline while impaling it atop a miniature Space Needle and they stack them during the game.

On Saturday morning, the day before the season opener, UW coach Jedd Fisch showed off this customized prop to his players for the first time and got the reaction he was looking for from them.

"The defensive boys loved it and it was fun to watch them with the Needle," he said.

With an attacking defense, the Huskies fully expect to pile up an excessive amount of turnovers this season and want to celebrate them one by one.

Against the Cougars, they came up with a pair interceptions from nickelback Jeron Jones and safety Alex McLaughlin, plus a fumble recovery from edge rusher Isaiah Ward to get the ceremony rolling.

I’m sorry, does Washington have a Turnover Space Needle? pic.twitter.com/vfxwEDxoe2
— AZ Band Cat Sports (@AZBandCatSports) September 6, 2026

Syndric Steptoe, Fisch's senior director of player engagement, presented the idea to connect the team takeaways to something with a Northwest theme to it, according to the Husky head coach.

At Arizona, where Fisch and Steptoe previously worked together, they rolled out a "Turnover Sword," which sounded a little ominous in concept.

Steptoe, 41, is a former Arizona wide receiver and a kick returner who played briefly in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns and later in the CFL and UFL.

He had his moments in Husky Stadium, as well.

In 2004, he caught a 50-yard touchdown pass against the UW in the Wildcats' 23-13 victory at Husky Stadium and returned three kickoffs for 86 yards.

Alex McLaughlin holds up the UW's Space Needle turnover prop. | Dave Sizer photo

Now one of Steptoe's jobs is to make sure these UW players are celebrating rather than suffering from his game-day actions.

The Huskies have a definitive plan for how many footballs are going to lose all of their air each week and look like road kill in the bench area.

"Our rule is I tell our guys we better have five ready every week," Fisch said of the guinea pig footballs. "If we get to six, we'll figure it out. But we better have five ready."

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