Inside The Huskies

Huskies Turn To the MAC for Defensive-Line Help

Darin Conley comes to the UW after three seasons at Ball State.
Dan Raley|
Defensive tackle Darin Conley will transfer from Ball State to the UW.
Defensive tackle Darin Conley will transfer from Ball State to the UW. | Ball State

Until Demond Williams Jr. fled the scene, finding a defensive tackle or two was the University of Washington transfer portal priority.

While they have pivoted their full attention to finding a new starting quarterback, the Huskies appear to have defensive-line reinforcements in place, with the school on Wednesday announcing the signing of Darin Conley, formerly of Ball State, a day after ex-Sacramento State defender DeSean Watts revealed he was coming to Montlake.

Conley is a 6-foot-3, 284-pound junior from Kansas City who's coming off his first season as a starter for a 4-8 team in the Mid-American Conference.

In 24 games for the Cardinals, he finished with 44 tackles, including 7.5 for loss and 3.5 sacks, plus a pass break-up and a blocked kick. He redshirted his first season in 2023.

Darin Conley answers questions at MAC media day.
Darin Conley answers questions at MAC media day. | Ball State

At first glance, Conley seems a little undersized compared to most of the players the UW have used recently in that role, with most of them topping 300 pounds. The other newcomer, Watts, goes 6-foot-2 and 318 pounds.

The Huskies can only hope Conley will be as stout inside as another MAC player they utilized this past season in 6-foot-4, 310-pound Anterio Thompson, who came from Western Michigan and will enter the NFL Draft after a lone year at the UW.

As a high school player at the Pembroke School, Conley was used as a defensive end, tight end and running back, so he's athletic enough.

By adding Conley and Watts to the mix, the Huskies will enter spring football with 6-foot-3, 317-pound Elinneus Davis as a returning 19-game starter and a whole host of players trying to open alongside him.

Crucial to the UW at this position will be the improved health of the Parker twins, Jayvon and Armon, after both had season-ending injuries to close out 2025.

The 6-foot-3, 330-pound Jayvon Parker, out with Achilles and knee injuries for nearly a season and a half, has appeared in 26 games and is fully capable of handling a lead role.

This past season was a near total bust for him in terms of availability. He appeared in only a half-dozen plays at Michigan, his home state, lining up alongside his brother for the first time as a college football player.

The 6-foot-3, 320-pound Armon, after injuries prevented him from playing for three seasons, finally got healthy enough to appear in eight games only get injured again. He had 8 tackles this fall, 3 coming against Rutgers.

Others in the mix will be sophomore Omar Khan and redshirt freshmen Caleb Smith and Dominic Macon, none of whom have played in a UW game yet.

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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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