Husky Roster Review: Peyton Waters Dives Right In at UW

The bar has been placed high for safety Peyton Waters, one of 10 University of Washington freshmen who enrolled early, joined in 15 spring football practices and appeared to handle himself well.

While one day the 6-foot-1, 171-pound newcomer was making a perfect break to intercept a Will Rogers pass near the goal line and on another coming up fast to aggressively drop receiver Giles Jackson on a flat pass, Jedd Fisch's coaches say they want more out of this Southern California import -- a lot more.

"I've been impressed by him," UW safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri said, "but I'm not satisfied with where he's at right now."

The Huskies expect him to be one of the best players on the team when the time is right, to make things happen on defense. In other words, they want him playing in uncharted Waters.

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

Peyton Waters (22) listens to safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri offer practice insights. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Waters certainly brings the right mindset to playing football. He seems to understand that greatness awaits if he takes the proper approach.

"Just try everything," he told the Los Angeles Times before heading off to college. "If you really want something, you’ll put in your time, energy, effort, money and blood, and people will invest in you.”

Simply by pulling on a purple shirt and walking out on the practice field, Waters gave off a vibe that he was different.

He wears No. 22, which was the jersey pulled by the great Trent McDuffie as a UW defensive centerpiece. McDuffie wore it while he became a freshman starter for Chris Petersen's last Husky team in 2019 and again when he became a first-team All-Pac-12 selection as a junior and eventually the 21st player taken overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he still had it on while winning a pair of Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs in two years in the league.

The Huskies started out Waters with the third unit this spring before primarily sending him out with the No. 2 defense. He went through the typical learning curve that comes with young players, but didn't seem intimidated or error-prone while getting indoctrinated in Montlake.

"You know, Peyton's learning .every single day as a true freshman," said Sunseri, a former Alabama and NFL safety, during spring ball. "For a guy who should be in high school, he has a great opportunity to learn. You learn from good reps and you learn from bad reps. As long as you continue to progress and you stack day after day, like Peyton is doing, you continue to get better and that's what he's doing right now."

Throughout this process, he'll be out to make himself a finished product as quickly as possible.

Peyton Waters goes helmet to helmet with a fellow Husky. | Skylar Lin Visuals

PEYTON WATERS FILE

What he's done: For Birmingham High, northwest of Los Angeles, he was a safety, a wide receiver who caught 17 touchdown passes last season, an occasional Wildcat runner and even a punter. He originally signed with Kalen DeBoer's staff, entered the transfer portal when DeBoer left and was coaxed back to the UW when Fisch and his coaches were hired.

Starter or not: At some point for the UW, Waters will become a starter, but he'll likely spend his first season getting acquainted with the college game and eased into outings on Saturdays. By 2025, he should be well into the mix when first-teamers are selected.

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