Husky Roster Review: Shaw Showed Up Feisty, Ready to Compete

It didn't take long for nickelback Jordan Shaw to properly introduce himself to his new University of Washington football teammates.

On the second day of spring practice, the Indiana transfer ran alongside wide receiver Jason Robinson Jr. with all eyes on a Matt Rogers pass that fell incomplete. Somewhere in this coverage sequence someone took great exception to something that was done and the two angrily began shoving each other to the ground -- for the first on-field skirmish of the Jedd Fisch era.

A few plays later, since suspended running back Tybo Rogers was casually running through the defense, thinking the play was over, when Shaw came up fast, grabbed him and spun him around, leaving Rogers more than a little surprised by the aggressive move.

For the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Shaw, a redshirt freshman from Downey, California, it was, 'Hi, I'm Jordan and I'm here to play serious football.' "

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.

Indiana transfer Jordan Shaw reaches for a spring practice ball. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Feisty is always good for a Husky defensive back, especially when so many of them were victimized two years ago, getting picked on and beat deep, and wondering when the next one was coming.

Fisch's staff made it a point to bring in confident defenders such as former Arizona starting cornerback Ephesians Prysock and an already Big Ten-seasoned Shaw, with the latter going from Indiana to Arizona briefly before joining the UW.

Shaw recalled how the Huskies offered him a scholarship when he was a sophomore at St. Mattias High School in Southern California and he visited Montlake, so the UW wasn't totally new to him.

Jordan Shaw warms up Indiana last season. | Rich Janzaruk/USA TODAY Sports

He left Indiana after appearing in four of the final five games and starting twice. He exited Bloomington once the school fired coach Tom Allen following a 3-9 season and hired Curt Cignetti from James Madison. Shaw had no connection to the new staff so he moved on.

"I feel like it was good," Shaw said of his time with the Hoosiers. "I felt like going to Indiana really prepared me for college life. Taught me how to like watch film. Wait my turn. Prepare myself. So when opportunity came, I was ready."

Opportunity awaits him at the UW, as well, and he's reaching for it, if not pushing and shoving and spinning people around, too, to get there.

JORDAN SHAW FILE

What he's done: Indiana did the UW a big favor: the Big Ten team was able to play Shaw yet preserve his four years of eligibility by limiting him to four games in 2023. He made his college debut in a 33-24 loss at Penn State and came up with half a sack. He started for the first time the following week in a 20-14 win over Wisconsin and he had a huge game, finishing with 9 tackles and a pass break-up. He started again in a 48-45 overtime loss at Illinois and played in a 24-21 loss to Michigan State.

Starter or not: Shaw spent much of spring ball as the No. 2 nickelback behind junior Dyson McCutcheon, yet those two are not that far apart and no one would be surprised if the Indiana transfer played a lot and even won the job at some point.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

Add us as a preferred source on Google