Skip to main content
Inside The Huskies

Three New Faces to Love in 2023

Who are some new (and not so new) faces fans will fall in love with this fall?
Roman Tomashoff|
Three New Faces to Love in 2023
Three New Faces to Love in 2023

In this story:

Washington Huskies

It's Valentine's Day and love is in the air! After Kalen DeBoer and his staff found their way into the hearts of Husky fans in 2022, who's next on the list? And for the record, no, this article will not include any more references to Valentine's Day, it just felt like a decent theme for this...

Maurice Heims

Let's start with the one player on the list who was on the roster in 2022. Heims, who will be going into his redshirt sophomore season, seems ready to explode onto the scene in his third year on campus. He has a deep stable of talented rushers in front of him, led by Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui.

If he can display that he's taken a step forward as a run defender, he'll find himself used heavily in the defensive line rotation, and could even end up as the starter opposite Trice. When he arrived on campus, Heims was oozing with potential and athleticism, and after two years, he's ready to unleash himself on the Pac-12.

Dillon Johnson

Although it was a long road to keep the Mississippi State transfer committed to Washington, he ended up signing with the Huskies. Now, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has his bell-cow running back.

Johnson brings a true three-down back to Montlake, and an elite receiving threat out of the backfield. Over his three years in the SEC, he totaled 2,062 yards and 12 touchdowns, and in Grubb's system, he could easily have a 1,000+ scrimmage-yard season.

Jabbar Muhammad

Washington's defense is in desperate need of a top-tier, shutdown cornerback. Enter Oklahoma State transfer Jabbar Muhammad, who was rated as the best defensive back available in the transfer portal by Pro Football Focus. 

If Muhammad can live up to the billing, he's going to level up the Husky defense. With the top-tier pass rush returning, his job is going to be very simple. He's probably going to see a lot of man coverage matchups against the other team's top receiver, and if he can win the matchup for the first three seconds after the snap, Muhammad will endear himself to fans rather quickly.

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com or https://www.facebook.com/dan.raley.12

Follow Roman Tomashoff of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @rtomashoff34 or @UWFanNation

Have a question? Message me on Twitter!

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Roman Tomashoff
ROMAN TOMASHOFF

I've followed the Huskies for my entire life, and to be in a position where I get to cover them full-time is nothing short of an honor. After graduating from Lasell University in 2019, I moved to Seattle to pursue my dream of working in sports media. While writing for the Husky Haul, I also covered local sports for the Everett Daily Herald before the COVID-19 pandemic. After being hired by Realdawg.com in February of 2021, I also transitioned into doing a lot of entertainment writing, as I work on a variety of magazines as a contributing writer for Centennial Media, and have also contributed to Emmy Magazine, as well as Walt Disney Television Studios. 

Share on XFollow RTomashoff34
Home/Football