Watts Is Latest UW Find From First-Team All-Big Sky Treasure Chest

The defensive tackle is another highly decorated player from that league to end up in Montlake.

DeSean Watts was a first-team All-Big Sky selection last fall at Sacramento State. | Sacramento State

At the beginning of spring practice, University of Washington football players arrive in clusters, with the noise level on the East practice field turning into a gradual murmur as more and more guys plop down and begin stretching.

Except when defensive tackle DeSean Watts joins this group, the volume suddenly ratchets up to a solid din, to the point people turn and look in his direction.

What they see is this extremely compact and thick 6-foot, 313-pound newcomer, a live-wire personality trading quips, fist-bumping and hugging others as he joins in.

Watts, a Sacramento State transfer, is the life of the spring football party these days in Montlake, most welcome for his enthusiastic ways.

"His energy is infectious," defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said. "If you come and see practice, you know he's out there."

Watts was brought in to help shore up the Huskies' defensive front, one of three players culled from the transfer portal for this responsibility.

If he had three or four more inches of height, this Fresno, California, native would have started out at a place such as USC or UCLA. Instead, he went to Fresno CC and Sacramento State initially to make things happen with what the talents he was born with.

"What he lacks in size, he makes up for in strength," Walters said.

Watts also is part of an annual trendy talent grab for the Huskies, who regularly reach into the Big Sky and pull out a first-team, all-conference player who's interested in seeing his skills carry over at a higher level of football.

It's been a great source for immediate help.

Over the past five years, the Huskies, beginning with Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff, have combed a league that winds through the West across California and from Missoula, Montana, to Flagstaff, Arizona, for a personnel boost and ended up with five first-team All-Big Sky players.

Cam Broussard shared in the Huskies' 26-21 victory over Michigan. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Watts may or may not earn a starting job, but he is certain to draw a lot of snaps while rotating in and out to spell returning starter Elinneus Davis and more than likely highly regarded freshman Derek Colman-Brusa.

He played in all 12 games for a 7-5 Sacramento State team, starting 11 times, and finished with 36 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks, in earning 2025 first-team All-Big Sky recognition.

Alex McLaughlin brings down Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer. | Dave Sizer photo

A year ago, the Huskies welcomed safety Alex McLaughlin, a 2024 first-team All-Big Sky player for Northern Arizona. He had 96 tackles, including 7 TFLS and 5.5 sacks, plus a pair of interceptions and 6 pass break-ups. He was a second-team, all-conferece pick as a freshman in 2023.

McLaughlin was a steal if not a home run for the UW by starting all 13 games last season, leading the team in tackles with 93, scoring twice on interception and fumble returns, and receiving All-Big Ten honorable-mention attention.

Sacramento State previously supplied the Huskies with a 2023 first-team All-Big Sky selection in Cameron Broussard, a safety who came to the Huskies and started seven games a year later.

From Montana State, the UW added 6-foot-4, 305-pound defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez, who was a first-team All-Big Sky choice in 2022 and a second-team All-Big Sky pick in 2023, regressing slightly in his greatness. He became a 13-game starter for the Huskies in 2024.

Sebastian Valdez has started all seven games at UW defensive tackle. | Skylar Lin Visuals

The first player in this recent string of highly decorated imports was UC Davis cornerback Jordan Perryman, who was a 2021 first-team All-Big Sky selection. He started 10 games for DeBoer's 2022 Huskies team in and around injuries.

There have been other Big Sky players, though with less conference plaudits, who have ended up at the UW, as well.

Jordan Perryman takes aim at WSU's Nakia Watson (25) in the 2022 Apple Cup. | James Snook-Imagn Images

They currently include linebacker Xe'ree Alexander from Idaho by way of UCF; edge rusher Logan George from Idaho State by way of Ohio State, kicker Hunter McKee from Eastern Washington and punter Hunter Green from Northern Colorado by way of San Diego State.

For the Huskies, the Big Sky is a big deal.