Inside The Huskies

Will Nixon Turns Up at Syracuse, Where His Father Coaches

The running back spent two seasons at the UW after two at Nebraska.

Dan Raley

Will Nixon (8) scores on a 5-yard touchdown run against Arizona and Jedd Fisch in 2023 in Tucson.
Will Nixon (8) scores on a 5-yard touchdown run against Arizona and Jedd Fisch in 2023 in Tucson. / Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports

Will Nixon had a body of work he readily could have showed Jedd Fisch's new University of Washington coaching staff.

In last season's UW-Arizona game, the 5-foot-11, 202-pound running back broke through the Wildcats' line and scored on a 5-yard run late in the first half, giving the Huskies a 21-7 lead in a game they would win 31-24 in Tucson.

Nixon, however, left the program even before spring football practice began and introductions could be made, apparently not seeing a good fit for him in Fisch's offense. His alternative seemed like a natural destination all along.

On Friday, Nixon revealed he will transfer to Syracuse, where his father, Jeff Nixon, is the new offensive coordinator and running-backs coach. That should alleviate having to prove himself to another coaching staff.

While his son was in Montlake, the elder Nixon spent the previous two seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants as the assistant head coach on offense and the running-backs coach, respectively.

Will Nixon was one of former Husky coach Kalen DeBoer's creative portal-transfer pick-ups, coming to the UW as a rusher after spending two seasons at Nebraska as a wide receiver.

He truly was a coach's kid, meticulously preparing himself for his role by steadily improving his blocking ability and becoming a disciplined runner in Ryan Grubb's offense. The staff used him a lot because he didn't make mistakes.

Nixon appeared in 26 games for the Huskies, including all 15 last season, starting against Tulsa when Dillon Johnson was injured. He rushed 54 times for 290 yards and 3 scores and caught 20 passes for 150 yards in two seasons.

In that Arizona game nine months ago, Nixon ran the ball just twice, spelling Johnson, who led all rushers with 16 carries for 91 yards and a pair of TD runs. Conversely, the Huskies' new No. 1 back, Jonah Coleman, rushed 12 times for 44 yards and no scores for the Wildcats.

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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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