Ranking the 10 Best Players on the UW Football Team

The Huskies had leaders stepping forward in spring ball.

Denzel Boston hauls in a spring pass. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Offering an overly impressive display of talent, the University of Washington football program had 10 players drafted by the NFL, including three first-rounders, which involved a pair of top 10 selections, plus it had five more guys who signed as free agents.

Former Husky coaches Chris Petersen, Jimmy Lake and Kalen DeBoer were responsible for these guys coming to Montlake and they can all take a bow.

Now what?

A recent way too early top 50 draft prospects for 2025 by Pro Football Focus shows zero Huskies singled out, which shouldn't surprise too many people at this point. They have only senior linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala and junior cornerback Elijah Jackson as returning UW starters, let alone as established pro football prospects.

Yet there is plenty of talent at the UW -- it just hasn't been discovered yet.

This is similar to a year ago when almost no one understood Rome Odunze ultimately would become the No. 9 player drafted overall and considered the first- or second-best receiver in the nation and Troy Fautanu would go at the No. 20 pick on the first day and be designated by some as the first guard coming off the board.

Having looked over the talent collected, inherited, molded and envisioned by new UW coach Jedd Fisch during the recently completed 15 spring practices, here's one man's opinion of the Huskies' top 10 players for next season, ranked in order of their overall football talent.

HUSKY TOP 10 TALENT

1. Denzel Boston, WR -- No one was better over Husky spring practice at any position than the 6-foot-4, 207-pound Boston, who dropped just one scrimmage pass, and it was a shock when that happened. Everyone had fairly mundane stats n the purposely shortened 48-minute, running-clock spring game with the exception of Boston, who caught 7 balls for 127 yards and a touchdown. He's got size, speed and more muscle, aiming for 215 pounds. He's just a sophomore in class standing and should have a very big year.

2. Ephesians Prysock, CB -- Often paired against Boston this spring, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound junior alternately won and lost battles. Expect the Arizona transfer and returning All-Pac-12 honorable-mention selection to be an even better player because of this ongoing, high-level competition with the No. 1 UW receiver. Pryscok is a tough guy who played hurt in the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma, forever earning the respect of Fisch, who already calls him an NFL player. The pros love a guy with length and attitude who can run.

3. Zach Durfee, ER -- An NCAA edict since overturned and a spring elbow injury have prevented this 6-foot-5, 255-pound junior from really showcasing his talents for the Huskies, However, DeBoer's coaching staff couldn't hide its eagerness to cut him loose in a game, describing Durfee as the fastest, strongest and most athletic edge rusher among a UW group last season that included recent third-round NFL pick Bralen Trice and one-time first-team All-Pac-12 pick Zion Tupuola-Fetui. When healthy, Fisch's staff immediately put him out there with the No. 1 defense. Durfee should be good, if not great, when given a full opportunity to play for the UW.

4. Jonah Coleman, RB -- The 5-foot-9, 225-pound Coleman could use a veteran Husky offensive line as much as anyone.. He's a very physical back with speed, but didn't really break any long runs during spring ball because there weren't many holes to navigate. In the spring game, the Arizona transfer rushed for just 18 yards on four carries., but caught a pair of passes for 42 yards. Coleman is still the guy who ran for 179 yards against Colorado and 143 against USC. On Saturday, the junior running back said he wasn't worried, that a reliable O-line would be put together and productive enough in time.

Landen Hatchett, rehabbing from a knee injury, still found time to snap the ball to the Husky quarterbacks. / Skylar Lin Visuals

5. Landen Hatchett, C -- If he wasn't dressed in shorts and a T-shirt every day, and didn't leave his helmet in the locker room, people might have thought Hatchett was fully engaged in spring ball. rather than diligently rehabbing a December knee injury. He hiked the football to all of the quarterbacks. He took handoffs from them and ran the ball in certain non-contact drills. He made the practice rounds and talked to just about everyone like a veteran. When healthy and involved, the 6-foot-2, 310-pounder will be a team leader with the possibility of becoming an honors candidate. He played in nine games as a freshman in 2023. He wants to be great.

6. Jeremiah Hunter, WR -- The Huskies made him work with the second unit for the longest time this spring before elevating him, explaining he first needed to learn the nuances of a pro-style offense, which was the main reason for him transferring from California to the UW. Whether running with the No. 1 or 2 offense, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Hunter showed himself to be a physical and aggressive wide receiver. He had 3 receptions for 16 yards and a score in the spring game. In his Cal career, he caught 143 balls for 2,056 yards and 13 TDs, including one of the latter at Husky Stadium. He should have big numbers again this season.

Carson Bruener hauls down Michigan tight end Colston Loveland in the naitonal championship game. / Thomas Shea/USA TODAY Sports

7. Carson Bruener, LB -- After two seasons of coming off the bench for DeBoer's coaching staff, and still receiving All-Pac-12 honorable-mention honors this past season, Bruener seems determined to show everyone he deserved better, that he's an NFL player in the making. He's listed at 6-foot-2 and 226 pounds, but appears much heavier than that. He still covers a lot of ground and is a player who's put together four games of 14 to 16 tackles in his Husky career. He's taken even more of an active leadership role for this UW team. He's the son of a 14-year NFL vet who seems motivated to have a long pro career himself.

8. Drew Azzopardi, OT -- The Husky offensive line went from star power in multiple positions last season to starting over with all new faces. At 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds, the San Diego State transfer is extremely fit and agile for an offensive lineman. When he was in the portal, others thought so highly of him that Azzopardi chose from among Arizona, Washington, UCLA and Tennessee. Still just a sophomore, he and Hatchett currently are the UW O-line building blocks and it will be interesting to see which three players join them as starters.

9. Alphonzo Tuputala, LB -- The UW's most veteran player, he brings a team-high 27 starts in 40 UW appearances into the coming season. Whereas he and Bruener were stacked at one linebacker spot last season, they'll play side by side on the No. 1 offense this season, giving the Huskies two physical and experienced players to hold the defense together. Tuputala, whose 4 tackles tied for the spring game lead, is a tough guy who won't be out of position on the field. He also will look to see if he can complete a pick-6 this season after intercepting a Utah pass last November and going 76 yards with it only to drop the ball one yard short of scoring. He has come back for a sixth UW season to become an NFL player.

Grady Gross gets a few pointers in UW spring ball. / Skylar Lin Visuals

10. Grady Gross, PK -- The one-time walk-on turned scholarship player, Gross has become a highly reliable kicker for the Huskies. They fully expect him to make it every time. He wasn't bad in 2023 by converting 18 of 22 field-goal attempts and all 63 of his extra-point kicks. This past Saturday, he made 33- and 42-yard field goals in the spring game, and he also was working on his distance, coming up about two yards in sending a 63-yard yard attempt through the uprights in the pregame.

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