What to know about Washington's 2025 recruiting class

The Huskies' head coach and director of player personnel filled us in.

SEATTLE — Washington’s 2025 recruiting class has me thinking about the group Jedd Fisch signed three years ago.

Fisch’s first full class as coach at Arizona, in 2022, ranked No. 22 nationally despite the Wildcats’ 1-11 record in 2021. The class wound up the foundation of Arizona’s rise under Fisch, and looks even better in hindsight than it did when those players signed (and that’s in spite of Arizona’s nosedive this season). Quarterback Noah Fifita, receiver Tetairoa McMillan, linebacker Jacob Manu, cornerback Tacario Davis and offensive linemen Jonah Savaiinaea and Wendell Moe became key players for the Wildcats. Tailback Jonah Coleman, cornerback Ephesians Prysock, edge rushers Isaiah Ward and Russell Davis II and receiver Kevin Green Jr. eventually followed Fisch and his staff to Washington.

The Huskies signed 29 players to financial-aid agreements on Wednesday: 17 on offense, 11 on defense and one mysterious Australian punter. They signed 10 players in the trenches — six on the o-line, two interior d-linemen and two edge rushers — and added a fifth receiver to the class, former Oklahoma commitment Marcus Harris, on Wednesday morning. That’s in addition to two quarterbacks, two tailbacks, two tight ends, two (or three) linebackers and four (or five) defensive backs.

Maybe the addition of Harris, a four-star prospect from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, lessens the sting of losing four-star tight end Vander Ploog to Oregon. Maybe flipping three-star offensive lineman John Mills from Texas helps make up for the loss of four-star offensive lineman Zac Stauscasky to the Ducks. Maybe it doesn’t. I’m not here to tell you how to feel.

Regardless, it’s a huge class, especially for a program like Washington that, as Fisch reiterated Wednesday, is committed to remaining at 85 scholarships even as the House settlement raises the limit to 105. And it’s a group ranked No. 22 nationally by the 247Sports Composite, just like Fisch’s first class at Arizona (though the coach was sure to note that ESPN ranked UW’s class 18th). Eight of UW’s 29 signees are four-star prospects, per the composite rankings.

While UW fans would likely prefer the class not fracture after two college seasons due to a coaching change, they surely wouldn’t mind if this collection of talent is some day remembered similarly to Fisch’s first, foundational class at Arizona, at least in the sense that it provided the firepower necessary for program ascension.

Even if it’s not any kind of barometer within UW’s football offices.