ESPN ranks Washington Huskies' offseason as subpar

While coach Jedd Fisch appears very confident in the Washington Huskies' offseason, some outside observers at ESPN are not.

While ranking the offseason for every Power 4 program, ESPN's Eli Lederman, Max Olson, and Adam Rittenberg placed the Huskies as the No. 12 team in the Big Ten. While the loss of NFL talents like wide receiver Denzel Boston, running back Jonah Coleman, and cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock are significant blows, ESPN also focused on UW's exits in the transfer portal.

"Washington still must replace running back Adam Mohammed, who could have stepped in for Coleman but transferred to Cal," the article reads. "Other key portal exits include starting linebacker Deven Bryant, who transferred to USC, offensive linemen Paki Finau (BYU) and Zachary Henning (Arizona), and talented young receiver Raiden Vines-Bright, who landed at Arizona State."

While the loss of Mohammed was significant, and Vines-Bright would have certainly been in the mix in the rotation out wide after starting 11 games as a true freshman, Finau and Henning transferred to their respective Big 12 programs for an opportunity to earn starting jobs. After Bryant earned a starting job at the beginning of the year, he had taken a backseat to the trio of Xe'ree Alexander and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, while Jacob Manu mixed in since he only played in four games while preserving his eligibility.

As for the positives, the Huskies were able to hold on to quarterback Demond Williams Jr. after his brief flirtation with the transfer portal, and did an impressive job retaining top talent like its trio of Freshman All-Americans: safety Rylon Dillard-Allen, offensive lineman John Mills, and wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck.