Freshman safety shines at Washington football's spring game

During the Washington Huskies' spring game, freshman safety Gavin Day had by far his best day to cap off his first college football camp.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound product of Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, who was ranked as the No. 80 overall prospect and No. 7 safety in the 2026 class by 247Sports, was everywhere inside Husky Stadium on Friday night, showing off the athleticism, passion, and hard-hitting ability that made him such a coveted recruit.

After what seemed like a feeling-out process over the first few weeks of camp, while he got comfortable playing at a heavier weight, things really seemed to click for Day over the last few weeks of camp after he was thrust into a larger role when senior CJ Christian went down with a torn Achilles.

Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has never been shy about playing freshmen, and Day's performance on Friday suggests he could be in line to make his way into the rotation this fall.

"I think today was just a good representation of his improvement throughout the course of spring," Walters said on Friday. "He just put on, I want to say, like 15-20 pounds since he's been here. So physically, he just looks more mature in a short amount of time. You saw today what we saw on tape in high school.

"His abilities to run the alley and be physical in the run game. He's also got really good range for a safety his size; he'll be able to get sideline to sideline. So, really looking forward to his accelerated improvement in his career at UW."

With three months before the start of fall camp, if Day can continue adding weight and get more comfortable in the defense, he could wind up as an important contributor behind projected starters Alex McLaughlin and Rylon Dillard-Allen.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Freshman safety shines at Washington Huskies spring game