What to Expect From New UW Football Interior OL Commit Reis Russell

For several months it felt as if Valor Christian High School offensive lineman Reis Russell was already committed to the University of Washington.

On Monday, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Littleton, Colorado native made it official, becoming the 13th verbal commit for the Huskies football program in the 2027 recruiting class and in the process giving offensive line coach Michael Switzer a signature victory on the trail over Georgia, Miami and USC, his three other finalists.

Russell raved about his relationship with the UW assistant coach back in February when he also had Florida, Oregon and SMU among his list of schools along with the Bulldogs and Canes, a sign that it would be hard for the No. 54 ranked interior offensive line prospect in the 2027 cycle by 247Sports to eventually say no to Switzer and choose another school.

Now that Switzer and head coach Jedd Fisch have one of the top versatile guard/center recruits in this year's class the question becomes: how soon will the newest Huskies' prized commit take the field?

The short answer is soon.

Russell is likely to follow the same path that former three-star St. Ignatius College Prep product John Mills did when he arrived at Washington in 2025, who went on to play and start all but two games as a true freshman.

"I think anytime I've talked with Switz we've had a special connection, and I feel like I understand what he's saying, and he understands what I'm saying," Russell said back in February of his relationship with the Huskies OL coach.

"Us having that connection is really important to me. I think that goes a long way as an offensive lineman with your position coach, because you're breaking down things into such little technical things that, I mean, you have to be on the same page with them. And I feel like we really have that, and I feel that connection with him."

When Switzer was promoted to full-time offensive line coach last spring after the departure of offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll, Russell was one of his first targets overall, even though he was two-plus years away from signing his name on the dotted line to play for UW.

With the expected departure of senior starting center Landen Hatchett after this season, Russell projects as an ideal plug-and-play option for Fisch and Co. while still having a pair of second and third-year options to compete with the incoming freshman in Lowen Colman-Brusa and Jake Flores, both of whom took snaps at the position this spring.