Washington added a major piece to the puzzle for 2025 with the commitment of Sacramento State transfer defensive lineman DeSean Watts. Recent court cases have made determining eligibility difficult but Watts should have at least two seasons remaining.
Watts originally graduated from Clovis West HS in Clovis, CA after starting his HS career at Bullard HS in Fresno, CA. He had 3 sacks as a senior but received no major college offers and wound up at Fresno City College. In his 2nd season at the JUCO level (after a redshirt), Watts ended up with 8.5 TFLs and 5 sacks to move up to FCS with Sacramento State.
Watts ended up being named first-team all-Big Sky starting 11 games at 6’2, 318 lb and finishing with the highest PFF run grade among DTs in the FCS and 3rd highest overall grade. He wasn’t exactly a dominant pass rusher (you can’t have it all) but still finished with a 9% pressure rate which is generally quite good for a nose tackle. Washington’s leader in that regard was the departing Bryce Butler at 7.5% (obviously different levels of competition).
The Huskies had a dire need for help on the interior of their defensive line. Major rotation pieces Anterio Thompson and Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei were both one and done transfers (so was lesser used Simote Pepa) while Bryce Butler entered the transfer portal. Those players were 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th in UW’s DT rotation from last season. The Huskies added a few freshmen who could potentially play early but it was clear that at least one if not two starter-level players were needed for UW to compete for a CFP berth.
Watts has a good chance to be one of those pieces. The Huskies received a breakout season from former Sacramento State transfer Deshawn Lynch on the edge this past year (also departing) and he never had a season while in the FCS nearly as highly rated as what Watts just did. It’s too early to immediately write Watts in as the starter alongside Elinneus Davis but it would be surprising not to see him play a significant number of snaps if healthy.
This is the 3rd incoming player through the portal announced publicly so far in addition to OL Kolt Dieterich from Sam Houston State and P Hunter Green from San Diego State.