Why was Kalen DeBoer hired at Alabama to step into the shoes of the legendary Nick Saban? The answer is pretty clear. Not only did he take Huskies from a 4-8 finish to 10 wins in just one season. But he also went to the national championship final in his second season. While the team might have lost to Michigan, the optimism and momentum remain. Then came the shock. His decision to go to Alabama brought havoc to the Huskies. As the Seattle Times’ Mike Vorel wrote, “He built a house and then left it to be looted.” And now the Huskies, under their new head coach Jedd Fisch, are reeling with the aftershocks of that tremor.

One would expect a program to finish at least with a winning season after coming from a national championship final, right? But for Huskies! Another reality surfaced as they lost six games in the season and went 0-5 in road games outside of Seattle. To put their woes into context? The offense stood 99th nationally in points per game, and the defense? It wasn’t spectacular in the 2023 season either, went 59th nationally, conceding 384.2 yards per game. Naturally, seeing these woes, one of the fans pointed a prompt question at Greg McElroy.

“Are the Huskies doomed for the mid-level Big 10 life for the foreseeable future?” the fan asked McElroy on his 17th June podcast episode of ‘ESPN College Football’. As for McElroy, he dismissed the speculation and pointed to other teams that struggled after the departure of their head coaches. These included Michigan, Arizona, and even Alabama, where Kalen DeBoer finally landed and couldn’t quite replicate the Bama Standard.

“Michigan last year, Washington last year, Arizona last year. Look at those three teams and how they underperformed, and if you want to include Alabama in that conversation? Alabama won nine games, which would be considered by many to be a disappointing season for the Crimson Tide. Those teams that lost head coaches late in the process, there was a little of a trickle-down effect, and as a result, their rosters just lacked continuity, and in some cases, they lacked great depth,” said McElroy. His assessment fits the Huskies’ situation perfectly.

The exit of Kalen DeBoer saw several top talents opting to transfer in that 30-day window and thus made things more tricky for Jeff Fisch. For instance, their two critical DBs, Mishael Powell and Jabbar Muhammad, went to Miami and Oregon, respectively, and their top OL Parker Brailsford followed DeBoer to Alabama. But their major loss was in the QB room.

Losing Michael Penix Jr. to the NFL draft was another big blow, and Rogers, who came from Mississippi State, couldn’t quite provide the production that the team required. But for the 2025 season, McElroy seems hopeful and even said, “I think this is a team that can absolutely get back now.” And the guy’s right, things are changing for good this year for the Huskies!!

The secret weapon for Jedd Fisch comes with high expectations

This year, Jedd Fisch has assembled a 25th-ranked class nationally. The prospects in this class include Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, the 5th-ranked LB in the country; Dylan Robinson, the talented four-star safety; and a whopping 17 transfers to bring the quality back. The transfers also have talented players. These are cornerback Tacario Davis from Arizona, Alex McLaughlin from Northern Arizona at the safety position, and Omari Evans, the talented wide receiver from Penn State. But Fisch’s main weapon will still be his highly touted QB, Demond Williams Jr.

“I couldn’t be luckier to have a chance to coach him. He came with us, and we’re going to do everything we can to get him to New York City one day,” said Jedd Fisch about Demond Williams’ talent. Even Josh Pate was riding high on Demond Williams’ bogey. “Demond Williams at Washington. Like, I’m very, very high on him. Extremely high on him. I’m high on Washington as a team and what they’re capable of doing from a scaling-up standpoint this year.”

So, this year, with talented players coming in and Demond Williams behind the center, the Huskies can finally make a comeback with at least 8 wins, right? As for Demond’s experience? The player last year acted as a backup behind Will Rogers. Also, he managed to accumulate 944 yards in the 105 passes he attempted, completing a whopping 82. That’s quality right there! So, his coming as the starter, the expectations truly become quite high with the Huskies.