Heading into the 2026 season, the Washington Huskies have a lot of talent on the roster, but it's also one of the youngest in the Big Ten.
According to Rotowire, Jedd Fisch's team is the third-youngest in the conference, with an average age of 20.04 years old, ahead of only Ohio State and USC. However, while the Huskies have to replace key contributors at key positions, namely running back Jonah Coleman and wide receiver Denzel Boston, asking young players to contribute right away has been a big part of the head coach's program-building strategy.
Big Ten FB Average Roster Age in 2026 from oldest to Youngest, according to Rotowire pic.twitter.com/WWLVhUR0Ns
— Jon “JR” Rhoades (@jrs_rankings) July 24, 2026
It paid off in 2025 with a trio of Freshman All-Americans in offensive lineman John Mills,
safety Rylon Dillard-Allen, and wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck, and Fisch is aiming for his 2026 class to have a similar impact at several key positions.
During spring practice, the coaching staff thrust several freshmen into starting or rotational roles on the depth chart, headlined by former five-star Kodi Greene, who took every rep with the first team at left tackle.
"We've got an elite left tackle coming in as a true freshman, that I have every expectation will be our starter," Fisch said in April.
Defensive linemen Derek Colman-Brusa, Ramzak Fruean, and TI Umu-Cais, along with wide receivers Jordan Clay and Trez Davis, and defensive backs Gavin Day and Jeron Jones also saw a significant amount of run during spring practice, but the youth on Washington's roster extends far beyond the 2026 class.
The Huskies are also expecting several members of the 2025 class, including linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, cornerback Dylan Robinson, offensive lineman Champ Taulealea, running back Quaid Carr, wide receiver Chris Lawson, and tight end Baron Naone, to step into much larger, or full-time starting roles this fall. While there are still plenty of questions to be answered, Fisch has built a young, talented roster with plenty of upside heading into his third season.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington football has one of the Big Ten's youngest rosters in 2026
