Washington Huskies Tight End in Preseason Consideration For Award

· Yahoo Sports

The Washington Huskies football team could end the season with a healthy amount of hardware, both as a team and individually.

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The Huskies were ranked 19th in USA Today's preseason coaches poll and 26th on ESPN's Football Power Index. On the Big Ten preseason media poll, Washington was predicted to finish seventh in the 18-team conference.

This would place the Huskies meet or exceed these predictions, it would place them right in the thick of contention for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff as an at-large bid. Assuming the team doesn't win the conference outright and earns the autobid.

There's also expectations from within the team. Coaches and players have expressed their belief that the defense could be a top five unit in the country.

In addition to the team expectations, several individual players as well as head coach Jedd Fisch have been featured on preseason watchlists.

Fisch was identified as a candidate for the Dodd Trophy, third-year quarterback Demond Williams made the preseason watchlist for the Maxwell Award.

Fifth-year linebacker Jacob Manu and fourth-year center Landen Hatchett were also named to watchlists for the Campbell Award and the Rimington Trophy, respectively.

On Saturday, Washington had another player named to a preseason watchlist. Third-year tight end Decker DeGraaf was named as a potential candidate to win the Mackey Award.

The John Mackey Award, established in 2000, is given to the best tight end in the country. The Huskies have one former player, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, to have won the award (2013).

The 6-foot-4, 249-pound tight end began his collegiate career in Fisch's first as head coach on the Pacific Northwest.

Last year, DeGraaf took a step forward as the primary tight end for Williams, and looks to continue that trend this season.

Last year, DeGraaf played in all 13 games for Washington, started 11, and reeled in 32 passes for 360 yards and two touchdowns.

DeGraaf is set to take a step forward as a receiving target in 2026. The Huskies are still working through who their starting outside receivers will be. Last year's leading receiver, Denzel Boston, was selected in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.

Several of the candidates to potentially fill Boston's spot in the starting lineup missed time during spring practice.

As a result, Williams often targeted the two players he was familiar with: second-year starting slot receiver Dezmen Roebuck and DeGraaf.

With an extra year of familiarity between the two under their belt, DeGraaf could end up being one of the most trusted targets for Williams.

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