Before turning the focus to the game with UCLA tonight, we look back on the five key takeaways coming off the win last week over Stanford.

With the Huskies now in conference play, we've lined up a reporter to cover the team and will have more content flowing.

Here's a preview for tonight's matchup:

Right here:

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Washington's success on the recruiting trail after this weekend's game continues. Yuma (Ariz.) Yuma Catholic edge rusher Jaxson Jones has committed to the Huskies after his visit to Seattle over the weekend for the game against Michigan State. Jones, a 6-foot-3 prospect, picked up his offer from UW several months ago and has continued building his relationship with the staff since that point. San Diego State, San Jose State, Colorado State, Fresno State, UNLV and Northern Arizona also offered him.

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The Huskies have added a commitment after Saturday's win over Michigan State. Junior Nevada receiver Landon Bell has picked UW after wrapping up his weekend visit to Seattle. The 6-foot-3 recruit gained a ton of attention earlier in the year as he landed offers from numerous Power Five programs including Michigan State and Colorado. UW offered him late in the spring, and after watching the game on Saturday he decided to pull the trigger.

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Quick story on the news: https://portal.rivals.com/news/washington-lb-jordan-lolohea-to-transfer

Indiana transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr., will be Washington's starting quarterback this season. The fifth-year junior is the most experienced member of the quarterback group, and he had his best season playing under Kalen DeBoer in Bloomington back in 2019. Penix has definitely had a lot of bad luck on the injury front with season-ending injuries in each of the last four seasons. However, when he has been healthy he has been effective.

FIRST TEAM

Offense

Quarterback -- Bryce Young, junior, Alabama

Running backs -- Bijan Robinson, junior, Texas; TreVeyon Henderson, sophomore, Ohio State.

Tackles -- Peter Skoronski, junior, Northwestern; Paris Johnson Jr., junior, Ohio State.

Guards -- Andrew Vorhees, sixth-year, Southern California; Caleb Chandler, sixth-year, Louisville.

Center -- Jarrett Patterson, senior, Notre Dame.

Tight end -- Brock Bowers, sophomore, Georgia.

Wide receivers -- Jordan Addison, junior, Southern California; Jaxon Smith-Njigba, junior, Ohio State; Kayshon Boutte, junior, LSU.

All-purpose player -- Deuce Vaughn, junior, Kansas State.

Kicker -- Jake Moody, senior, Michigan.

Defense

Edge rushers -- Will McDonald IV, senior, Iowa State; Isaiah Foskey, senior, Notre Dame.

Linemen -- Bryan Bresee, junior, Clemson; Jalen Carter, junior, Georgia.

Linebackers -- Will Anderson Jr., junior, Alabama; Noah Sewell, junior, Oregon; Jack Campbell, senior, Iowa.

Cornerbacks -- Kelee Ringo, sophomore, Georgia; Eli Ricks, junior, Alabama.

Safeties -- Jordan Battle, junior, Alabama; Antonio Johnson, junior, Texas A&M.


SECOND TEAM

Offense

Quarterback – C.J. Stroud, junior, Ohio State.

Running backs -- Braelon Allen, sophomore, Wisconsin; Sean Tucker, junior, Syracuse.

Tackles -- Connor Galvin, senior, Baylor; Dawand Jones, senior, Ohio State.

Guards -- O’Cyrus Torrence, senior, Florida; Emil Ekiyor, senior, Alabama.

Center -- John Michael Schmitz, sixth-year, Minnesota.

Tight end -- Michael Mayer, junior, Notre Dame.

Wide receivers -- Xavier Worthy, sophomore, Texas; Josh Downs, junior, North Carolina; A.T. Perry, senior, Wake Forest.

All-purpose player -- Jahmyr Gibbs, junior, Alabama

Kicker -- Harrison Mevis, junior, Missouri

Defense

Edge rushers -- Myles Murphy, junior, Clemson; Nolan Smith, senior, Georgia.

Linemen -- Calijah Kancey, junior, Pittsburgh; Siaki Ika, junior, Baylor.

Linebackers -- Nick Herbig, junior, Wisconsin; Andre Carter II, senior, Army; Edefuan Ulofoshio, senior, Washington.

Cornerbacks -- Cam Smith, junior, South Carolina; Clark Phillips III, junior, Utah.

Safeties -- Brandon Joseph, junior, Notre Dame; Jalen Catalon, junior, Arkansas.

Defensive back -- Jammie Robinson, senior, Florida State.

Punter -- Kyle Ostendorp, junior, Arizona.

A look across the conference at the projected starters by star ranking:

Rivals is going to be ramping up its transfer portal coverage this season, and I am going to be covering all portal activity in the Pac-12. The first story isn't exactly the most newsworthy since Megwa has been off the team since June, but here you go: https://portal.rivals.com/news/transfer-tracker-washington-rb-emeka-megwa-enters-the-portal

The Pac-12 preseason media poll was released Thursday ahead of Pac-12 Media Day on Friday. The Huskies have been picked to finish sixth in the conference by voters as UW garnered 212 points to finish ahead of Washington State. Utah was again picked to win the conference, which will move to a system that rewards the top two finishers with a spot in the conference title game now that there are no longer divisions in the league.

Pac-12 preseason media poll
(first-place votes)

1. Utah (26) - 384 points
2. Oregon (2) - 345
3. USC (5) - 341
4. UCLA - 289
5. Oregon State - 246
6. Washington - 212
7. Washington State - 177
8. Stanford - 159
9. Cal - 154
10. Arizona State - 123
11. Arizona - 86
12. Colorado - 58

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California offensive lineman Kahlee Tafai has announced his commitment to Washington this evening. He took official visits to Oregon State and Arizona in June, but he unofficially visited UW earlier in the year as well. His plan all along has been to use his last official visit on a return trip to UW, but with spots filling up he pushed things forward faster than expected. He is a solid prospect with good size and plenty of room for development. He has mentioned that development is a big part of his process, and he likes what UW is building under the new staff.

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The preseason all-conference selections for the Pac-12 are officially out as the league announced the list, as voted on by conference media members, today. The players to earn recognition from Washington are certainly familiar to those media members who cover the team and fans who watch the games. In all, 11 of the 12 teams had two players represented on the lists while each team had multiple players earn honorable mention recognition.

The Huskies' selections are led by offensive lineman Jaxson Kirkland who was again named a first-team selection. Edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui earned a spot on the second team as a defensive lineman. Meanwhile, WR Jalen McMillan, LB Edefuan Olofoshio, LB Carson Bruener and RB Giles Jackson (all-purpose/special teams) earned honorable mention nods from voters. That means each player earned at least four votes.

We'll have full coverage and video ...

Kalen DeBoer goes at 9:45 a.m. PT with Jaxson Kirkland and Alex Cook as the players representing the Huskies.

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Rashid Williams is no longer the highest-rated commit for Washington in the class after today, but the four-star prospect is still among the most important recruits in the class for the Huskies. The Bay Area star joined UW's class back in May and since then the group has exploded with 14 more commitments since Williams made his decision.

The 6-foot-2 was one of the standout performers at the recent Elite 11 event in Los Angeles, and I caught up with him to discuss his commitment, this thoughts on the class that has been built around him so far plus a lot more. You can watch the full interview above, and that includes some highlights of the future UW receiver in action.

Really nice recruiting class this staff has put together in its first year ... That's 18 total commits, and Reed is the second four-star in the group.

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Big time land for Washington today as the Huskies add their highest-ranked commit in 2023 in Lake Charles (La.) College Prep four-star cornerback Curley Reed. Here is my analysis and take on what he could bring to Seattle:

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Tuesday evening high three-star defensive lineman Elinneus Davis (Moorhead, Minnesota) became Washington's 17th 2023 commitment after picking the Huskies over a final group that included Iowa State and Minnesota. UW was the last school to host him on an official visit last month and that came into play, but it was his bond with Inoke Breckterfield and what he was able to see while in Seattle that sold him on a cross-country move to the PNW. You can read some of his comments on the program at the link up top.

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Colorado and Washington look best right now:

And how they're recruiting so far:

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After his weekend official visit with Washington, Fairfield (Calif.) Rodriguez defensive back Leroy Bryant has committed to the Huskies today giving the program 12 commitments in the last 12 days. He is a versatile prospect who could play different roles in the secondary but is expected to join UW as a cornerback. Oregon, Washington State, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Oregon State were the other Power Five schools to offer the 6-foot prospect.

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