Arizona transfer OL Michael Watkins commits to Washington
Former Arizona interior offensive lineman Michael Watkins has committed to Washington, via the NCAA Transfer Portal. Watkins is a member of the Class of 2024 but opted to enter the transfer portal when former Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch left to take over at Washington.
Now, Watkins will follow Fisch to Seattle. He is the 15th player Washington has added in the transfer portal this offseason, earning the program the No. 43 spot in On3’s Transfer Portal Team Rankings.
Michael Watkins played high school football at Apollo High in Glendale, AZ, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 1,612 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
While Washington has added no shortage of fresh faces via the portal, it’s also lost its fair share of talent. When former head coach Kalen DeBoer accepted Alabama’s offer to replace Nick Saban, Washington saw a mass exodus of players. In total, Washington has lost 22 players to the transfer portal.
Jedd Fisch reveals his plans at Washington
Newly-hired Washington head coach Jedd Fisch knows he has a tall task ahead of him.
“We know it’s gonna be a completely different team in 2024 than what the community saw in 2023,” Fisch said. “What we have to do is, we don’t just recruit for one year, we recruit for the eternity of college football.
“We’re gonna recruit for a program that we’re gonna go out here tomorrow or the next day and we’re gonna build a ’25 class to try to make it the best possible recruiting class it can possibly be.”
It’ll be difficult for Fisch to repeat DeBoer’s success. This past season, DeBoer led the Huskies to its second-ever College Football Playoff appearance and first appearance in the national championship. Fisch isn’t afraid of the challenge.
“What it comes down to is we want to maniacally recruit daily for as long as we are here, and we are gonna recruit the ’25 class, the ’26 class, the 27′ class, the 28′ class and continue to try to build a roster that we can all be very proud of.”
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.
The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.