Jedd Fisch and Carver Willis Share Post-Game Moment After Purdue

Seattle—In a quiet but telling scene moments after Washington’s season-ending victory at Purdue, outgoing left tackle Carver Willis and head coach Jedd Fisch met near the 40-yard line, shook hands, and held the clasp long enough for photographers to capture the image. Place-kicker Grady Gross, helmet in hand, stood a few steps away, taking in the exchange that signaled both closure and continuity for a program in transition.

Willis, who started ten games at left tackle in 2025 and missed only three after an MCL sprain against Ohio State, had just finished his Husky career the same way he played it—up front and unfiltered. “You’ve got four starters returning with your No. 6 offensive guy on the O-line,” he told reporters earlier in the week, referencing redshirt freshman guard Champ Taulealea. “What more can you ask for?”

The 6-foot-6, 305-pound senior used Pro Day inside Dempsey Indoor to size up the unit he leaves behind. Junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr., every-game starter and “ridiculous” in Willis’s estimation, will operate behind an experienced front that includes 30-game starter Drew Azzopardi at right tackle, 15-game center Landen Hatchett—still in a protective sleeve after wrist surgery—and Hatchett’s brother Geirean, the only UW lineman to open all 13 contests in 2025. Sophomore left guard John Mills, already drawing All-American buzz, rounds out the group.

“Put a blindfold on and point and pick your favorite player and they’re going to have a great year,” Willis said, laughing that his own ACL remained intact while his MCL did not. “Now if I had torn like my ACL against Ohio State, you would have five-for-five returning.”

The handshake with Fisch, caught beneath the gray West Lafayette sky, served as Willis’s final on-field act in purple and gold. Gross, whose kicking helped secure the road win, lingered nearby, a reminder that while the lineman departs, the Huskies’ core remains stocked for 2026.

Washington, 9-4 on the year, will indeed return “just about everyone” along the offensive front. Willis, meanwhile, will be sending postcards from the NFL, keeping that ACL untouched and the memory of one last handshake firmly in frame.

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