Husky Roster Review: Christian Is Good Fit at Safety for UW

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated May 12, 2025 12:03 PM ET

With University of Washington spring football set to begin, defensive coordinator Ryan Walters suggested everyone was assuming transfers CJ Christian and Alex McLaughlin would waltz right in and claim the two safety jobs, and it wasn't going to happen that way.

Yet when the Huskies took the field for the first practice, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Christian was running with the No. 1 defense, playing alongside holdover Makell Esteen, and he stayed there much of the spring.

Christian, who arrived from Florida International University, might have been the Huskies' best safety throughout the 15 practices. He brought a certain ruggedness to the position as he took a big step up.

"Once all of my coaching staff got fired at FIU, I decided to hit the portal to come play at a bigger place, to play bigger teams, week in and week out," he said.

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

Christian showed off his physicality by coming up and dropping the ample 6-foot-2, 230-pound freshman Julian McMahan for a 1-yard loss.

He showed off his speed by running down Jordan Washington for no gain going around the left end.

In practice No. 12, Christian showed a little ham in him when he dove and intercepted a Kai Horton pass, and jumped up, tossed the ball in the air and acted like a skeet shooter as he took aim.

Later that same day, he came up limping and wasn't able to finish that workout, but he was able to finish the spring strong.

Near the end of the first half of the Spring Game, Christian reached high to intercept a pass intended for wide receiver Audric Harris on his 5 and ran it back 65 yards. He would have scored had running back Jonah Coleman not dove and brought him down with a sweeping arm tackle.

Not much later, his fellow newcomer McLaughlin matched Christian by stealing a Kini McMillan throw on his goal line and running it back 80 yards before he was dragged down by Jordan Washington in near mirror image plays.

When the game was over, Walters was asked about his transfer safeties and their big spring moments, and he noted how far each had come since the beginning of spring ball in picking up his defense.

"We're definitely happy where they're at," the defensive coordinator said, "and where they're headed."

CJ CHRISTIAN FILE

What he's done: Christian is not afraid to stick his nose in there, piling up 151 career tackles for FIU, including 79 this past season, and 10 pass break-ups and 5 interceptions. He does it all while playing in the back row.

Starter or not: He comes to the Huskies after starting 20 of 27 games played over three seasons for the Miami-based Panthers, this after playing a season for Iowa Central Community College. With all of his experience and past productions, it actually would be a surprise if Christian is not in the opening lineup this coming season.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Husky Roster Review: Rashid Williams Ready to Become UW Starter

Husky Roster Review: It's Demond Williams Jr.'s Show

Jedd Fisch Still Has Much to Prove to Outsiders

This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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