NCAAF News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Newsletter

Power Rankings

Husky Roster Review: For Julian McMahan, Bigger Is Better

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 12:14 PM ET

Someday Julian McMahan will punish people as this oversized and intimidating University of Washington running back.

Run right through them. Put them on their backs. Make them think twice about trying to take him on chest high.

Yet for his first Husky spring football practices, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound freshman from San Ramon, California, often encountered defenders who preferred to outsmart him.

In practice No. 6, Northern Arizona safety transfer Alex McLaughlin, not one to shy away from contact, ran up on McMahan and, like a highly skilled pickpocket, deftly took the ball out of the other guy's hands before he knew what happened and kept on going.

In practice 11, McMahan came through the middle of the line of scrimmage and someone not readily identifiable reached out to poke the ball free, without anyone having to hit the thick, muscular runner to make that happen.

This particular turnover brought the big kid a penalty lap around the East field by himself as everyone continued scrimmaging, yet respect was never far away for him.

As McMahan ran through an end zone, senior linebacker jacob Manu, doing knee rehab exercises, made sure to slap the first-year player's hand as he went by.

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.

The hulking McMahan proved to be a big back the UW simply hasn't had for a while. He's got huge biceps and thick thighs.

He was so unusually big for a Husky ball carrier, the coaches responsible for him were asked whether McMahan might be a little too big.

"No, he's a football player and still growing," UW running-backs coach Scottie Graham said.

"No, no such thing -- not in the Big Ten," Husky head coach Jedd Fisch said.

McMahan had a long run of 15 yards during spring ball. Using his power, he notably broke a Deven Bryant tackle. He caught a bunch of drop-off passes. In what was an imposing sight, he lined up like a wide receiver one time.

All along, he drew attention to himself and seemed to get better at dealing with it.

In practice No. 13, McMahan ran the ball into the end zone on a short touchdown run and he was met, not by UW defenders, but by special-teams coach Chris Petrilli, who's a bit of a wild man and tried to punch the ball out of hands to no avail.

McMahan is an extra big back who the Huskies intend to use to great advantage at some point in the bruising and run-oriented Big Ten. That's a promise.

"We like him big," Fisch reminded. "We want him to be big and strong."

JULIAN MCMAHAN FILE

What he's done: McMahan rushed for 1,436 yards and 20 touchdowns for Monte Vista High School east of San Francisco. He piled up 307 yards in a playoff game. He was a sprinter on the track team. That's a scary combo.

Starter or not: As this unique player, he was a fourth-string back who the Huskies made sure to get a carry or two each scrimmage, but not much more than that. He could be a redshirt. He'll have a chance to be a starter down the line.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

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

More must-reads: