Husky Roster Review: All Eyes Were on Alabama Import in Spring

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Jun 6, 2025 11:46 AM ET

For University of Washington spring football practice, Caleb Smith showed up with as much mystique as any early enrolling freshman.

That's because on signing day, Matt Doherty, who carries the title of senior director of player personnel for the Huskies, singled out the 6-foot-5, 265-pound edge rusher from Birmingham, Alabama, for being something different.

While suggesting he didn't want to go overboard on the Southern import, the Husky talent sleuth proceeded to do just that.

"He's just scratching the surface in terms of what he's capable of doing," Doherty said. "I would say of anybody, who I might predict, [and] I don't want to put undue pressure on the kid, his ceiling is extremely high.

"What he did at the high school level was impressive, but it's not anything remotely close to what I think he can become from a physical standpoint."

Through 15 spring practices, Smith showed himself to be bigger than most aspiring edge rushers his age and notably quick coming off the line -- and then he got bogged down some in his introduction to college football.

Yet in going through the countless drills and technique tutorials, Smith offered a glimpse of what he can do in spring practice No. 5, when he backpedaled into the left flat and impressively swatted down a Kai Horton pass.

Linebackers and cornerbacks do that sort of stuff, not guys who line up in the front row.

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 Huskies pulled Smith out of Alabama and Kalen DeBoer's backyard by finding him receptive to their recruiting overtures. They watched a lot of game and camp footage on him. A year ago in spring ball, they got him on campus on an unofficial visit and again in June for an official tour, and closed the deal.

"We made a concentrated effort to dip into the state of Alabama and look for body types, because that part of the country produces a disproportionate amount of long, athletic bodies who wind up being fairly successful contributors on a lot of defensive lines around America," Doherty said. "That sort of search led us to Caleb."

Smith spent most of the spring coming out with the third-team defense, playing with an assortment of linemen, though redshirt freshman defensive tackle and Texas native Omar Khan seemed to be next to him more often than not.

In the Spring Game, however, he took the field to open the second quarter with a group of veterans that included junior edge rusher Isaiah Ward, junior defensive tackle Armon Parker and sophomore down lineman Elinneus Davis.

The Huskies also took a look at Smith in a five-man alignment up front in scrimmage play, putting him at one of the interior positions.

The Alabama newcomer is in development, but he did nothing to discourage the hype around him.

CALEB SMITH FILE

What he's done: Smith helped his Parker High team advance to Alabama's 6A state championship game and finish 13-1. Once committed to Georgia Tech, he was pursued by many others, among them Missouri, Memphis, Oklahoma State and Purdue. He actually signed with the Huskies a month before they hired former Purdue coach Ryan Walters as defensive coordinator, reconnecting those two in Seattle.

Starter or not: Smith was brought to Montlake specifically for that purpose, but he'll have to go through a season or two before he eventually gets there.

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

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