Kalen DeBoer details how Washington will carry identity to Big Ten next season

The end of the college football season is right around the corner, with the national championship game between future Big Ten combatants, the Michigan Wolverines, and Washington Huskies, set to kick off on Monday, January 8 at 6:30 p.m. CT.

On Saturday, ahead of the highly anticipated matchup between the undefeated programs, members of the media got their chance to talk to players and coaches about the national championship game. Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer had the challenge of answering the question of how he will carry the identity of this Huskies team into the Big Ten next season.

“I think it’s just always challenging ourselves to be our best. And our coaching staff will continue to evaluate the recruiting areas and things like that,” said DeBoer. “We’ll also be West Coast-based with our footprint, but there’s other opportunities that may come about. We have a lot of connections with our coaching staff, having a lot of Midwest and Big Ten former coaches on it already. And so we have a lot of confidence.”

The West Coast, California in particular, has been a hotbed for college football when it comes to some of the elite-level skill players, especially when it comes to high school recruiting. However, the NCAA transfer portal is proving pivotal in today’s game. And DeBoer and his coaching staff have done an excellent job at procuring talent from all over the United States using it, which is why the Huskies headman believes his program will be just fine in their new Big Ten home.

“I think our players will have a lot of confidence in that. But we’re always going to challenge ourselves to be our best. And it isn’t just about the Big Ten; it’s about the evolution of your team and college football and trying to do what you need to do to beat the people at the top of the mountain and competing with them,” said DeBoer.

DeBoer has an opportunity to showcase precisely what his Washington program is bringing to the Big Ten conference next season against the conference’s top team over the past three seasons.

Should the Huskies not only beat the Wolverines on Monday but do so in a convincing fashion, they will likely put the old guard of the conference on notice and signify that there will be a new top dog in the Big Ten in 2024.