Washington Huskies’ Leroy Bryant to enter transfer portal

Leroy Bryant certainly made the final appearance of his University of Washington football career a memorable one. 

After initially winning a starting role during fall camp, the third-year sophomore defensive back struggled in coverage early in the season and eventually lost his spot. But during UW’s 38-10 rout of Boise State in the LA Bowl on Saturday night, Bryant registered the first interception of his career. 

Three minutes later, Bryant did it again.

Bryant, a 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back, announced on social media Monday that he intends to enter the transfer portal when it opens Jan. 2. He’s the fifth Husky who plans to depart, joining sophomore wide receiver Audric Harris, sophomore linebacker Deven Bryant, fifth-year defensive back Dyson McCutcheon and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Davit Boyajyan. 

Leroy Bryant, a former standout at Angelo Rodriguez High School in Fairfield, Calif., finishes his UW tenure with 26 games played including six starts. He had 26 tackles (including 0.5 for a loss), two interceptions and two pass breakups for the Huskies. He has two years of eligibility remaining. 

Bryant joined UW before the 2023 season after signing for then-coach Kalen DeBoer. He played seven games as a true freshman but maintained his redshirt because three of his appearances were during UW’s run to the College Football Playoff Championship Game. Bryant played in six games last year during current coach Jedd Fisch’s first season, primarily on special teams, and made his first career start during the 2024 Sun Bowl against Louisville. 

Bryant enjoyed a strong 2025 fall camp and won the job at nickel despite being a late entrant into the competition. But he endured a difficult start to the season. 

Against Washington State in the Apple Cup, Bryant allowed seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown while starting outside in place of senior cornerback Tacario Davis, according to Pro Football Focus. Bryant returned to the slot during UW’s next game against No. 2 Ohio State but allowed five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown, and he missed two tackles. He made two more starts, against Maryland and Rutgers, before losing the starting nickel role to redshirt freshman Rahshawn Clark. 

Bryant finished the season with 18 tackles, and primarily played on special teams during the second half of the season. 

He was facing an uphill battle to start in 2026. Despite starting cornerbacks Davis and Ephesians Prysock exhausting their eligibility and McCutcheon’s decision to transfer, Bryant was clearly behind Clark for the starting nickel role. 

True freshman Dylan Robinson, who substituted in for Bryant during the Apple Cup, will be expected to take one of the starting outside cornerback jobs in 2026 after playing heavily in 2025. UW also has a host of young cornerbacks behind him, including redshirt freshman Elias Johnson and true freshmen D’Aryhian Clemons and Ramonz Adams Jr. 

Additionally, UW signed four cornerbacks as part of its vaunted 2026 class — most notably Jeron Jones from Mission Viejo High in Southern California, Rahsjon Duncan out of McClymonds High in Oakland, Calif., and Mount Tahoma High’s Elijah Durr. 

Jones and Duncan, whose position coach at McClymonds is former Husky cornerback Marcus Peters, are ranked as four-star prospects by 247Sports composite ratings. Durr was named the 2025 Gatorade Football Player of the Year in Washington after guiding Mount Tahoma to the Class 3A state championship game, where it lost to O’Dea.