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Washington Huskies 4th-Year Safety Earns Weekly Honor
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- Washington Huskies 4th-Year Safety Earns Weekly Honor
(Dylan Widger/Imagn Images)
SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies football team is coming off a 17-10 win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers , which took place Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.
The game was sealed with one minute, 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter. After the Huskies took the lead with a 25-yard touchdown connection with third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and second-year wide receiver Chris Lawson, the Cornhuskers got the ball back needing just a field goal to tie and a touchdown to win.
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Instead, fourth-year safety Alex McLaughlin intercepted a pass and returned it 48 yards to the house, bolstering Washington's lead to 17-7 and putting the game out of reach for Nebraska with little so little time remaining. It was the third interception for the UW defense.
McLaughlin finished his day with nine total tackles (two solo), including a half-tackle for loss and one pass defended to go wit his pick-six.
For his efforts, the fourth-year safety was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
"Alex McLaughlin did an amazing job of finishing the game," UW head coach Jedd Fisch said in a weekly news conference Monday at Husky Stadium. "It's 10-7, (Nebraska has) the ball, they start on the 25-yard line. They don't have to go that far to kick a field goal to tie it. For Alex, on that second play of the drive, not just to intercept it but score and make it 17-7 ... really a great credit (to him)."
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McLaughlin transferred to Washington last season after two years with the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks of the Big Sky, a conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level of college football.
The Chandler, Ariz., native played well in his first year in the Pacific Northwest. He finished 2025 with 94 total tackles (62 solo), including three tackles for loss, two interceptions (one pick-six), eight passes defended and a fumble recovery.
McLaughlin earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection for his junior year performance, and looks on-pace to close out his senior season with first-team honors.
McLaughlin has been more involved in the run game and blitzing the quarterback this season and has been an effective defensive player in multiple facets as a result. Through eight games (all starts) this season, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety has 57 total tackles (31 solo), including seven tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three interceptions (one pick-six), seven passes defended and a forced fumble.
