Donovan Robinson Jr. will be the next man up if the Washington Huskies football has to go deeper in the linebacker room.
SEATTLE — The injuries have continued to pile up this season for the Washington Huskies football team, and those issues were exacerbated in the team’s 41-24 loss against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Oct. 9.
In addition to third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. going down with an injury and likely out for Friday’s game against the Purdue Boilermakers, fourth-year linebacker Xe’ree Alexander suffered a high ankle sprain and will likely be out an extended period of time.
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Alexander has been a consistent and important member of the UW linebacker room, which has four players, including him, capable of starting and has been arguably the best position room on the team this season. The other three “starters” include fifth-year linebacker Jacob Manu, fifth-year Buddah Al-Uqdah and second-year Zaydrius Rainey-Sale.
With Alexander’s absence, there could be an opportunity for second-year linebacker Donovan Robinson Jr. could see more snaps on the defense.
Robinson was one of the team’s better performers in offseason practice. He saw many reps due to Manu and Al-Uqdah missing various practices while recovering from injuries.
Robinson was a three-star recruit in the Class of 2025 and was outside of the top 2025, per the 247Sports composite. He redshirted his freshman season in 2025.
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This year, with all four linebackers healthy before the Iowa game, he’s been limited to special team duties. He’s appeared in all six games this season on that role and has recorded three total tackles.
“Having the luxury of Buddah and Manu and Zaydrius all still healthy is a positive,” UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said in a weekly news conference Tuesday. “Donovan’s done a great job in his growth and is improving. He’s made a ton of plays on special teams and he continues to get better defensively. If his number’s called, I got full faith, full confidence, and so does the defense, in him.”
If Robinson does get extended snaps, he would become the latest underclassmen among many that have received extended playing time this season. Several freshmen, including defensive linemen Derek Colman-Brusa, edge rusher Ramzak Fruean, offensive lineman Kodi Greene and cornerback Jeron Jones have started this year. Second-year cornerback Dylan Robinson is in his first full year as a starter.
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“(Alexander) going down, it’s really unfortunate,” Al-Uqdah said in a weekly news conference Tuesday. “I think the mentality has been ‘next man up’ mentality. Although we don’t want that to happen, we don’t want that happening, we got to continue to keep going and get prepared for the following week. I think Donovan — definitely a guy I see stepping up. Every day he’s been getting better. He’s shown explosiveness and flashes of what he could do. I think if the opportunity comes for him, he’ll be ready.”