Given A Chance To Run, Bonner Got Tested In Husky Spring Ball
Given A Chance To Run, Bonner Got Tested In Husky Spring Ball
UW Roster Review: The highly regarded freshman back from California was fully initiated.Dan Raley|
While everyone seemed respectful enough in the Montlake interactions between ball carriers and tacklers this past spring, one had to wonder if veteran University of Washington football players weren't bent on testing freshman running back Brian Bonner Jr. just a little more to see if he could take it.
After all, here was one of the most heralded runners to come to the UW in terms of recruiting hype. Bonner was someone rated right up there with Napoleon Kaufman, similarly pulled out of Southern California with a lot of fanfare and who was someone who would become the Huskies' all-time leading rusher temporarily and an NFL player.
A 4-star recruit, the 5-foot-11, 196-pound Bonner began auditioning right away. He seemed to glide when he carried the football. He also got dropped behind the line more than anyone else after taking an April handoff.
Even in the controlled contact atmosphere in place, Husky defenders seemed to relish getting extra physical with him.
They brought him down no fewer than six times for lost yardage throughout spring football, with defensive tackles Elinneus Davis, Darin Conley and Omar Khan, plus edge rusher Isaiah Ward and linebacker Xe'ree Alexander, each getting their hands on him for a tackle for loss, with Davis doing it twice.
"He's adjusting," UW running-backs coach Scottie Graham advised. "He's 17 years old. It's going fast."
This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.
With projected running back starter Jordan Washington suffering a spring-ending neck injury, and transfers Jayden Limar and Trey Cooley each recovering from surgery, Bonner got thrust into action in a meaningful way for all 15 practices.
He ran the ball an unofficial 32 times compared to redshirt freshman speedster Quaid Carr, who had a spring-best 57 carries, and fellow freshman Ansu Sanoe, the 6-foot-2, 241-pounder who packed the ball 39 times.
"The young guys got more reps than they ever normally would have gotten if this was just traditional spring football," UW coach Jedd Fisch said of his two freshmen.
While Bonner was duly initiated, he occasionally got loose for a 21-yard run here and a couple of 15-yard swing passes there.
Considering the constant demands placed on him, the coaches made sure to monitor his well-being amid his rigid introduction to Big Ten football.
"We're having a lot of conversations with him, making sure he's not homesick," Graham said.
It should be noted that as good as Kaufman was when he joined a UW team that would win the 1991 national championship, he still ran the ball only 67 times for 307 yards and 4 touchdowns as a freshman, with a long run of 19 yards.
He was given full latitude to get settled in before he was asked to become a team headliner.
Similar ground-game heroics eventually are expected from Bonner, especially after he gets a little bigger and stronger to go with that natural foot speed.
"We're lucky to have Brian," Graham said. "He's special. When he puts that foot down, it's bye, bye. It's beep, beep. He can roll."
What he's done: Bonner came to Montlake after rushing for 3,043 yards and scoring 41 touchdowns in his career at Valencia High School north of Los Angeles. He was considered the 105th best player in the Class of 2026. Notre Dame, Penn State, Nebraska and UCLA all came in second in vying for his football services.
Starter or not: That's the plan is for Bonner to open games and carry the ball an excessive number of times when he's ready. He's expected to be a showcase back someday. How soon that happens is up to him.
Published Jun 22, 2026
DAN RALEYDan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.
Home/Football
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
