Rylon Dillard-Allen has special potential in Washington's defense

After earning Freshman All-American honors following an impressive 2025 campaign, sophomore safety Rylon Dillard-Allen has big goals for 2026. Although he hasn't been able to practice for a little over a week while dealing with a minor injury, the former four-star recruit is still doing everything in his power to improve himself. With a big smile on his face, he proudly flexed when asked about his weight gain and talked about how quesabirria tacos have helped him get up to 190 pounds.

But ahead of his second season, where he's projected to start next to All-Big Ten honorable mention Alex McLaughlin, Dillard-Allen knows he has a lot to learn about the game, both on and off the field. As he continues to push for that spot "If I'm gonna be a starter, I think I've got to improve on my leadership and my communication," Dillard-Allen said after practice on Tuesday. "When I'm out there on the field, I feel like last year I was just being a freshman, and I was just being out there to be out there.

I was just happy to be out there, because I was a freshman, but this year, they expect more, and so I'm going to just do what I need to do and do what they need me to do. " One big reason that he knows what Jedd Fisch's staff needs from him is because of safeties coach Taylor Mays. There are few position coaches around college football with the acumen of Mays, who was a three-time First Team All-American at safety during his time with the USC Trojans, and the former five-star recruit, who is originally from Seattle, sees something special in Dillard-Allen.

"RDA has a chance to be a special player," Mays said. "I think for him, in high school, he was just faster than everybody else, quicker. And now, especially when you get to college and then the NFL, that only takes you so far.