The spotlight has centered on Washington’s wide receivers, and understandably so. Through eight games, two Husky wideouts rank in the top three in the Pac-12 in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns — sophomores Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan. Redshirt freshman Ja’Lynn Polk’s 18.76 yards per reception sits second in the conference as well.
At 6-2, UW is bowl eligible entering the bye week, and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and his fleet of wide receivers are big reasons.
But don’t forget the creative compilation of contributing tight ends.
Junior tight ends (and part-time hurdlers) Devin Culp (6-foot-4, 239 pounds) and Jack Westover (6-3, 245) served as important safety valves in last weekend’s 28-21 victory at Cal, as Culp recorded five catches for 44 yards and Westover added four catches for 37 more. Culp (19 catches, 166 yards, 8.7 yards per catch, 1 TD) and Westover (20 catches, 225 yards, 11.3 yards per catch) have provided underappreciated production throughout the season’s first two months.
And without injured sophomore Quentin Moore (who is expected to return against Oregon State after the bye), UW also got creative at the position for a second consecutive week — utilizing redshirt freshman guard Geirean Hatchett (6-4, 303) as an extra blocker, after doing the same with senior edge Jeremiah Martin against Arizona.
Some of that is due to UW’s general lack of depth, as the Huskies offer just two other scholarship tight ends — redshirt freshman Caden Jumper (who could be headed to the transfer portal) and freshman Ryan Otton (who is likely to redshirt).
But UW coach Kalen DeBoer said, “I like being creative. I like what [offensive coordinator Ryan] Grubb and the offensive staff did to get Hatchett on the field.
“It was a great opportunity. Hatchett knows the calls. It’s just one or two spots out extended from where he normally lines up. I think it’s something we can certainly build on to utilize his strength and his athleticism. He’s an athlete. He can go catch the ball if we need to release him on routes here and there.”
Added Grubb: “Geirean did a great job with that. It might be a role he could continue in.”
Regardless, it’s natural to fixate on UW’s prolific production at wide receiver — and rightfully so. But the tight ends, too, have been difficult to defend.
“It’s a critical piece of our success,” DeBoer said. “The wide receivers do get a lot of the attention, but those guys behind the scenes are racking up some catches and racking up yards. They give you control over the middle of the field that I’ve always believed in. You attack the outsides with the receivers down the field and the perimeter, but you need someone to control the middle. Yeah, you can use slot receivers, running backs working through the line of scrimmage, but the tight-end position is a guy that controls the middle of the field, is physical there with the ball after the catch and then in the run game.
“The smarter they are — and you see our guys flexed out, motioning in, inside flex, motioning out, lining up in the backfield, on the ball, off the ball, slicing across the formation — the more they can do that and the more trust you have in them and the more you can utilize them.”
Polk’s pass interference
The Huskies were kept out of the end zone in the first half for the first time last week.
At least, that’s what the scoreboard said.
McMillan did dive into the end zone for what would have been an eight-yard score in the second quarter, but the touchdown was nullified by offensive pass interference on Polk. On replay, the 6-2, 199-pound Polk appeared to shove his defender in man-to-man coverage — cornerback Collin Gamble — and not McMillan’s, which didn’t impact the result of the play.
“Just being really transparent about it, I felt like the pick didn’t happen, because we weren’t running into the guy that was guarding McMillan,” Grubb said Monday. “I think the penalty probably occurred when [Polk’s] hands went up. They saw extended arms, even though the defender was running into Polk. So I guess I can see the confusion on that, but my version of a pick is when you’re actually running right into the defender that is guarding the other player in a man situation — which is not what happened.
“That defender went over the top. JP ran into the guy that was guarding him. I thought it was a clean play, but they’ve got to make the calls they’ve got to make.”
When asked how Polk could have avoided getting penalized, DeBoer said: “He’s just got to avoid him. He’s in his way. It’s definitely not a pick play, because we would have been going at the other defender who is on J-Mac, not the person who’s man on [Polk].”
UW kicker Peyton Henry missed a 34-yard field-goal attempt three plays later.
Bye-week schedule
Without a game this week, UW’s players will practice only Thursday and Saturday, though lifts and treatment will continue. Thursday’s practice will feature what the staff calls “Dawgs on Dawgs,” where “your [starters] will be going against the [starters] and there really won’t be any game planning for Oregon State that we’ll be executing that day,” DeBoer explained. “So they get to run our offense and our defense. We can clean up a couple things technically in their areas as well as with special teams. Then Saturday there will be a little bit of that, but we’ll start slowly working in Oregon State [preparations] that day.”
UW will take Sunday off, before practicing Monday through Thursday next week and hosting Oregon State on Friday.
Extra points
- UW sophomore edge Bralen Trice — who registered five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks against Cal — was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, a week after fellow edge Jeremiah Martin earned the honor. The 6-4, 269-pound Trice’s 36 total pressures this season are the most for any Power Five player, according to Pro Football Focus. “He outworks everybody,” UW co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell said. “I think that’s the one thing you watch consistently week in, week out. A lot of his production is obviously due to talent, but it’s also due to him just being flat-out relentless. He’ll give a first effort, a second effort, a third effort. Consistently that’s going to wear the guy out across from him on a weekly basis.”
- DeBoer celebrated his 48th birthday Monday. UW’s first-year coach said he planned to have the Huskies’ seniors, unity council and team captains over for dinner Monday night, though not specifically to celebrate said birthday. “That’s it,” he added. “It’s all football. Football and family.”