Let’s call it a (minor) medical milestone.
Following a mercifully timed bye week for the 6-2 Washington football team, coach Kalen DeBoer reported Monday that “we probably got as many guys as we’ve had all year practicing out there today. It might be the most guys we’ve had on the practice field, ever, since I’ve been here.”
Of course, that’s also an unfortunate claim — considering that cornerbacks Mishael Powell, Jordan Perryman, Elijah Jackson and Julius Irvin, safeties Asa Turner and Vince Nunley, running back Richard Newton, left guard Jaxson Kirkland and tight end Quentin Moore missed some or all of the first half of the season.
Some reinforcements have already arrived. After missing four games because of an undisclosed injury, Powell — a 6-foot-1, 204-pound sophomore corner — returned Saturday in UW’s 28-21 win at Cal, providing five tackles and several impact plays. DeBoer said Powell is “doing well. He’s out there. I have no concerns [about his health]. The recovery [after the Cal game] was different than normal. But he’s out there practicing.
“It’s important to have him from a leadership and consistency [standpoint]. He’s a good communicator. He’s intelligent and knows our defense from all the reps he banked in the spring and fall during camp.”
On Friday night against visiting Oregon State, UW is expected to feature its preferred starting secondary — corners Powell and Perryman, “husky” nickel Dominique Hampton and safeties Turner and Alex Cook — for the first time since the season opener.
DeBoer said that group, plus a versatile reserve in husky/safety Kamren Fabiculanan, “gives you a lot of stability.”
To this point, that secondary has been riddled with rampant instability — as evidenced by their results. UW ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in opponent completion percentage (64.3%) and interceptions (six), ninth in pass yards allowed per game (256.6), 10th in opponent pass efficiency rating (155.21), 11th in opponent yards per pass attempt (8.2) and last in pass touchdowns allowed (20). Opponents convert 47.75% of third-down attempts, ranking 10th in the Pac-12 and 127th out of 131 teams in the nation.
“There’s some guys that were being thrown in there that really weren’t expected early in camp to be guys who needed to start, for sure,” DeBoer conceded. “You’re adjusting your schemes based on the skill set to try and fit what you can do best. Unfortunately, sometimes that isn’t even what you want to do to attack an opposing offense. It might just be playing base defense.
“At some point good offenses like we’ve seen over the course of this year, they figure you out. They figure out which guys can do things and how you’re trying to play it. We have a little more flexibility with that now.”
Of course, No. 24 Oregon State (6-2) is more likely to attack on the ground, averaging 194.9 rushing yards per game (third in the Pac-12) and 4.95 yards per carry (fourth). The Beavers have won three in a row and rushed for 665 yards and seven touchdowns during that span.
An all-league linebacker may be needed to slow Oregon State’s ground game.
Which is where Edefuan Ulofoshio comes in.
The 6-foot-1, 235-pound junior — who has missed UW’s first eight games because of an injury sustained last winter — practiced in pads Monday and is considered week to week, DeBoer said. The Huskies coach also cautioned that “there may be a couple ways we can use him and try to get him out there for a few snaps [against Oregon State], but I would hope the next week against Oregon is when you would for sure see him.”
Oregon, by the way, ranks fourth in the nation in yards per carry (5.91), ninth in rushing offense (235.75 yards per game) and 10th in rushing touchdowns (23).
On the other side, UW has primarily relied on a quartet of linebackers — senior Cam Bright (41 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception), sophomore Alphonzo Tuputala (40 tackles, 4.5 TFL, three sacks), sophomore Carson Bruener (25 tackles, 1.5 TFL) and graduate student Kristopher Moll (24 tackles, one TFL).
But Ulofoshio would add a little something extra.
“You can tell, with the way he moves and his body type and his size, there’s a confidence that certain guys move with that he certainly has,” DeBoer said of the 2020 second-team All-Pac-12 performer. “Having him out there is great for his psyche but also our team’s, taking a couple reps out there. But I’m sure it will take a little while to knock the rust off, too.”
Penix’s impact
The statistics say plenty.
But they don’t fully encapsulate Michael Penix Jr.’s impact.
Through eight games, UW’s redshirt junior quarterback and Indiana transfer leads the nation with 2,934 passing yards and 366.8 yards per game, while adding 24 total touchdowns and four interceptions (on 67.8% completions). He has set program records for completions (36, twice) and single-game passing yards (516).
It has been, so far, a historic season for the Husky signal caller.
And Penix’s example is allowing teammates to excel.
“He’s going to keep growing as a leader,” DeBoer said Monday. “We’re asking him to do a lot, and he’s lived up to that. He’s calm, cool and collected; I’ve said that all along. But he’s certainly leading the team in a big way, and not just the offense. I think the whole offensive and defensive sides of the ball are certainly responding to him and what he brings. When he walks out of the tunnel each and every day onto the field, I think that there’s a lot of confidence in whatever he says. I think the whole team believes him.”
That, of course, can only help a first-year coaching staff that inherited a 4-8 program. And DeBoer happily admitted Monday that Penix’s presence has “certainly made life a lot easier. He knew the offense, and you know what you’re going to get with him. You’re going to get a guy that isn’t just all of a sudden going to do something that’s totally unexpected, just with his character. I knew the production would be there as far as his ability to put the ball where it needs to go. He’s accurate; he gives you that deep threat. He’s mobile enough to keep plays alive, keep guys on field. All of his intangibles were things that I knew would come to light.
“We just needed to keep him protected. He needed to stay healthy. Those were the biggest questions we were wondering about going into the year, and he’s done a great job preparing his body and been smart when he’s been on the football field, and that’s allowed him to make the plays. A lot of it is just that the confidence continues to grow. As confident as I think he was in himself, I think he’s learned a lot about himself as well.”