SAN ANTONIO — It’s akin to an injury avalanche.
Jordan Perryman missed three games. Mishael Powell missed four games. Julius Irvin missed six games. Davon Banks missed four games. Elijah Jackson missed three games. Dominique Hampton missed one game. Asa Turner missed three games. Vince Nunley missed 11 games.
At 10-2, the No. 12 Huskies have stayed healthy at most spots this fall … outside of the secondary.
“Listen, it happens, and everyone has been through it in their career. But for me, in 25 years, I’ve never seen anything hit an entire position group like it hit our position group,” co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell said Tuesday, two days before UW’s Alamo Bowl date with No. 20 Texas. “It just challenged us. I’ll be honest: It made us better coaches, because we knew that we had to find different mechanics and different ways to have guys be successful and hold it together. It’s just how things shake out sometimes.
“The challenges were immense, there’s no doubt about it. The challenges were extreme. But it also strengthens your team. It pulls guys together. There’s two things that can happen: it can pull you apart, or it can pull you together. In a lot of ways I think it’s made us closer as a group and built trust over time.”
It built trust … and left bruises. Months after starting corners Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon were selected in the top two rounds of the NFL draft, UW ranked 91st in the nation in passing defense (241.7 yards allowed per game), 96th in interceptions (7), 97th in opponent completion percentage (62.5%) 102nd in opponent yards per pass attempt (7.8), 109th in touchdown passes allowed (25), 114th in opponent pass efficiency rating (146.66) and 119th in third down defense (44.91% completions).
“By Arizona State, if you weren’t hurt, you probably hadn’t been playing,” said UW safety Alex Cook. “That was the reality of it.”
And, as UW’s experience eroded, guys like “husky” nickel Dominique Hampton (6-3, 221) were handed more man-to-man coverage responsibilities as an unavoidable result.
“There was certainly a point during the season when we were just trying to make sure guys were in the right spot at the right time and probably not exploring the full depth of the defense,” Morrell said. “Because we had several young guys that had to step on the field in some really critical games for us and just didn’t have the game experience. So we wanted to put the pressure on the guys we knew could get the job done.
“From the husky position, having Dom as a guy that a lot of times is covering the best opposing slot, I think he did a great job with that. We’re looking to be able to grow the scheme around athletic guys like that, and there’s a lot more we can certainly get to once we get our depth and our health squared away.”
Of course, if their secondary depth stayed squared away, perhaps these Huskies are preparing for the College Football Playoff.
As it stands, they’re out to prove they’re better than the statistics say.
“I think we haven’t played our best game yet, just because of that,” said Cook, who leads UW with 77 tackles. “There’s just been so many things we had to tweak and adjust, based on who could do what. I just think we haven’t been able to do the game plan we want to do, just because of the injuries. Now that everybody’s healthy, we might play our best game we’ve ever played. I’m excited to play on Thursday.”
The Huskies are excited to extinguish excuses — and prove their secondary is more than a metaphorical kick-me sign. And theoretically, they should have ample opportunities against a Texas offense without its top two running backs (Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson) or an explosive vertical passing attack.
In nine games this fall, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers has completed just 56.7% of his passes, throwing for 1,808 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions (plus a long of 46 yards). Sophomore wideout Xavier Worthy leads the Longhorns with 53 catches, 676 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
On Thursday, Ewers said the Huskies “don’t do a ton of stuff (schematically) like recent teams that we’ve seen, but what they do they’re really good at. I think that’s their focus, to stick to what they like to do and what they’re good at. They play really hard and they play well together, and they’re coached really well. Should be a fun matchup.
On the other side of an avalanche, we’ll see if UW’s secondary can make the most of it.
A familiar foe
Pete Kwiatkowski will wrap up his second season as Texas’ defensive coordinator by attempting to outmaneuver his former team. The 56-year-old assistant left UW in 2021 after seven successful seasons in Seattle.
When asked Monday what prompted the move, Kwiatkowski said: “I’d been on the West Coast my whole career. I’d been at Washington seven years, and I felt the timing was right. When I grew up … Texas was — before all the cable TV — Texas was Keith Jackson. Texas-Oklahoma. Texas-Nebraska. It always intrigued me. I think it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Kwiatkowski’s significantly improved unit ranks second in the Big 12 in total defense (362 yards allowed per game), opponent yards per carry (3.35), rushing defense (123 yards allowed per game), opponent yards per pass attempt (6.4) and red zone defense (50% opponent TD percentage), and third in scoring defense (21.2 points allowed per game).
But this is a new challenge.
And a familiar foe.
“Yeah, I know a lot of those guys, recruited a lot of those guys, and obviously have a history with Washington,” Kwiatkowski conceded. “Their offense, it starts with that quarterback. (Michael Penix Jr.) is an outstanding quarterback, very accurate. O-line does a good job of keeping him clean, and they have three really good wide receivers that he can distribute the ball to, and so we’ve got a huge challenge in front of us for sure. I know the guys are excited about it, top-ranked offense in the nation, and that’s why we go play.
“We’ll have a great week of practice, preparation, and then go out there and cut it loose.”
Extra point
- The Alamo Bowl may mean more for redshirt freshman wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk — a Texas Tech transfer who was raised in Lufkin, 300 miles east of the Alamo Dome. “JP has really fought his butt off to get the job that he’s got,” UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said of Polk, who has recorded 38 catches for 649 yards and six touchdowns. “JP is really kind of the emotional leader in that room. I think to be able to come back here and have a game like this in his own backyard is really special to him. But I think his preparation and the way he’s approached his game this year has really stayed the same. He’s got a ton of energy. He’s got a big heart. He kind of plays with that on his sleeve a little bit. It’ll be exciting to see him out there.”