The cornerback carousel continues.
Following a season that featured unending injuries and underwhelming production in the defensive backfield, UW head coach Kalen DeBoer announced Friday that senior Julius Irvin — who was expected to compete for a starting spot — will medically retire and graduate this spring.
The 6-foot-1, 179-pound Irvin — a former four-star recruit from Anaheim, California — played in the first six games (starting four) last season, contributing seven tackles with three passes defended and a door-slamming interception against Michigan State. He missed UW’s remaining seven games with “multiple upper body injuries,” DeBoer confirmed Friday.
In 29 career games and five seasons in Seattle, Irvin tallied 29 tackles, five passes defended and a pair of picks.
But his impact transcends what he put on paper.
“I can’t speak highly enough about what he did, as far as his buy-in to the program,” DeBoer said in an extended salute. “He was one of the guys who really sticks out in my mind when we were going through those injuries [last fall], especially in the defensive backfield. He went out there sometimes and was cleared to go, but he was hurting and playing in some pain. There were injuries happening on the field, and he’d come out for a few plays and go back in. He just knew the team needed him.”
Without Irvin — plus departed senior starter Jordan Perryman — who do the Huskies need now?
The list starts with Oklahoma State junior transfer Jabbar Muhammad, who led the Cowboys with 10 pass breakups and added 48 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in 12 starts (10 at corner, two at safety) in 2022. DeBoer mentioned that Muhammad “looks really good so far, and we haven’t even played football yet.”
Likewise, sophomore Elijah Jackson hasn’t played much football either — managing 10 tackles and a forced fumble in 10 career games (and two starts). But DeBoer praised the 6-foot-1, 191-pounder’s work this winter, not to mention his 40-inch vertical leap.
“His growth and maturity is something that has really come along,” DeBoer said. “He’s got the length. He’s got the athleticism. That’s super exciting.”
Junior college transfer corner Thaddeus Dixon, sophomore Jaivion Green and four-star freshman Caleb Presley will also compete this spring, before fellow freshmen Curley Reed and Leroy Bryant join the fray this summer. The Huskies will hold three March practices next week, starting Monday, before taking a 19-day pause for finals and spring break.
DeBoer said sophomore Davon Banks will likely not participate in contact drills while working back from an injury, and junior Mishael Powell — an eight-game starter in 2022 — will cross train at safety and the “husky” hybrid nickel spot as the coaching staff searches for his premier position.
Senior Dominique Hampton — who has played corner, safety and most recently “husky” during his five seasons in Seattle — might also be on the move again, as DeBoer noted that “we definitely are going to work him in at some safety.”
A quarterback shortage
From a numbers standpoint, Austin Mack’s addition will undoubtedly help the Huskies.
Just not quite yet.
The four-star signal caller announced last month that he will reclassify from the 2024 class and join the Huskies this summer … despite being just 16 years old and starting a single season at Folsom (California) High.
Granted, the 6-6, 210-pounder showed plenty in his lone varsity campaign — completing 70.4% of his passes while throwing for 3,498 yards with 42 total touchdowns and five interceptions, leading the Bulldogs to a 12-2 record and a section championship.
And, more than the measurables, DeBoer said Mack has the maturity to make the leap.
“He’s young, but he’s really mature,” DeBoer said. “A lot of that has to do with him. But he’s also in a program that just really grinds, works, has high expectations, does a good job of developing their guys. So I think he’s much further along in the process at his age, compared to most quarterbacks and most football players.
“He has it internally. He also has the physical skill set and the size where he’s pretty explosive and far along in his development as a football player and a quarterback. We’re going to be careful with how we try to groom him. But it’s an awesome opportunity for him to come sit in the room with [offensive coordinator] Ryan Grubb, Michael Penix, Dylan Morris and just really grow and learn and soak it all in. I think he saw that value being really important.”
Still, UW’s quarterback room won’t feature Mack this spring — forcing Penix and Morris to shoulder the load of practice reps. DeBoer said: “We’ve got to find a third guy [to take that pressure off]. That’s very critical, to figure out a third guy. Some of it is just to take reps off of Mike and Dylan, especially when it comes to non-team reps or seven-on-seven reps — the one-on-one throws, the routes on air. You’ve got to have guys.”
The Huskies do have a few — namely walk-ons Alex Johnson, Teddy Purcell, Tyson Lang and Camdyn Stiegeler.
Suddenly, it’s their time to shine.
The realignment rumors
As the Pac-12’s wait for a new media rights deal enters March, college realignment rumors have continued to resurface — including the Big 12’s unabashed pursuit of Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado.
On Friday, DeBoer was asked if he thinks UW can continue to achieve its goals — namely, a national title pursuit — in the Pac-12 Conference.
“I think we can,” he said. “Overall, we have so many qualities in our program. … Not to be conceited in any way, but when you look at the academic side and the tradition side and our support as a community that we get, and the production we put on the football field, and where our program continues to go, there’s a lot of reasons why people would want us in their conference. I always feel like we’re going to end up in a good spot, no matter what this looks like.
“One of our goals that we’re going to have is to win a national championship. Our percentages go up as they expand to 12 teams [in the playoff]. We’re in a conference where that [conference championship] bid — that No. 1 spot — is going to get a chance for sure to get there.”
Extra point
- DeBoer congratulated UW athletic director Jen Cohen for being named this week to the College Football Playoff selection committee, with which Cohen will serve a three-year term. “I think she’s going to do an amazing job,” he said. “I know how hard she works and how involved she is and continues to want to be. She’s perfect for our game, for college athletics. She’s a leader who’s not afraid to speak up. I know she’s always on top of it. I’m fired up for her, fired up for what that means for the representation that we have from within our program.”