Jeremiah Martin led the Huskies with nine tackles and two sacks in Washington’s 49-39 win over Arizona on Saturday.
He dedicated the sacks to his newborn son.
Martin — a 6-foot-4, 267-pound senior and team captain — welcomed his second son, Kasyn, Thursday morning. The Texas A&M transfer returned to practice Friday, started on defense and even moonlighted at tight end, blocking for a Cameron Davis 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter Saturday afternoon.
All in a week’s work.
“We snuck him in there,” UW coach Kalen DeBoer said of Martin’s role on offense. “He’s been in there before. He had a kid on Thursday, and you go play defense [Saturday]. You might as well just throw some more things on his plate, right?
“He’s just a beast out there. There’s some things where we feel like he can help us out. He really got up there and mashed. Probably the biggest thing you worry about is a false start when it’s a guy that’s not used to the cadence and things like that. But Jeremiah is just a person you trust. We put him in there and he helped us find the end zone there.”
With a smile Saturday evening, Martin added: “I do it all. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’m there.”
Most important, Martin and Co. (somewhat) effectively rushed the passer — after managing just a single combined sack in their last two games. Outside of Martin, junior edge Zion Tupuola-Fetui and defensive lineman Voi Tunuufi added a sack apiece.
But Kasyn’s dad did most of the damage.
“He came in Friday, and I remember seeing how excited he was,” DeBoer said. “I’ve got two kids and I know … he’s not the one having the kid, but it’s a lot. It’s emotionally draining. I was thinking, ‘He’s going to hit the wall on Saturday.’
“But he’s a guy that’s so positive. He came to me after the game and was just so appreciative of where things are at, just personally and also on the football field. He’s a guy that motivates you to come back to work every day and give it everything you’ve got, that’s for sure.”
Sam Adams II steps up
UW has had somewhat of a carousel of contributing running backs — as graduate transfer Wayne Taulapapa, sophomore Cameron Davis and junior Richard Newton have each dealt with injuries at some point this season. Newton — who went down in last weekend’s loss at Arizona State — was unavailable Saturday, though DeBoer said, “I would hope Rich will be back for next week.”
Newton was out.
Sam Adams II was in.
The redshirt freshman from Kirkland scored his first career touchdown on a 4-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr. on Saturday. He finished with six carries for 20 yards, as well as two catches for 14 yards and a touchdown in a valuable reserve role.
“Sam’s just been right there,” DeBoer said. “We had a couple guys dinged up from last weekend’s game, and it’s next man up. Sam’s champing at the bit. He’s worked hard. I really appreciate how he’s coming to work every day and waiting for his opportunity, and that was today. I just have a lot of trust in him.”
UW rushed for just 79 yards and 2.7 yards per carry (with three touchdowns) Saturday, as Penix and the passing attack manhandled Arizona. But as UW continues to shuffle through a running back rotation, DeBoer knows there’s room for so much more.
“All these guys just continue to chip away and continue to improve every day,” he said. “I feel like we still have a lot of potential left in our offense when guys like that are getting just a few snaps. Each week, you never know who’s going to show up and lead the charge.”
Extra point
- Junior “husky” nickel corner Dominique Hampton missed Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury sustained the previous week against Arizona State. Sophomore Kamren Fabiculanan started in his place and finished with two tackles. DeBoer said he hopes Hampton will be back at practice next week and will play Saturday against Cal. But he also lamented, when it comes to his struggling secondary, that “one guy comes back and another guy goes out. So it’s just been all those guys continuing to fight and battle. It’s not perfect, but I’m proud of the way they’re ready the next week to hop back in there and go to work.”