UW football’s spring practice schedule provides a tantalizing tease.
Coach Kalen DeBoer’s team returned to action for three practices last week … followed by a 19-day delay due to finals and UW’s spring break. The Huskies will hold 12 more practices between March 29 and the annual Spring Preview on April 22.
So why split your spring into two distinct chunks, with a 19-day gap separating the sessions? Why not wait until after spring break, when April enrollees — such as Mississippi State transfer running back Dillon Johnson and four-star freshman corner Caleb Presley — can participate in all 15 practices?
The answer, as expected, comes down to recruiting.
A March start allows Washington to conclude spring practices a week earlier, which is important for two reasons. College football’s high-school evaluation period — when coaches can hit the road to visit prospects and assess their athletic/academic qualifications up close — begins April 15 and extends through May 31. The offseason’s second transfer portal window is May 1-15.
In theory, providing an early end to spring practices should allow Washington’s staff to focus more fully on prep and transfer portal prospects while affording Husky players extra time to consider a possible portal entry.
Which, sure, is great.
But now we wait.
Let’s do so with another edition of the UW football mailbag.
Question from @beal_zach: Which position groups on each side of the ball have shifted the most from weakness to strength, or vice versa, between last year and now? (I’d posit offensive line depth is the biggest swing from strength to weakness, and defensive line from weakness to strength).
Answer: UW’s depth will certainly be tested on the offensive line, where the Huskies lost three starters — left guard Jaxson Kirkland, center Corey Luciano and right guard Henry Bainivalu — from a group that surrendered just seven sacks (second in the nation) last fall.
If healthy, senior Matteo Mele and junior Nate Kalepo — both significant contributors in 2022 — will almost certainly step into starting roles, with Mele at center and Kalepo at one of the guard spots. The 6-foot-6, 323-pound Kalepo was situated at right guard last week, with junior Julius Buelow starting at left guard. Expect sophomore Geirean Hatchett to push Buelow for that available spot.
Starting left tackle Troy Fautanu and right tackle Roger Rosengarten both return, and the staff is bullish on UW’s potential interior replacements (which is why you haven’t seen Washington go shopping for offensive linemen in the transfer portal). Even so, an offense is often as good as its line — and this group has plenty to prove.
As for a weakness that could be converted into a strength this fall, I’m not sure the defensive line qualifies — considering the Huskies’ 3.52 opponent yards per carry ranked tops in the Pac-12 and 25th in the nation. Still, the continued development of Ulumoo Ale and twins Jayvon and Armon Parker up front would certainly pay dividends.
But let’s look in the linebacker room, where senior starter Cam Bright departs but UW has effectively added two instant contributors — USC transfer Ralen Goforth and a fully healthy Edefuan Ulofoshio (who missed the first eight games last fall). Pairing a full-speed Ulofoshio with Goforth, Alphonzo Tuputala and Carson Bruener might give UW the best and most experienced linebacker corps out west. Any contributions from junior Demario King or freshmen Deven Bryant and Jordan Whitney are a bonus.
Of course, the area where Washington most needs a revival is the defensive secondary — but more on that in a minute.
Question from @Goin2theDaWgs: Who’s your breakout defensive player of the year? Will Germie Bernard have over 20 catches?
A: To begin, let’s agree that a player can’t “break out” twice. Ulofoshio has already done it. Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui have done it. Transfer corner Jabbar Muhammad did it at Oklahoma State. The list goes on.
With that in mind, let’s highlight seven Huskies who have 1) the opportunity and 2) the ability to elevate their role/performance in 2023: defensive linemen Ulumoo Ale, Jayvon Parker and Armon Parker, cornerbacks Elijah Jackson and Thaddeus Dixon and safeties Vince Nunley and Tristan Dunn.
We’ve already touched on Ale and the Parker twins’ possible contributions alongside veterans Tuli Letuligasenoa, Faatui Tuitele, Voi Tunuufi and Jacob Bandes up front. But the Huskies have an even more obvious need at corner — where Jordan Perryman graduated, Julius Irvin medically retired, Davon Banks is limited because of an injury this spring and Mishael Powell will likely shift to either “husky” (nickel) or safety.
Muhammad is an assumed cornerback starter, and the tandem of Jackson (6-1, 191) and Dixon (6-1, 190) — both long, rangy athletes — will battle this spring on the opposite side. And though seniors Asa Turner and Dominique Hampton might be difficult to usurp at safety, Nunley (who was expected to be a regular contributor last season before sustaining an injury) and Dunn (one of the defense’s most intriguing athletes) should push for playing time.
As for your second question, whether Michigan State transfer wideout Germie Bernard will eclipse the 20-catch mark: eight Huskies caught at least 20 passes last season, and seven are back in 2023. Bernard is a talent, but that will be a tall task. He’d likely have to surpass junior Taj Davis and redshirt freshman Denzel Boston to get it done.
Question from @Shikagura007: More than likely there will be coaches that may get poached after the season … but is there a coach that might be on the “hot seat” per say? Or a coach on the staff that has more to prove?
A: Here’s an answer with evidence.
Of UW’s 10 assistants, nine received raises and extensions this offseason.
The only one who didn’t is Julius “Juice” Brown.
That’s a pretty clear-cut response to an underwhelming season for UW’s cornerbacks, who struggled mightily with health and production last fall. The Huskies ranked 100th nationally in pass defense (251.5 yards allowed per game), 101st in interceptions (seven), 111th in opponent pass-efficiency rating (145.8), 103rd in opponent yards per pass attempt (7.8), 114th in pass touchdowns allowed (26), 117th in third down defense (44.51% conversions) and 129th out of 130 teams in passes defended (2.54 per game).
That’s a big, brutal, blundering list.
And yet, Brown — UW’s second-year cornerbacks coach — couldn’t control injuries to Perryman, Powell, Jackson, Banks and Irvin. He also did his part in recruiting four-star freshmen Presley and Curley Reed, as well as Muhammad, Dixon and Leroy Bryant.
Brown — whose two-year deal lasts through the upcoming season — has eight scholarship corners, and few available excuses. With Muhammad, Jackson, Dixon, Banks, Presley, Reed, Bryant and Jaivion Green, there is ample talent on Montlake. DeBoer has hinted at the Huskies possibly adding another corner via the transfer portal as well.
Regardless, that position group’s performance will dictate Brown’s future at Washington.
Question from @rustybeers: How worried should we be about the options at kicker? Hasn’t been discussed (because … kicker) but two walk ons without in game FG experience seems impactful.
A: That’s an understandable concern, after Peyton Henry held down the position for five consecutive seasons. The only kickers on UW’s roster are a pair of sophomore walk-ons in Grady Gross and Addison Shrock.
Of that group, Gross — who converted all 68 extra-point attempts and 12 of 15 field-goal attempts in his senior season at Horizon (Arizona) High School in 2021 — is the expected starter.
But despite UW’s lack of depth or experience, it seems telling that DeBoer and Co. have not attempted to sign a scholarship kicker or add a veteran from the transfer portal. Internally, there appears to be confidence that Gross (or Shrock, for that matter) will prove a worthy successor.
Time will tell.