Devin Culp hung on.
The 6-foot-4, 239-pound tight end hasn’t always done so, struggling with drops throughout his four-plus seasons in Seattle. The Spokane product wasn’t perfect Saturday, either, dropping an easy completion in the third quarter of a 49-39 win over Arizona.
UW coach Kalen DeBoer said Monday that “it’s such a simple thing for him. It’s just a matter of staying focused on the ball. If he keeps his eyes on the ball and doesn’t get ahead of himself, he’s golden.”
On Saturday, Culp was golden when it mattered most.
With Washington leading 21-14 and set to receive the second half kickoff, Arizona attempted an onside kick — with the Wildcats’ Tyler Loop sending a bouncer caroming toward Culp. The fifth-year junior jumped to corral it before absorbing a shot from Arizona linebacker Jacob Manu.
During a Pac-12 shootout in which nearly every possession yielded points, UW scored on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Rome Odunze two plays later.
But it’s Culp’s recovery that may have saved the day.
“The kick was actually placed in a pretty good spot,” DeBoer said. “It was probably a tougher onside recovery than I even realized, until you flip on the film. So hat’s off to Devin, because he put himself out there and hung onto the ball.”
Through seven games, Culp has contributed 14 catches, 122 receiving yards, 8.7 yards per catch and a touchdown against UCLA.
But his most critical catch may have come Saturday.
“I credit [special-teams coach Eric] Schmidt and the fundamentals we teach,” DeBoer said. “There’s a specific technique that we have on an onside kick to make sure their eyes are on the ball. I remember earlier in the week Coach Schmidt specifically saying, ‘Hey, it’s midseason. This is about the time where somebody is going to try and find that gap, that weakness or the person that is caught sleeping.’
“I just loved it that Devin was on the spot, made that play, was disciplined enough to follow through with the technique and what we teach. I loved the coaching piece of it, too, that we have that instilled in our guys to be ready for that, Week Seven, to start a third quarter. I loved it.”
Penix’s record day
Statistically, Penix produced perhaps the finest performance from a quarterback in Husky history last week — completing 36 of 44 passes (81.8%) for a school-record 516 yards and five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing).
But offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is a notoriously difficult grader.
So how did Grubb evaluate the redshirt junior?
“It was [his best game of the season],” Grubb said Monday. “I think he looks at me sideways sometimes, because I grade really hard. But he played a phenomenal game — not just in the big throws, [but the] timeliness with the football coming out of his hand. He had a couple plays where defenders had gotten up off the ground and he made not just good throws but very, very accurate throws that were first-down conversions. His eyes were in the right spot all night. He was seeing the whole field. He had it hitting on all cylinders. Protection checks were solid. His run fakes were great. He played a really, really good football game.”
Green steps in
There was yet another change in UW’s defensive depth chart Monday, as freshman cornerback Jaivion Green was listed as a starter — in front of redshirt freshman Elijah Jackson, who started against Arizona and Arizona State.
Green — a 6-2, 202-pounder from Houston — is set to make his first career start at Cal on Saturday night, opposite senior Jordan Perryman.
When asked whether Green’s promotion is due to injury issues or prior performances, DeBoer said “it’s both. He’s been in the rotation. He was in there towards the end of the game on Saturday. That last drive he had some valuable snaps in there and continues to do a good job. He’s just a great kid who comes in and is eager to learn. He’s going to be a really good football player for us.
“It probably wasn’t the expectation at the beginning of the season that he’s in the rotation at the level he’s at right now, but he’s hungry. We’re becoming more confident with him each snap, and I think that’s part of where we’re at as a team.”
It’s true, though Green’s opportunity was made possible because of injuries to Jackson, Julius Irvin and initial starter Mishael Powell. Co-defensive coordinator William Inge noted that Jackson has had “a couple injuries that have popped up here and there, and that’s one of the reasons why Jaivion has come into the forefront there. When you’re on an island and you have a midleg injury and you’re not at full speed, it will hinder you from time to time.”
On Monday, DeBoer indicated that Powell — who has missed the past four games — will resume drill work with UW’s defense this week and, “I would say we’re hopeful [he’ll play against Cal], but I think you can kind of tell by how I’m explaining it that we’re not certain that he’d be ready to go this weekend yet.”
Regardless, Green must perform in a struggling UW secondary.
And his freshman status won’t be an accepted excuse.
“I’m not nervous [about starting a freshman corner], because the one thing we tell them [is that] we trust in them fully,” Inge said. “When we put them on the field, we’re going to trust and know that they’re going to do their job. Because there’s a standard that’s going to be set on the defense. So there isn’t really an element of nervous energy. It’s more excitement to be able to see the glow in his eyes when he can step on the field and know the other 10 guys around him are going to trust him just like we do as a staff.”
LaMason Waller de-commits
That was fast.
LaMason Waller — a 6-2, 170-pound wide receiver in the 2025 class — withdrew his commitment from Washington on Monday, less than five months after announcing a verbal pledge. The Sultana (California) High School standout pulled in 35 catches for 485 receiving yards and five touchdowns as a freshman last fall and is ranked as a four-star recruit, the No. 10 athlete and the No. 100 overall prospect in the 2025 class by 247Sports.
Waller has reported offers from UW, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pitt, Texas A&M, Utah, West Virginia and more.
Extra point
- Elsewhere on the injury front, DeBoer said “husky” nickel Dominique Hampton — who missed the Arizona game because of an undisclosed injury — is day to day. Junior running back Richard Newton is expected to return to practice by Wednesday. Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Kuao Peihopa, whose suspension for violation of team rules was announced last Monday, “is still not with us this last week. It’ll be week-to-week with him.”