SEATTLE — The last time the Washington Huskies took the field for a spring football practice, Chris Petersen was still the coach, Jacob Eason and Jake Haener were competing to replace Jake Browning at quarterback and the terms “social distancing” and “herd immunity” were not yet commonplace in casual conversation.
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Barring the unforeseen — and when has anything like that ever happened? — the Huskies will commence the first spring practices of coach Jimmy Lake’s tenure April 7, culminating with a May 1 spring game at Husky Stadium. Further details are pending, but it’s probably safe to assume that, unlike in years past, this year’s spring practices will be closed to media, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. So while there are several storylines to monitor this spring, it’s probably not accurate to say we’ll actually be watching them.
Regardless, here are five questions at the front of my mind as the Huskies prepare for what should be their first spring slate since 2019.
How much more is there to John Donovan’s offense?
Probably quite a bit, considering the Huskies played only four games last season, started a freshman at quarterback and by Donovan’s own admission, “weren’t too exotic in a lot of things.” They mostly ran the ball behind a veteran offensive line, and when they did ask Dylan Morris to throw, he targeted star tight end Cade Otton more often than any wideout. Otton’s presence helped Morris get quite a bit done over the middle of the field; according to Pro Football Focus, 51 of Morris’ 66 completions came between the numbers, and he was particularly efficient on over-the-middle throws between 10 and 20 yards, completing 16-of-20 for 323 yards and two of his four touchdowns. His overall numbers throwing to the middle of the field: 51-for-70 (72.9 percent), 689 yards, 9.8 yards per attempt. On throws outside the numbers, Morris went 15-for-32 (46.9 percent) for 209 yards and 6.5 yards per attempt.
Of course, some of those outside throws were deep shots and inherently less likely to be completed, but these numbers further illustrate that the Huskies’ passing game has plenty of room to expand. The loss of receiver Puka Nacua doesn’t help, but with promising freshmen Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan returning as potential big-play threats on the outside, I wonder if UW’s completion chart might look a little different in 2021 — and whether that’s something we’ll begin to see this spring, with Morris back, five-star 2021 signee Sam Huard enrolling early and Colorado State transfer Patrick O’Brien already on campus.
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Aside from a few misses on deep throws, Morris seemed to get more comfortable within the offense as last season progressed. Whether it’s him, Huard or O’Brien under center, I’d be curious to see how much more open the offense might be this spring than what we saw in the fall.
What will the QB reps look like?
It’s safe to assume Morris will start out taking the bulk of the reps with the No. 1 offense, and it was interesting that Donovan stopped short of calling the competition “wide open,” like it was before the 2020 season. UW’s coaches liked what they saw from Morris in last year’s limited sample size, and I get the sense they view him as the starting quarterback until proven otherwise.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Huard and O’Brien won’t have ample opportunity to do just that, especially considering those are the only three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Huard, in particular, would be a really interesting player to watch this spring. He didn’t get a traditional senior high school season, obviously, but stuck around Burien (Wash.) Kennedy Catholic to participate in a six-game spring season scheduled to begin Friday and conclude April 17.
It’s not clear how many of those games Huard plans to play in, but he is expected to enroll at UW for the spring quarter and participate in spring practices. He might set a record for the fewest days between the end of his high school career and his first college practice. Like any freshman, Huard’s chances of winning the starting job will hinge on how quickly he picks up the offense, which is quite a bit different than the Air Raid system he ran in high school. With Morris the only scholarship quarterback returning from last season, however, Huard and O’Brien each should get plenty of reps this spring, so Huard should have his chances to begin proving he can be the guy in Year 1 — and O’Brien should have a chance to prove his experience and size can be an asset in Donovan’s pro-style system.
Can Zion Tupuola-Fetui build off his 2020 production?
The Huskies’ all-conference pass rusher certainly won’t lack for stiff competition in practice, with UW returning its entire starting offensive line, including all-conference left tackle Jaxson Kirkland. That would be a fun matchup to watch. While Tupuola-Fetui led the Pac-12 with seven sacks in four games last season, he still has plenty to prove, and he still is relatively inexperienced at the college level. That makes this an important spring for him, even if his play last year elevated expectations to All-America levels.
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Is it ridiculous to think he’s also still competing for a starting job? Well, yes. But let’s not forget that sophom*ore Laiatu Latu was in position to start at outside linebacker opposite senior Ryan Bowman last year before an injury kept him out the entire season. Ask UW insiders which defensive player they’re most excited to see get on the field, and Latu is a common answer. In many ways, it seems, Tupuola-Fetui had the 2020 season some had envisioned for Latu. If he’s healthy, he’s going to play at least some. It’s just a matter of who excels most in practice and how those reps are divided come September. Add in the return of Bowman, the promise of freshman Sav’ell Smalls and the addition of Texas A&M transfer Jeremiah Martin — plus freshmen Bralen Trice, Cooper McDonald and Jordan Lolohea all returning — and the Huskies should have plenty of talented players to rotate through their outside linebacker positions this spring.
Where does Kyler Gordon fit in?
There is little question Gordon will help the Huskies replace departed starters Elijah Molden and Keith Taylor — it’s just a matter of which position the ultra-athletic 2018 signee will play. He’s most experienced at cornerback, where he started three games in 2019, although he appeared to mostly line up on the slot in his one start in 2020 against Stanford. The nickel position probably suits him best, given his range and ball skills, and that’s where I would expect him to line up whenever the Huskies begin spring practices — but he has the skills necessary to play anywhere in the secondary, and with nobody really seizing the safety position opposite Asa Turner last season, maybe Gordon could be worth a look on the back end.
This is a big spring for UW’s other 2018 defensive back signees, too. Dominique Hampton should have his best opportunity yet to compete for a starting cornerback job, and we still haven’t seen much of Julius Irvin, another versatile player who has practiced all over the secondary. Gordon’s best position might dictate Irvin’s prospects: If Gordon fits at nickel, maybe Irvin gets a look at safety along with Alex Cook and Cam Williams, who split the majority of the reps there last season. If Gordon plays safety, Irvin could become a nickel candidate.
Run the ball? How about stop the run?
No aspect of UW’s 2020 season irked Lake more than the Huskies’ relative inability to stop the run, a glaring deficiency directly responsible for their 31-26 loss to Stanford. The Huskies allowed 4.54 yards per rush in four games, which ranked seventh in the Pac-12 — not awful but not good enough for a group that considers itself the standard for stout defense in its conference.
How do the Huskies address that problem this spring? Competition should be fierce on the defensive line, where Taki Taimani and Tuli Letuligasenoa project as the starting interior linemen but should be pushed by younger players such as Faatui Tuitele, Jacob Bandes and Noa Ngalu. Inside linebacker also will get a lot of attention. The Huskies know what they have in Edefuan Ulofoshio, and Lake seemed to think Jackson Sirmon played well last year, too, but there are several younger players trying to earn significant action for the first time — namely four-star recruit Daniel Heimuli, whose name continues to surface as a player to watch.
“Going back and looking at the film, there was definitely some things, structurally, that we could have helped our whole defense out better,” Lake said in February. “Our inside linebackers were one of the strengths of our defense last year. Even the conference noticed that, with voting one of them all-conference, and I’m expecting even more accolades for that position as we move forward.”
There also are new faces on the defensive coaching staff — or, at least, familiar faces in new places. Ikaika Malloe moved from defensive line coach to outside linebackers coach following the departure of coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, and this will be the first spring with former analyst Rip Rowan coaching the defensive line. It also will be the first spring for inside linebackers coach Bob Gregory at coordinator after he was promoted to replace Kwiatkowski. I wouldn’t expect significant changes to UW’s scheme — the entire reason for Gregory’s promotion was to maintain what Lake believes is a sound defensive system — but it still would be interesting to study the defense for any minor tweaks or additions.
(Photo: Jennifer Buchanan / USA Today)
