Six Observations Through Huskies First Week of Fall Camp

Most coaches will say the one thing they want to see from any player is consistency.

Through the first six practices of fall camp head coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff have seen exactly that from a handful of players, but there are still over three weeks until the Huskies’ home opener on September 3 against Kent State. While the coaching staff continues to evaluate who fits best where we’ve compiled six consistent observations through the first six practices in camp.

A HEALTHY OFFENSIVE LINE IS A MUST

1 – So long as the starting five offensive linemen stay healthy it’s clear who the preferred five are — Left Tackle Jaxson Kirkland | Left Guard Troy Fautanu | Center Corey Luicano | Right Guard Henry Bainivalu | Right Tackle Roger Rosengarten.

Kirkland, a sixth-year senior and preseason All-Pac-12 First-Team selection, returns to solidify a position group that came into last season with high praise but failed to live up to expectations. If the Huskies had to play without Kirkland for a series or extended period of time in 2022 it has appeared that Fautanu would move over to take his place over sophomore Julius Buelow, who has been working with the second-team offensive line unit.

One name that has continued to come up time and again is Rosengarten. In the spring UW offensive line coach Scott Huff and Rosengarten sat down and decided to make the redshirt freshman a right tackle, where he had practiced in spring 2021 before being shifted back over to left tackle last fall.

With Rosengarten being the starter it has brought a welcomed challenge; figuring out how to block junior edge Zion Tupuola-Fetui, one of the premier pass rushers in the Pac-12 Conference, along with senior Jeremiah Martin and sophomore Bralen Trice.

Having the prior experience at right tackle coming into this fall has certainly helped ease the transition.

“A lot. Especially – it came from ever since we were in the film room. I take certain things from the spring and try to transition it to here and now in the fall,” Rosengarten said. “I just want to make sure I’m very consistent on all my techniques.”

EDGE RUSHERS

2 – The aforementioned trio of edge rushers has been a topic of discussion since DeBoer took the podium at Pac-12 Media Day, if not even earlier dating back to the end of spring ball.

After he emerged with seven sacks in just three games in a shortened 2020 season, Zion Tupuola-Fetui went into that offseason with high expectations for what would be to come in the following year. Less than halfway through spring camp in 2021, Tupuola-Fetui suffered an Achilles injury that forced him to miss the first five games and missed the final two games, against Colorado and Washington State, due to a separate injury.

Martin, a transfer from Texas A&M prior to the 2021 season, and Trice, a former four-star recruit who have made an appearance in all 12 games last season, each brings something to the table. With the Huskies’ 4-2-5 defensive scheme, only two of the three will be able to get on the field at the same time.

“I think there’s a level of trust there,” Schmidt said of the trio. “Those guys all know, they’re smart enough football guys to understand situationally what they’re good at and maybe what somebody else is good at, too. And where they should be leading and where they should be following.”

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TALENTED RECEIVERS GROUP

3 – With a new-look offense comes to the expectation that the Husky wide receivers will get a significant increase in targets under DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Through much of the spring and the first six days in fall camp, UW has maintained a consistent trio running with the first team offense.

Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan have been a staple no matter who has been the quarterback. The question that has emerged is how will Giles Jackson, Taj Davis and Lonyatta Alexander find their way onto the field? Freshman receiver Denzel Boston has already made a couple of touchdown receptions in camp and looked very much the part as well.

First-year receivers coach JeMarcus Shephard has brought an infectious energy to the room and the players have not only embraced it but seem to flourish in it.

QUARTERBACK BATTLE

4 – At quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., Dylan Morris, and Sam Huard continue to make their case as to who should be the guy. Each has made a fair argument with their play through the first six practices in camp with all three throwing at least one touchdown pass on Wednesday after practice was moved to the Dempsey Indoor facility.

Morris, who has shown an improved deep ball in camp, connected with Rome Odunze for a 60-yard score after the sophomore broke away from cornerback Elijah Jackson and no safety came over the top to cover. Huard found junior tight end, Jack Westover, on a rollout in the end zone for a 20-yard score and Penix found sophomore receiver Taj Davis for a 17-yard strike.

Of the three, Penix has shown the best touch and ability to execute the offense in the manner the coaches want to see. Morris hasn’t made the decision easy, though. Whether it’s been with the first-team or second-team the offense seems to move well with the former Graham-Kapowsin product.

Huard continues to show growth and improvement with each practice. However, with two veteran signal-callers ahead of him, there is still a gap between 1a, 1b and Huard. His sideline fade remains one of the best, but doing it consistently on top of executing the rest of the offense is where he needs to improve in order to unseat the two upperclassmen.

TALENTED DEFENSIVE BACK UNIT

5 -One of the more consistent performers in camp has been senior cornerback Jordan Perryman. A transfer from UC Davis, Perryman has been tested time and again early in camp and come up a winner more often than not. Sophomore Mishael Powell, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship after last season, along with redshirt freshmen Devon Banks and Elijah Jackson have made their case to be the second cornerback opposite of Perryman.

Although the safety position seems to be locked up with Alex Cook and Asa Turner as the two starters, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Chuck Morrell wants to get as many guys reps with a multitude of players to see who works best with who.

“I think we’ve got to give guys opportunities to play with different guys,” Morrell said. “You’re only as good as the next guy coming in the game. So, we want to work as many different combinations of guys together as possible here, especially early in camp.”

6 – UW will hold its first scrimmage of the fall this Sunday, and with that comes an opportunity to evaluate one position group that doesn’t get a ton of look during each practice: special teams.

In the offseason, the Huskies added former Idaho State punter Kevin Ryan to the team after Race Porter graduated. With a high-scoring offense, it’s not necessarily the first position that comes to mind. Fellow senior, placekicker Peyton Henry, has been the guy for the past couple of seasons and remains so heading into 2022.

However, if the offense gets to midfield or just inside the opponent’s territory, will DeBoer and Grubb elect to go for it on 4th down more this season given Henry hasn’t proven consistent beyond 40 yards in his career? A minor detail, but one that can determine a win or loss come conference play this fall.