SEATTLE —Kalen DeBoer said emphatically at his introductory press conference that, yes, the University of Washington is a destination head coaching job.
On Saturday, DeBoer will coach his third first game of his career when UW hosts Kent State at Husky Stadium for a late 7:30 p.m. kickoff. With a .500 record in those games, both Husky fans and DeBoer sure hope that the third time will be the charm.
After a tumultuous 2021 season that saw the program finish with a 4-8 record, the fewest wins in a full season the Huskies have had since the 2008 team finished winless. In lead up to the home opener against the Golden Flashes players have acknowledged wanting to get the bitter taste out of their mouth that stems from losing the Apple Cup at home 40-13.
“I think we’ve been developed since we played that last snap last year we’ve had that chip on our shoulder that we knew that wasn’t us,” sophomore wide receiver Rome Odunze said this week. “We knew that wasn’t the product we should’ve been putting on the field game in and game out. We’ve just carried that chip and we haven’t forget it completely, because that’s kind of what keeps us going.
“The fact that we don’t want anything to happen like that here because that’s not what the fans deserve. That’s not what we deserve. And we know that, with this staff and what we’ve been building, we can go out there and put something that we can be proud of. Something that we can look back on and say ‘we did that’. So, we keep it in mind but we’re ready to flush it at the same time. We’ll put on a show.”
That show is indeed what Odunze and Co. are expected to put on Saturday.
In each of his previous coaching stops, be it as an offensive coordinator or head coach, DeBoer is known for having a prolific scoring offense. Odunze, who finished with the most receptions (41) of any UW receiver last season and tied for the most touchdown receptions (4), is one of three starters expected to flourish this season.
One of the reasons for the high expectations is due in part to the starting quarterback. In January, Michael Penix Jr. announced his decision to transfer from Indiana University, where he had been for four seasons and made 17 starts from 2018-21. The southpaw chose to reunite with DeBoer at Washington, who was his offensive coordinator in 2019 in Bloomington.
Despite having familiarity Penix Jr. still had to beat out sophomore Dylan Morris, the teams’ starter over the past two seasons, and redshirt freshman Sam Huard for the right to start. On August 23, DeBoer announced that the transfer would be the man under center when UW takes the field against Kent State. Throughout spring and fall camp it was evident that not only did Penix Jr. possess the understanding of the offense to execute it at a high level, but his anticipation and poise set himself apart from the pack.
UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said directly the expectations are high for Penix Jr. and the offense.
“For him, I think Mike is – one of his best attributes is he is such a cool customer,” Grubb said this past Monday.
“He’s been down through it, the good and the bad. He’s had some really high notes and toughed out and been a warrior through some really tough injuries in his life. That’s one of the thing’s I admire most about Mike is he’s got a warrior mentality. I think he’s able to come out there and show you he can make the plays and be excited, but still have a calm demeanor. That’s I think what makes a good quarterback.”
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On the other side of the ball UW is also heading into the season leaning on a combination of transfers and returners.
In the center of the Huskies new-look 4-2-5 defensive scheme is Cam Bright, a transfer from Pitt who has already played 51 games in his college career heading into 2022. In front of him, though, is where the defense is expected to make its mark with a trio of edge rushers.
Junior Zion Tupuola-Fetui, an 2022 Preseason All-Pac-12 Second Team honoree, headlines the group with eight career sacks entering this season. Senior Jeremiah Martin, who transferred into the program before last season from Texas A&M, and sophomore Bralen Trice are all expected to make a significant impact. They’ll have to contain one of the more high paced offenses in the country Saturday.
“Creativity,” UW co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell said Monday on what stands out about Kent State’s offense. “I think the challenge for our guys up front you’ve got to be super assignment-sound. It just takes you back to thinking all the way back to when the veer option used to be the big thing. Everybody’s got a job to do on every play. Literally a small mistake can turn into a big play. So, we really challenge our guys leading up to this game everybody’s got to make sure they’re taking care of their job.”
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