Talking all things Washington football with the UW Dawg Pound.
Indiana football is set to take on Washington at noon on Saturday in Bloomington. With ESPN’s College Gameday in town, it’s a huge matchup for the program with an opportunity to even further capitalize on a statement season.
We talked some Huskies ball with the UW Dawg Pound’s Mark Schaefer. Here’s what he had to say about Washington:
Obviously there’s been some change on Montlake with Kalen DeBoer out and Jedd Fisch in. How does the fanbase feel about DeBoer? Is he a traitor to the region or was Alabama something you’d expect?
I think the fanbase is a little less hostile to him now than they were back in the winter, but that doesn’t change the fact that this situation that Husky fans find ourselves in traces back to him leaving. It was a truly out of nowhere move, but that’s just the way it shakes out sometimes in the new world of college football. We had 2 years of some of the most electric, exciting football I can remember, and now the Huskies have to build something new and hopefully we can get back to that pinnacle.
What kinds of moves did the Huskies make this offseason to build up this program? Staff, roster?
Coach Fisch made a few significant staff moves. Firstly, he brought over his entire offensive staff, including offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll (son of former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll). However, on the defensive side, Fisch leaned into his pro connections and hired Steve Belichick, son of Bill Belichick, as the defensive coordinator. I have to say, that defensive coordinator hire has paid off well, as the defense has improved quite a bit from last year.
Offensively, the Huskies went to the transfer portal and picked up a veteran starting quarterback in Will Rogers, who had a great career at Mississippi State under the late, great Mike Leach. Rogers is a steady hand, who isn’t going to wow you with his arm strength, but he’s going to make good decisions, and find his receivers. Jonah Coleman from Arizona is the #1 running back, standing 5 foot 9 and weighing 230 pounds. He is the textbook definition of a “rolling ball of butcher knives” showing great power and ability to shrug off tackles. It’s a bit of a revolving door along the line, with the unit not having a lot of experience, but D’Angalo Titallii from Portland State and Enokk Vimahi from Ohio State have been the two constants as the line deals with injuries.
What identity is this iteration of Washington football going for? Is it a passing team, a running one, defense oriented? Does this team realize that vision or is it the sort of year one blank slate you’d expect?
Coach Fisch has said a few times that this team wants to be multiple, and to that end wants 300+ yards passing and 200 yards rushing every time out. So far, anyway, it’s been a little frustrating because I don’t think the playcalling has been as inventive or creative as it had been in past years. By most accounts, the Huskies are moving the ball well, but they just cannot get into the end zone as expected, and that may be because it’s year one, though we have seen some baffling playcalls in the red zone. So, halfway through the year, I’d say the team hasn’t realized that vision quite yet.
What players on offense and defense should the Hoosiers be watching out for?
There’s the aforementioned Will Rogers and Jonah Coleman on offense, but the receivers are no slouches either. Denzel Boston spent most of the previous 2 seasons behind Odunze, Polk and McMillan, but he has blossomed into a legitimate WR1 thanks to his physicality and sneaky speed at 6’4”. Giles Jackson is the deep threat, at 5’9” he possesses a lot of speed and the moves to be a threat on screens as well. Be sure to keep an eye on Demond Williams, the freshman backup quarterback that Fisch likes to play every once in a while to keep the defense on its toes, because he’s got great speed and athleticism for a quarterback, even if he’s not as tall as the average QB (he’s 5’9”).
On defense, seniors Carson Bruener and Alphonzo Tuputala serve as the anchors. Both play the linebacker position, though I’d argue that Bruener is more of your prototypical linebacker while Tuputala mans the edge rusher role more so than being a true linebacker. Both are experienced and really physically gifted. Khmori House has really done well in his first year at Washington, and I’d look for him to be the next great Husky linebacker. On the other side of the defensive line, Isaiah Ward leads the team in sacks with 3, and Voi Tunuufi has served very well as an edge rusher as well. Sebastian Valdez has done well on the interior, coming over from Montana State. The secondary is led by Kamren Fabiculanan, a sixth year senior who has racked up 13 tackles and a pick from his safety spot. Thad Dixon has also excelled at corner in the early part of this year. Overall, it’s a very good defensive unit, and I am pleasantly surprised at its production.
Score prediction for the game?
This is going to be a tough one for my Dawgs. A road game, in the Eastern time zone, against a team that’s 7-0 for the second time in program history. All of these are factors that could work against them. And the fact that they can’t score in the red zone, and they don’t seem to have an identity on offense right now. But for some reason, I can’t bet against my Dawgs.
Washington-24, Indiana-17