Husky Stadium.
Head Coach Jimmy Lake. Washington Huskies football preview.
I’m sure all Washington Huskies football fans are excited there will be a 2020 season after all. This year won’t have as many games as other years. However, seeing UW take the field at Husky Stadium is a sight for sore eyes.
It would have been great to have fans in the stands to support the UW players. That won’t happen because of COVID-19 protocols. However, it will be nice to have something to do on a Saturday besides home remodeling or running errands. I am sure most Husky fans are Seahawks fans, but seeing college football on a Saturday is good. The Pac-12 can’t leave it to the Big Ten, SEC, and whoever else is playing football to occupy our game days.
Jimmy Lake begins his first year as the Washington Huskies Head Coach, after taking over for Chris Petersen last December. He’ll be anxious to get his head coaching career off on the right track. That’s one of the reasons why he brought in John Donovan as his offensive coordinator.
Donovan comes to Huskyville after spending the last four years as an assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Before his time with the Jags, he spent 19 years in the college ranks. Donovan is supposed to insert a pro-style offense at Washington. How much different from what the Huskies did under Petersen remains to be seen. There is enough talent on offense to put an entertaining team on the field.
The questions primarily about the Huskies football team will be about the quarterback and offensive line. Also, what the offense will look like under Donovan.
Jacob Sirmon, Washington Huskies football.
Jacob Sirmon came into spring as the heir apparent to Jacob Eason, who decided to take a pass on his senior year and enter the NFL early. The sophomore only played sparingly in a mop-up role last season as a redshirt freshman in five games.
Kevin Thomson is a graduate student transfer from Sacramento State. He is a local who played his high school ball at Auburn Riverside. Out of high school, he went to UNLV, where he suffered a serious elbow injury. A year later, he transferred to FCS school Sacramento State. Thomson is a double threat, running the ball 619 yards while scoring 12 touchdowns last season as well as throwing for 3219 yards and 27 touchdowns against only eight interceptions in 450 throws.
Without as much practice time this year because of the pandemic, it’s likely that Thomson, with his college experience, will get the starting nod for opening day. I’m sure we will see more of Jacob Sirmon this coming season than he had last season.
Last year Salvon Ahmed was the Huskies featured back; however, he decided to forgo his senior year by leaving for the NFL early. Unfortunately, Ahmed went undrafted. He signed as a free agent and is currently on the Miami Dolphins practice squad.
Richard Newton, a redshirt freshman last year, steps into Ahmed’s shoes. Newton announced himself to Husky Nation when he scored his first college touchdown from 23 yards out in the opener against Eastern Washington. Though he frequently carried the ball, coming in for Ahmed, his specialty was finding the end zone. Newton had 498 yards and 10 TDs on the season. Not a bad season for someone who missed three games.
Senior Sean McGrew will be the guy spelling UW’s featured back this year. In 2019 he played 10 games. McGrew excelled in limited opportunities. He carried the ball 55 times for 342 yards, an average of 6.2 yards-per-carry. Washington also returns senior Kamari Pleasant, who played in 11 games last year. The running back position is in good hands.
Paku Nicua, Washington Huskies.
There will be new receivers at the top for the Huskies as Aaron Fuller is now on the Seattle Seahawks practice squad, and Andre Baccellia was in camp with the New England Patriots. Junior Terrell Bynum and sophomore Puka Nacua should start, while junior Ty Jones and sophomore Marquis Spiker will get plenty of playing time to show their stuff too.
Bynum became a favorite target of Eason’s in the second half of the season. He caught a 57-yard pass and a touchdown in the Apple Cup against Washington State and had a touchdown against Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl to end the year. The Washington Huskies expect great things out of Bynum this season.
As a freshman, Nacua played in the Huskies first eight games of 2019 before an injury cost him the rest of the season. His first catch in purple, gold, and white went 28 yards for a touchdown in the 52-20 win over Hawaii. Nacua also had a 33-yard touchdown against Oregon. Both Nacua and Bynum will make some outstanding long catches in this shortened season.
Ty Jones saw limited action in 2019, playing only four games. Under new NCAA rules, he can redshirt and is considered a junior. Jones has plenty of experience, playing in eleven games his freshman year while contributing every game during his sophomore season. We will see him quite a bit when the Huskies are going with three receivers. Marquis Spiker played in ten games last season as a freshman. He should be ready to go as the Huskies fourth receiver.
The Huskies lost Hunter Bryant early to the NFL. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions. Washington still has good tight ends coming up through the ranks, who will be in the NFL someday themselves.
Junior Cade Otton is considered the blocking tight end just like his predecessors Drew Sample and Will Dissly. Both who play in the NFL now. Over two seasons with the Washington Huskies football team, Otton hasn’t missed a game. Though primarily a blocker, the 6-5 TE did catch 32 balls last season.
Should UW go with a two-tight end set this year, look for sophomore Jack Westover to handle those duties. Last season Westover played in every game though he only had three receptions, including one for a touchdown against Arizona. He should see plenty more balls thrown to him this season.
Senior Jacob Kizer one of the backups. He played eight games after starting the season with an injury. Also in the mix is sophomore Devin Culp.
Washington Offensive line.
The Washington Huskies have to replace three players on the offensive line this season. Center Nick Harris, a second-team All-American by Sports Illustrated, went to the Cleveland Browns in round five. Left tackle Trey Adams expected early on his Husky career to be a high draft pick, signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Buffalo Bills, and is on their practice squad. Right tackle Jared Hilbers is gone as well.
Matteo Mele is expected to be the center this season. He is a redshirt sophomore who played center in parts of five games last season. Myles Murao, a true freshman out of Torrance, California, should back him up. Besides center, Murao played guard, so he may see some time there as well.
Junior Jaxon Kirkland, who started the last two seasons at right guard, shifts over to the all-important left tackle spot. Nate Kalepo, a redshirt freshman, is the number two behind Kirkland.
Senior Luke Wattenberg starts at left guard for the third straight year. He and Kirkland are the most experienced linemen on the Huskies at two of the most important positions. If necessary, Wattenberg could shift over to LT; he played five games there as a redshirt freshman. Sophomore Ulumoo Ale is Wattenberg’s backup. The Tacoma native is a big guy at 6-6, 352 pounds. Expect him to get lots of playing time.
On the right side, junior Henry Bainivalu is the expected starter at right guard. He is also 6-6 and over 320 pounds. Last year Bainivalu missed the first three games; however, he saw in action in every game thereafter. The year before, Bainivalu played in every game as a redshirt freshman. Gaard Memmelaar, a freshman out of Caldwell, Idaho, will be Bainivalu’s backup.
Redshirt sophomore Victor Carne played seven games in 2019 and should start at right tackle this season. The Huskies recruited Carne all the way from Houston, Texas, where he was an all-state guard. The Huskies believe tackle is a better fit for his skill set. His backup is Julius Buelow, a redshirt freshman from Kapolei, Hawaii.
There is plenty of flexibility on Washington’s offensive line. Several players can play any of the spots, depending on injuries. The coaching staff could move the big guys around, depending on need and ability. There could be several different O-Line variations in 2020.
Before the season kicks off, we will look at the defense as well. There won’t be as many changes, but a few important players will be absent. Go Dawgs!