Michael Penix Jr., Indiana Hoosiers.
Change is the only constant in life. Right now, the Washington Huskies football program is the embodiment of that mantra. UW brought in Kalen DeBoer as the new head football coach on November 29. Since then, it’s been a whirlwind of coaching hires, signing recruits, and transfer portal activity. We take a look at the Huskies’ recent comings and goings.
Whether it’s from new hires, new transfers, or new recruits, there will be plenty of new faces donning the UW purple and gold in 2022.
On December 14, Indiana University quarterback Michael Penix Jr announced his transfer to UW. At Indiana, Penix went through four injury-plagued seasons with the Hoosiers. Over his four seasons at IU, Penix played 20 games. In 2019, he had his best season. That was also the year DeBoer was Indiana’s offensive coordinator. Penix had his highest completion percentage, passing yards-per-attempt, rushing yards-per-carry, and QB rating. It’s obvious the two have good chemistry.
For his career, Penix completed 342 of 576 attempts for 4,197 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. When you take his injuries into account, and the fact that Indiana isn’t one of the Big Ten’s better programs, those are good-looking numbers. He also has wins over marquee programs such as Michigan and Michigan State. That’s the big-game experience that Dylan Morris and Sam Huard lack.
Like Morris, Penix is left-handed, and given his experience, he should have an excellent chance to be the starter in 2022. Due to a redshirt and extra year of eligibility given by the NCAA, Penix has two more years of college eligibility.
The day after Penix joined the program, cornerback Jordan Perriman from UC Davis transferred in. Even if Perriman doesn’t start, he adds some valuable experience to a potentially young group of corners. The Huskies will likely lose three cornerbacks, Third-team All-American Trent McDuffie, Kyler Gordon, and Brendan Radley-Hiles, to the NFL.
The early college signing period runs from December 15, 2021, through February 2, 2022. DeBoer and his staff had to hit the ground running to keep pace with the rest of the conference. Fortunately, they added a few potential impact player off the bat. Receivers Germie Benard from Las Vegas (2021 Nevada High School Player of the Year and Denzel Boston of nearby Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup, add even more quality to a very talented group of pass-catchers.
Tight end Cade Otten is leaving, but his younger brother Ryan, a highly coveted TE in his own right, is on the way to UW. Another offensive player, guard Parker Brailsford, a four-star recruit from Scottsdale, Arizona, also signed a letter of intent for UW. On the other side, DE Lance “Showtime” Holtzclaw, from Mesa, Arizona, is the program’s only defensive recruit so far.
At his signing day press conference, DeBoer said all five players come from quality families. He also expects the Huskies will have 15 players, including these five, no matter who leaves the program. Six seniors are gone for sure, but the Huskies have several positions where they are thin. Expect the coaching staff to go hard after linebackers and corners. The offensive line is another area of opportunity as last season’s group greatly underachieved.
Last week DeBoer announced the hiring of four assistants. Junior Adams, who took over as offensive coordinator when the Huskies fired John Donovan, returns as the wide receivers coach. Scott Huff returns to coach the offensive line despite a poor showing from his group last season. New offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb started as an O-line coach, so Huff has some help. Both Adams and Huff have reputations as good recruiters.
Nick Sheridan, who was with DeBoer at Indiana, is the new tight ends coach. The new defensive line coach is Inoke Breckterfield. The former Oregon State All-American defensive end coached last year at Vanderbilt and Wisconsin the six years before that. DeBoer still has at least four more positions to fill.
Two redshirt freshmen, both who had little playing time in their first two years at Washington, decided to move on. Mark Redman, a highly recruited tight end coming out of high school, entered the transfer portal. Joining him in the portal was Sawyer Racanelli, a wide receiver from Brush Prairie Washington who hadn’t caught a pass at UW. With the talented group of receivers UW has and the inbound talent, Sawyer saw the writing on the wall and decided to see about his opportunities elsewhere.
Next onto the portal was redshirt freshman Cooper McDonald who started ten games at linebacker in 20121. He was the first to leave after Kalen DeBoer was named head coach. Defensive lineman Sam “Taki” Taimani announced he was entering the transfer porta the following day. Taimani started a dozen games for UW the last two seasons.
Over the weekend, star linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui announced he would not declare for the NFL Draft. That doesn’t mean he is staying at the University of Washington either. Last April, ZTF ruptured his Achillies tendon. It should have been a season-ending injury, but he was back on the field six months later. DeBoer needs to do all he can to keep Zion at UW.
As DeBoer settles into his new job, Huskies fans will see more players leave Washington’s program in addition to those who come.
What do you think about the Washington Huskies’ recent arrivals and departures? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.