Washington Huskies Training Camp Battles to Watch
Herb Nightengale
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This week the Washington Huskies football team opens up training camp. We look at top position battles as the Kalen DeBoer era begins at Washington.
Friday, July 29, was Pac-12 media day marking the official opening to 2022 conference football According to a Pac-12 media poll, the Washington Huskies are expected to finish sixth this season, one spot ahead of archrival Washington State. Not bad for a team that finished 4-8 overall and 3-6 in the conference last year.
The Huskies began last season ranked in the top 25; however, they lost the opener to Montana 13-7. It was the first time UW lost to Montana in a century. That defeat sent the Huskies on a downward spiral.
Game 9 was the end of the road for Head Coach Jimmy Lake. His team lost to Oregon 26-16 in a game they should have won, but the offense went flat. The following Monday, Lake drew a one-game suspension from the university for hitting a player during a sideline dustup.
Defensive Coordinator Bob Gregory took over during Lake’s absence. Gregory’s tenure lasted a little longer than that one game. He finished the season’s final three games as interim head coach when Lake got the ax on November 14. The Washington Huskies lost all three that Gregory coached, including a pair to Pac-12 bottom-tier teams Arizona State and Colorado. The season ended on a sour note when WSU blew them out 40-13 in the Apple Cup
In December, Washington Huskies Athletic Director Jen Cohen took the program in a new direction by hiring Kalen DeBoer from Fresno State as UW’s new head coach. DeBoer has a reputation as an offensive genius, so the media feels he will turn the Huskies’ offense around quickly.
"We'd run through a wall for him at this point. He's an honest man, we like that."
New @UW_Football HC Kalen DeBoer is already making strong impressions to start spring football, according to 3 returners for the Husky defense. pic.twitter.com/kHgkN6phEK— Alyssa Charlston (@Alyssacharlston) March 30, 2022
There is less than one month to go before the Huskies’ season opener against Kent State. Here are some key position battles to watch as Washington prepares for the 2022 season.