UW Huskies Training Camp: 15 things to know after Day 4

Aug 5, 2024, 8:03 AM

UW Huskies defensive coordinator Steve Belichick. (Christian Caple/On Montlake)

(Christian Caple/On Montlake)

UW Huskies Insider

SEATTLE — The UW Huskies returned from their first day off of training camp wearing shoulder pads for a roughly two-hour workout Sunday on the east practice field.

Here are 15 things I saw, heard and learned on Day 4 of UW camp.

Previously: Caple’s notes and thoughts from Day 3 of UW Huskies camp

1. The first-team offensive line continues to mostly feature Soane Faasolo at left tackle, Gaard Memmelaar at left guard, D’Angalo Titialii at center, Enokk Vimahi at right guard and Drew Azzopardi at right tackle. There is some rotating, particularly with Zach Henning taking a few reps at center. The second-team offensive line mostly consisted of Maximus McCree at left tackle, Paki Finau at left guard, Henning at center, Kahlee Tafai at right guard and Elishah Jackett at right tackle.

2. Landen Hatchett continues to observe during team periods, and he spent part of practice riding an exercise bike. Not much has changed with the group of injured players who still aren’t suiting up or practicing (Hatchett has suited up each day).

3. After missing the first three days of practice, third-year sophomore safety Tristan Dunn was in attendance Sunday. He spent the day working out with trainers on the sideline, along with safety Kam Fabiculanan, defensive lineman Jayvon Parker and tight end Charlie Crowell.

4. This was our first look at one-on-one drills between the receivers and defensive backs. Will Rogers looked particularly sharp throwing the ball during that period, connecting with Denzel Boston, Quentin Moore, Giles Jackson, Jason Robinson Jr., Luke Gayton and Audric Harris for short “touchdowns” on throws from the 10 or 5-yard line. Moore ran a particularly impressive route against safety Cameron Broussard, shaking him with a change-of-direction at the goal line to break wide open. Jackson executed a similar move against nickel Jordan Shaw during the same drill, catching an easy throw from Demond Williams Jr.

5. Practice ended with an 11-on-11 session featuring nine snaps each for the first-, second- and third-team offense and defenses; walk-on Teddy Purcell and redshirt freshman Shea Kuykendall each took reps at quarterback with the threes. The highlight was Rogers’ 30-yard (or so) touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hunter up the right sideline with Elijah Jackson in coverage. Rogers targeted Hunter two other times on that series, too, and also completed a couple check-downs to Jonah Coleman. Deshawn Lynch, who has primarily lined up on the edge so far, batted down a pass attempt on the final play of the possession.

6. Williams connected twice with Harris during his series, but also missed him on a deep throw into the end zone and on another pass with cornerback Leroy Bryant in coverage. During an earlier 11-on-11 period, Williams made a nice throw to walk-on receiver Camden Sirmon for a touchdown.

7. The battle at edge rusher is going to be fascinating. Zach Durfee isn’t taking team reps as he recovers from elbow surgery, and the Huskies have shown several first-team combinations at the two outside spots so far. Sometimes, it’s Anthony Ward and Voi Tunuufi. Others, it’s Tunuufi and Deshawn Lynch, or Lynch and Lance Holtzclaw. I saw a second-team combo of Holtzclaw and Jayden Wayne today, and Jacob Lane paired with Holtzclaw at times, too. Lynch is a strong dude. He got great push against a tackle more than once on Sunday.

8. So far, it’s mostly been Shaw and Dyson McCutcheon at nickel. I asked defensive coordinator Steve Belichick what he’s looking for at that position. “You’re just closer to the formation, closer to the action a little bit,” he said. “In the run game, you’ve got to be ready to show up. There’s a lot of space to cover the slot receiver, when he’s in there. I think toughness, good tacklers, the ability to cover is a good place to start.”

9. Might Justin Harrington get a look there? The senior Oklahoma transfer mostly appears to be taking his reps at safety, but Belichick said: “We’re kind of just mixing all the guys in right now, guys playing in different spots. It’s only been two days (in pads) so certain guys have been featured a little more one place than the other, but as we go, we’ll move guys around, bump ‘em around and see what they can handle.” Harrington batted down a Williams pass during an early 11-on-11 period Sunday, and lined up next to Vincent Holmes with the No. 2 defense; Makell Esteen and Broussard were the first No. 1 safety pair to take the field.

10. Sebastian Valdez and Jacob Bandes continue to take most of the reps as the No. 1 interior d-line pairing, with Logan Sagapolu and Bryce Butler the next two up. And yes, only one of those guys was on the roster last season. This was how Valdez described Belichick’s defensive scheme: “I’m always moving around, I’m not just a three-technique, I can move to a nose, I can be a 4i (lined up on a tackle’s inside shoulder). There’s a lot of room to move around and really expand your skill level. You’re not just a tackle, you’re a football player.”

11. Bandes broke through for a nice play to stuff Coleman in the backfield on a carry. The sixth-year senior d-tackle could be in line for the most significant playing time of his career.

12. Which defensive player will wear the helmet outfitted with headset communication to the sideline? “We mix it up. We give it to a couple different guys, giving everybody a chance to kind of hear it, and where we want to go with it,” Belichick said. My guess is that it winds up with a linebacker.

13. At what point does Belichick think the Huskies will master the defensive scheme? “I think that process goes on throughout the course of the season,” he said. “I don’t think we’re ever going to say, ‘Oh, yep, now we’ve got it,’ or anything like that. You just keep building, keep stacking. They’re getting more comfortable as everything goes, but they’re doing a great job right now, and you’ve just got to keep coaching them, keep developing them, and learn from everything they do.”

14. Interesting field-goal drill Sunday, with two full field-goal units set up at once, and one kicking right after another. Grady Gross went first with one group, and Jack McCallister took his tries right after Gross from varying distances. Hard to tell exactly from where I stood, but I believe they each made all of their kicks. For a punter, McCallister looked pretty solid kicking field goals.

15. As for his performance on UW’s recent “Hot Ones” homage, Valdez said the hot-wing challenge was “one of the worst experiences of my life,” and described the ensuing digestive repercussions as “Bad. I don’t want to go into detail.” Even worse, Durfee admitted during the show that Justin Bieber is his favorite recording artist.

This article was originally published at OnMontlake.com, the home for Christian Caple’s full UW Huskies football coverage. Subscribe to On Montlake for full access to in-depth UW coverage.