Caple: 11 things to know about Thursday’s UW Huskies practice

SEATTLE — When speaking with members of the UW Huskies’ defensive coaching staff, there is no better way to have a question rebuffed than to submit the premise that any one player has secured a starting job.

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Not even 6-foot-4 junior cornerback Ephesians Prysock, an every-game starter last season at Arizona who transferred with the new staff and position coach John Richardson.

No doubt, there is intense competition for a starting cornerback job … between returning, 15-game starter Elijah Jackson and Thaddeus Dixon, who also played plenty for the Huskies last season. Right? Surely Prysock, among the presumed stars of coach Jedd Fisch’s first Washington team, has the other spot locked up.

“Who said 7 is solidified? I’m missing that part,” Richardson said, smiling, after Thursday’s practice. “Everybody’s been going with the ones, so it’ll be a competition battle all the way up to Game 1. That’s how it should be with competitive guys that can all play football at the college level. They’re growing, they’re maturing and they’re going to compete every day.”

He later added: “Everybody has versatility in the back end. You’ll probably see a lot of people play. So there will be multiple hats out there.”

While his assessment of Prysock’s standing feels more like coach-speak than an earnest appraisal, it’s true, at least, that little seems resolved between Jackson and Dixon. And Richardson is right that UW will pair either of those players with Prysock during first-team practice reps, or pair the two of them together with Prysock on the sideline.

“We all make each other better, I feel like,” Dixon said. “It’s no bad blood between us. We’re out there just grinding, competing with each other every day. We see something else that somebody do, snatch their move, put it in our bag. We’re just progressing as a room together.”

“The competition is high,” Dixon added, “but check the stats.”

The senior from Los Angeles recorded six pass breakups and an interception in 361 defensive snaps last season, per Pro Football Focus. He’s not shy about wanting to win a starting job — nor about taunting his offensive teammates during scrimmage play — but does acknowledge: “We’re all playing a role on the team. So whatever role we have on the team, we’re going to do that to the best of our ability.”

Here are 11 other things to know about Thursday’s practice, which involved quite a bit of 11-on-11 action.

1. Dixon is one of UW’s bigger personalities, and explained, as only he can, why he likes to engage verbally with the receivers: “If y’all was here a couple practices ago, y’all know I started talking a little bit. But offense always responds good, especially when there’s real competitors on the defense. They always respond good, so, shoot. I start talking a little bit, offense hits one, we hit one, we just go back and forth.”

2. I mentioned Wednesday that UW’s cornerbacks were wearing boxing gloves during certain drills. The goal there is simple, Richardson said: “No penalties.”

“Just trying to make sure we play with our feet.,” he said. “That’s something we must do as DBs. Your hands are a byproduct of using your feet at DB. We just try to overemphasize that, and hopefully it makes us better on game day.”

3. We continue to see different o-line combinations, though the No. 1 and No. 2 groups stayed the same throughout the final scrimmage periods. The first group looked the same as it has for most of training camp: 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. The second group featured Maximus McCree at left tackle, Paki Finau at left guard, Landen Hatchett at center, Zach Henning at right guard and Kahlee Tafai at right tackle.

4. Still, there was some experimentation earlier in practice as the offense worked on predetermined down-and-distance situations (second-and-12, third-and-8, etc.). Tafai and McCree each got time at left tackle with what otherwise appeared to be the first-team offensive line. Vimahi stepped out to right tackle for one possession with the No. 2 offense, with Faasolo at left tackle, Finau at left guard, Henning at center and Tafai at right guard. Finau also flipped to right guard for a few snaps with the No. 2 o-line, with Hatchett at left guard and Henning at center.

5. My read on the o-line competition is that starting jobs are more or less assured for Azzopardi, Memmelaar and Vimahi, but that left tackle and center are up for grabs. Some of that surely depends on Hatchett’s health and availability; he’s only been full-go for a few practices now. Faasolo probably is still the top candidate at left tackle, but that position is probably the least certain.

6. This was an up-and-down practice for two of Washington’s top true freshmen: quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and receiver Audric Harris. Both could have some kind of role this year and perhaps starring roles in the future, based on their camp performance so far, and each made plays Thursday indicative of that trend. Williams throws a really nice deep ball, and connected with Harris on about a 45-yard throw between two defensive backs during 7-on-7s. He also found walk-on receiver Luke Luchini for about a 55-yard gain (and maybe a touchdown?) during a situational period, and sent a perfect throw toward Rashid Williams for a 28-yard score.

Williams also missed a couple of open receivers, and threw two interceptions during the final team period (appropriately dubbed “Sandstorm”) — one to Dyson McCutcheon off a tip by Caleb Presley, and another to Darren Barkins on a pass intended for Camden Sirmon. Williams did cap that period with a short touchdown pass to Rashid Williams.

7. One of Williams’ best throws of the day slipped through the hands of Harris in the end zone, costing the offense a 55-yard score. The drop was mostly remarkable because Harris was otherwise having an excellent day, getting open downfield and hauling in multiple passes for chunk yardage, including a 22-yard reception from Williams during a situational period. Harris also jumped before the snap count a few plays after his drop. In other words, quarterback and receiver each had the kind of day typical of talented young players in their first training camp. Highs and lows.

8. The right side of the O-line did a good job busting open a big hole for Jonah Coleman to run through; he gained maybe 30 yards before the play was blown dead. Adam Mohammed also got loose for what appeared to be about a 50-yard gain up the right sideline, shaking a tackle attempt by safety Vincent Holmes. Mohammed had a couple other tough runs, too, lowering his shoulder to tack on yardage as he was being tackled. He looks like he’s going to be a handful.

9. Will Rogers connected with Jeremiah Hunter and Quentin Moore for a couple of highlight-reel grabs. The first was a 23-yard throw to Hunter with cornerback Elijah Jackson draped all over him, though Hunter managed to haul it in with one hand, which prompted a big celebration. On Rogers’ next series, he threw a 19-yard touchdown to Moore, who also made a great play to come down with it.

10. Grady Gross nailed a 50-yard field goal to cap one situational period, but missed a pair of kicks from about 41 yards later in practice. Those might have been his first two misses of camp, from what I’ve seen.

11. Thursday’s practice apparently marked the end of the training camp portion of UW’s preseason, and coaches marked the occasion by bringing in a Sugar + Spoon truck to serve their signature cookie-dough creations. The company’s founders are both UW grads.

UW will conduct a shorter practice Friday morning before Saturday’s mock game.

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.

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