UW Huskies Takeaways: 3 things from Fisch as focus turns to Week 2

Sep 2, 2024, 3:30 PM

UW Huskies head football coach Jedd Fisch before a 2024 game against Weber State. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

UW Huskies Insider

UW Huskies football coach Jedd Fisch addressed the media on Monday afternoon after his team opened the season with Saturday’s 35-3 victory over Weber State.

Huskies win opener: Instant observations | Caple’s on-field video reaction

Here are three things to know about Fisch’s Monday remarks, ahead of UW’s Week 2 game against Eastern Michigan at Husky Stadium.

Quentin Moore update

If there was one piece of negative news to come out of UW’s season opener, it was the apparent leg injury sustained by senior tight end Quentin Moore in the second quarter. Weber State linebacker Garrett Beck delivered a hard hit on Moore’s knee as he made a 14-yard reception, and Moore was helped off the field without putting much pressure on his left leg. Moore didn’t return to the game, but was later spotted on the sideline still in uniform.

Fisch said Monday that he still needs to meet with team doctors to get a better sense for Moore’s status, but also said he doesn’t expect Moore to be out long term.

“It’s either going to be day-to-day or maybe a couple weeks, depending on the extreme, what the doctors believe,” Fisch said.

That’s generally positive news, considering how awkwardly Moore’s leg seemed to bend upon being hit. If he does miss time, the Huskies would rely mostly upon senior Keleki Latu and freshman Decker DeGraaf, with walk-on Owen Coutts functioning as the No. 3 tight end. Ryan Otton, a third-year sophomore, won’t practice for about another three weeks, Fisch said, after missing all of training camp due to injury. And freshman Charlie Crowell is out for the season with a knee injury sustained late in camp.

DeGraaf, a three-star recruit from Glendora (Calif.) High in the 2024 class, caught a 33-yard touchdown pass Saturday on the first snap of his career.

Thoughts on UW Huskies’ O-line

UW’s re-made offensive line will remain among the program’s bigger storylines throughout this season. The group acquitted themselves relatively well on Saturday against their FCS foe, blocking for a running game that averaged 6.8 yards per attempt with sacks filtered out, while allowing two sacks of quarterback Will Rogers but otherwise protecting the pocket decently well.

“There were some good plays, some not so good plays,” Fisch said. “There was a time here or there that we had some seepage and some guys got through, that we probably wish maybe we worked a little bit better in combination with one another.”

The Huskies tried a few different O-line combinations. Most notably, they subbed out left tackle Soane Faasolo for a couple series, flipping Drew Azzopardi from right tackle to left tackle, moving right guard Enokk Vimahi from right guard to right tackle, and inserting sophomore Landen Hatchett at right guard. Faasolo later returned to the game, and Fisch said the rotation was pre-planned.

‘Dawg of the Week’

After throwing for 250 yards and a touchdown in his UW debut, senior quarterback Will Rogers, a transfer from Mississippi State, was named the team’s “Dawg of the Week,” a tradition Fisch borrowed from prior stops.

Highlights from the dub last night ⬇️🙌 #AllAboutTheW pic.twitter.com/pK3bmUtHAc

— Washington Football (@UW_Football) September 1, 2024

Fisch said the player has their photo posted inside the facility with an accompanying write-up. The weekly award, Fisch said, goes to “somebody that represents this program on and off the field. Somebody that has done an incredible job at coming in every day, acting like a pro, behaving like a pro, preparing like a pro. When we talk about it with our guys, when you get that award, it’s that you’ve done things outside of the game and also inside the playing field.”

Rogers “has been an incredible leader,” Fisch said.

“(He) has been awesome with the team, has ingratiated himself with the group, has found a way to become a great leader, yet not overbearing … to do that in a manner and still have humility and not try to try too hard was a big deal.”

This column from UW Huskies football insider Christian Caple is exclusive to Seattle Sports. Subscribe to OnMontlake.com for full access to Caple’s in-depth Husky coverage.