Caple: 3 things to watch in UW Huskies’ opener vs Weber State

Aug 30, 2024, 1:34 PM

A UW Huskies football helmet. (Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)

(Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)

BY CHRISTIAN CAPLE

UW Huskies Insider

The UW Huskies begin their 2024 season with an 8 p.m. kickoff against Weber State on Saturday.

Here are three things I’ll be monitoring as the Jedd Fisch era gets underway.

Preview: Overhauled UW Huskies begin Fisch era vs Weber State

The offensive line

You can draw a straight line from any success Washington achieves this season to how its brand new offensive line performs, particularly once the Huskies get into Big Ten play. But these early games against Weber State, Eastern Michigan and Washington State will provide the first glimpse at a completely re-tooled unit.

Redshirt freshman Soane Faasolo earned the start at left tackle. Gaard Memmelaar is back from injury and starting at left guard. Portland State transfer D’Angalo Titialii is at center, and two other transfers — Enokk Vimahi from Ohio State and Drew Azzopardi from San Diego State — will line up to his right.

There also is the matter of Landen Hatchett, the sophomore center who would have competed for the starting job at that position if he hadn’t been coming off a December ACL tear. O-line coach and coordinator Brennan Carroll said Hatchett is fully cleared and should appear at some point during Saturday’s game. I’ll be curious to see how much run he gets, and to track that competition throughout the season.

The defensive interior

Weber State is a solid FCS program, and racked up its ninth consecutive winning season in 2023. But if the Huskies are to hold their own in the Big Ten, there should be a clear difference in physicality between UW’s defensive front and Weber State’s offensive line.

The Huskies are starting a Big Sky transfer, Montana State’s Sebastian Valdez, at one of their D-tackle spots. Zach Durfee will start at edge rusher after sitting out last season due to an NCAA ruling. Isaiah Ward should start at the other edge position after starting most of Arizona’s games last season, and junior Jayvon Parker, who played a rotational role the past two seasons, is listed as the other starting defensive tackle.

Of course, the Huskies will bring a number of players off the bench at those positions, and you could see a pretty deep rotation these first couple weeks. I’ll be watching for which combinations coordinator Steve Belichick deploys, and whether this group can be physically dominant against a heavy underdog on Saturday.

How heavily will UW Huskies lean on the run?

Fisch describes his scheme as a “pro-style passing offense,” and has traditionally called more pass plays than running plays. But Fisch also says he takes pride in not being a strictly passing team, and the Huskies might have more talent in their offensive backfield than at any other position.

Between Arizona transfer Jonah Coleman, sixth-year senior Cam Davis and freshman Adam Mohammed, UW feels pretty good about its tailback rotation. Saturday might be an opportunity to pound the ball inside with those three players, primarily, which could also allow the offensive line to build some confidence in its first game together.

Obviously, senior quarterback Will Rogers will have ample opportunity to throw the ball downfield to Denzel Boston, Jeremiah Hunter and Giles Jackson. But against an FCS opponent and with so much talent lining up at tailback, I wonder if the Huskies might lean more on their running game than they will against Big Ten opponents as the season progresses.

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.