5 questions for UW Huskies football ahead of spring practice

Spring football opens on Wednesday and will wrap up with the Spring Preview on on April 27.

What are the biggest questions facing the Huskies as they start to build the foundation for 2019? We take a look at five.

How good is Jacob Eason?

Fans have been excitedly awaiting Eason’s debut since he transferred to UW. The favorite to succeed Jake Browning at quarterback, the 6-foot-6 Eason is a former five-star recruit who will be a fourth-year junior in 2019.

As a true freshman in 2016, Eason started 12 of 13 games for Georgia. The Bulldogs went 8-5 as Eason competed 204-of-370 passes for 2,430 yards and 16 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He opened 2017 as the starter but was injured in the season opener. He lost the starting job and transferred after the season.

Eason was named the 2018 Offensive Scout Squad MVP. Before the Rose Bowl, defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake said Eason played a key role in helping the Huskies prepared for Ohio State’s offense.

“He’s been around,” Lake said then. “He’s a veteran. So he’s like: You know what? I know this is going to make our team better. And sure enough, he made us better. He’s a big-time talent. Great kid. Great command of the scout team.”

The real answers about Eason will come in the fall but spring practice will offer a glimpse at the quarterback expected to take over for the Huskies.

Will he live up to expectations? We’ll find out soon enough.

Can the wide receivers take a step forward?

UW has a new wide receivers coach in Junior Adams, who served as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Western Kentucky for the past two seasons.

The Huskies return all their major contributors from last season, including starters Aaron Fuller, Ty Jones and Andre Baccellia. Fuller led the Huskies with 58 catches for 874 yards. Baccellia had 55 catches for 584 yards while Jones finished with 31 catches for 491 yards.

But UW struggled at times last season to create explosive plays. Eason will play a key role in changing that in 2019 but so will the development of the receivers.

Baccellia, in particular, will be looking to build on his final three performances last season. He had five catches for 89 yards against Washington State, eight catches for 65 yards in the Pac-12 championship game and 12 catches for 109 yards in the Rose Bowl.

Watch for redshirt freshman Marquis Spiker. A four-star recruit who was considered the No. 9 player in the country, he could give the Huskies a vertical threat. Fellow redshirt freshmen Austin Osborne and Trey Lowe could also make an impact this season.

How will Salvon Ahmed perform as a feature back?

Ahmed served as the primary backup to Myles Gaskin last season and — along with Sean McGrew and Kamari Pleasant — was part of what head coach Chris Petersen called the “three-headed monster” that took over Gaskin’s carries when he was injured.

But now Gaskin is gone and Ahmed is most likely candidate to step in. He was UW’s second-leading rusher last season, finishing with 104 carries for 608 yards and seven touchdowns. For comparison’s sake, Gaskin had 259 attempts for 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Ahmed’s athleticism and speed are his biggest weapons. He ran a 4.32 second 40-yard dash as this year’s Husky Combine. The biggest question now is how he handles the additional workload.

Who will fill the holes in the secondary?

Myles Bryant returns at nickelback with Elijah Molden behind him but other than that, UW has a lot of holes to fill in the secondary. Starting cornerbacks Byron Murphy and Jordan Miller and starting safeties JoJo McIntosh and Taylor Rapp are all gone.

Keith Taylor appears primed to fill one of the cornerback openings. He played in all 14 games last season and started against Cal and Stanford. But he’ll have plenty of competition from a group of talented redshirt freshmen: Julius Irvin, Kyler Gordon and Dom Hampton.

Brandon McKinney and Isaiah Gilchrist will be competing for starting snaps at safety. McKinney played in all 14 games last season.

Last year’s game against Stanford provided a glimpse of the future. Taylor was starting his second game in place of Miller, who was injured. Bryant also didn’t play against Stanford, so Molden stepped in. And after McIntosh was ejected for targeting in the first half, McKinney filled his role.

After that game, Lake said the Huskies didn’t miss a beat.

“Right now, they got pushed to be starters,” Lake said after the win. “Elijah Molden and Keith Taylor in the beginning of the game and Brandon McKinney had to finish the game. … High confidence in all three of those guys.”

Irvin, Gordon and Hampton even got in on the action against Stanford, mostly on kick coverage. Gordon, who was used in a substitution package on third down, had two tackles while Hampton and Irvin each had one.

Which newcomer could make a difference?

UW had 10 freshmen enroll in January: Safety Cameron Williams, quarterback Dylan Morris, inside linebacker Josh Calvert, cornerback Kamren Fabiculanan, outside linebacker Miki Ah You, defensive tackles Same Paama and Jacob Bandes and offensive linemen Nathanial Kalepo, Julius Buelow and Troy Fautanu.

They’ll be on the field for spring practice along with junior college transfer Corey Luciano, an offensive lineman. Luciano (6-3, 274) was ESPN’s top JC guard in the country.

So which of the freshmen could see the field in their first season?

Two to watch for: Bandes, a four-star defensive tackle and Williams, a three-star prospect. The Huskies are facing significant turnover on the defensive line and at safety, so both could compete for time.

This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 4:38 PM with the headline "5 questions for UW Huskies football ahead of spring practice."