Fans at Husky Stadium, impact players and more from the first week of UW spring practice
There were fans in Husky Stadium on Saturday.
The stands were hardly full, just a smattering of onlookers spread out in the afternoon sun. But after playing the 2020 season in front of cardboard cutouts, Washington’s players were more than happy to see anyone at all.
“(Playing) in an empty stadium was a surreal experience,” said offensive lineman Jaxson Kirkland. “Having all those fans in the stands, it’s been so long. There’s a sense of things coming back to normal.”
Saturday was one of 10 spring practices that will be open to the public, allowing some young players on the roster to play in front of UW fans for the first time. Since spring practice was canceled last season due to COVID-19, some Huskies have never experienced it at all.
Kirkland said the 15 practices are important for everyone, but particularly younger players who might not get meaningful reps otherwise.
“We have four-deep groups on the O-line, so getting all those guys reps, that’s what spring ball’s all about,” Kirkland said. “And for (veterans), too, it’s not like we’re preparing for big games or anything, so I can go out there each day and try new things.”
Junior defensive back Trent McDuffie said the 15 practices give players — especially those new to UW — the opportunity to grow comfortable with each other.
“For me, it’s the verbiage,” McDuffie said. “Just being able to go out on the field and learn how each other operate and how we think and how we attack the game and the things we like to do on the field.”
Returning to UW
UW received good news this offseason when several key players decided to forego the 2021 NFL Draft and return for another year. Two of those players — left tackle Kirkland and tight end Cade Otton — discussed their reasoning after spring practice Saturday.
“There were a lot of things,” Otton said. “I think just taking a couple weeks to reflect, there was just more that I wanted to do here as far as winning with our team. It felt like we kind of got stuck last year. There’s just a lot more we want to do — win a (conference) championship and we want to win a bowl game, whether it’s in the playoff or whatever bowl game we get into. I think that was the driving factor.”
Kirkland also pointed to the shortened season as a key factor in his decision to return. Since center Luke Wattenberg also decided to come back, the Huskies still have their entire 2020 starting offensive line.
“It was a unique, weird year,” Kirkland said. “The college experience is important to me. That was just a bit of a taste of coach Lake and new offense. I love my guys. I love my unit. Coming back was kind of a no-brainer to me.”
The Huskies played just four games last season and had to bow out of the regular-season finale against Oregon, the Pac-12 championship game and a bowl game due to COVID-19 positive cases and contact tracing.
“It was pretty devastating,” Otton said of the cancellations. “You work really hard for six months and then the season got delayed. … You play really well for three weeks, you let one get away but you still have the chance to win it all. It’s tough. Not much we could do about it, but it was definitely difficult watching those games on TV.”
Bowman’s back, too
Outside linebacker Ryan Bowman also decided to return to UW for a sixth season. He’s been a staple on the roster so long that outside linebackers coach Ikaika Malloe joked he’s on his ninth season of eligibility. The NCAA offered athletes an extra season of eligibility to the pandemic, which allowed Bowman to return once more.
That’s good news for the Huskies, who struggled against the run without Bowman in the lineup at the end of last season. He also provides a young position group with some much-needed leadership.
“I can’t even explain how important that is,” Malloe said. “From the time we broke in practice, he was demanding, ‘Let’s go get some lunch, let’s watch film together, let’s get better before we get back on the field.’ That to me is a leader. He had a really good day (Friday) and he didn’t even get the chance to watch film for himself. He was worried about the group and the only way our group can get better.
“Ryan, for him and his legacy, he has to make sure those freshmen know exactly what they’re looking at, how to look at it so we can continue to climb forward.”
With Bowman back, the Huskies return both starting outside linebackers from last season. First-team All-Pac-12 selection Zion Tupuola-Fetui returned after bursting onto the scene with seven sacks and three forced fumbles in just four games.
Tupuola-Fetui filled for Laiatu Latu, who was originally listed as the starter but never saw the field in 2020. Head coach Jimmy Lake announced last week that Latu was forced to medically retire due to a neck injury.
Malloe said the next step for Tupuola-Fetui is learning how to take on a leadership role similar to Bowman.
“For Zion, it’s learning how to be a professional,” Malloe said. “For us, being a professional is learning how to practice, learning how to mentor other kids and run a meeting. … Those are things to me in terms of development that he needs to take that next step.
“He’s pretty gifted in all the other aspects of it. He wants to become a leader through practice, showing the drills, being up in front and then being able to teach it in the meeting rooms.”
Extra points
▪ Speaking of leadership, that’s a big focus for McDuffie this season, too. With the loss to Elijah Molden and Keith Taylor to the NFL Draft, McDuffie is the most experienced defensive back on the roster. He said it’s now his responsibility to take over for Molden in guiding the room.
“I think just how he prepares himself for the game as far as film studying, the way he does extra outside practice and kind of just the way he puts himself in situations as far as leading up to the week,” McDuffie said of what he learned from Molden. “I think that’s someone I’ve been able to learn from and ask questions and developing myself so I can take my game to the next level.”
▪ Running back Jay’Veon Sunday certainly knows how to make himself stand out, something he displayed Saturday when he high-stepped into the open field after a hand-off and collided with safety Alex Cook. The two exchanged words after the play. When Sunday dropped a pass from quarterback Patrick O’Brien on the next snap, the defense let Sunday hear about it.
McDuffie grinned when asked about Sunday after practice.
“You love a physical running back, especially for our team,” McDuffie said. “It brings great energy. It’s just kind of something that the DBs can feed off of. He’s the young dude out here, so we got to try to bring him to that next level, show him how UW football is and set the standard.”
▪ New defensive coordinator Bob Gregory echoed Lake in saying run defense will be a big focus for UW leading up to the 2021 season. Last year, the Huskies allowed 161.2 rushing yards per game.
“I think it was around 200 yards we gave up last year,” Gregory said. “ We’re not going to win a lot of games giving up 200 yards rushing. Talking about it, a lot of emphasis on how we’re taking on blocks, striking blockers better, getting another guy up in the box to stop the run. It’s a philosophy, it’s a mentality, it’s teaching more, spending more time on it.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
