UW coach Jimmy Lake says, ‘Dylan Morris is our starter’ at QB, gives update on Zion Tupuola-Fetui, and more from Day 1 of fall camp
The Washington Huskies opened fall camp Friday on a drizzly morning in Seattle, looking ahead to what is expected to be a season that offers much more normalcy than the last.
They were limited to only four games in 2020 during a delayed and shortened season, but enter August with a full set of practices and a 12-game schedule ahead.
Players and coaches held their first team meeting Thursday night — the first in person since March of 2020, coach Jimmy Lake said. Friday, they were back on the field, running through individual drills and team periods as usual as they prepare for a season that is only four weeks away.
“They’re ramped up and ready to go,” Lake said when he spoke to reporters after practice. “It’s fun to watch them out there competing.”
There will surely be much competition in the days and weeks to come, leading up to UW’s season opener on Montlake against Montana on Sept. 4.
But, it seems some questions about the upcoming season may be answered already. Most notably Friday, when Lake was asked during his post-practice press conference about a timeline for sorting out the Huskies’ situation at quarterback, here is how he responded: “Well, Dylan Morris is our starter. Dylan Morris is our starter, so that sounds solidified to me.”
“Like I told you guys down in Los Angeles, everybody on our team who is a starter or a returning starter, if they decide to slip and not play as well and someone plays better than them at corner, at left tackle, at center, at quarterback, at wide receiver, at linebacker — every single position — punter, kicker. If someone eventually plays better than them during training camp, then they all have a chance to get replaced,” Lake continued.
“But, I feel very confident in our quarterback position right now. Dylan Morris is our starter and we have two guys behind him that are very, very talented. I’m excited to see what they do. But, every single position, you’re the starter until someone comes in and plays better than you. If that happens, then we’re going to play the guy that gives us the best opportunity to win.”
Morris took first-team reps Friday and appears to be the expected starter in September, even with the additions of graduate transfer Patrick O’Brien and five-star freshman Sam Huard, a Kennedy Catholic High School product, to UW’s quarterbacks group this season.
Morris, who starred for four seasons at Graham-Kapowsin from 2015-18, and redshirted his first season in Seattle in 2019, earned the starting job for the Huskies last fall.
He started each of UW’s four games, completing 67-of-110 passes for 897 yards and four touchdowns to three interceptions.
Lake noted the experience Morris gained starting those four games in 2020 shows on the field. Morris seemed composed during team periods Friday, completing the majority of his passes and tossing the first touchdown pass of camp in the first 11-on-11 period.
“I think the biggest difference is he’s played four college football games,” Lake said of Morris’ progression from last summer. “He had never played college football before last fall. So, just having those reps and being in that environment and going out there against an opponent — that’s huge, if you’ve never played college football before and felt the speed of it. So, now he’s a veteran, only four games, but then he also had spring football, full spring football, and the feeling of that and having fans in the stands. And now we’re going to have a full training camp right here. … And he had a full offseason, a regular offseason of installs. There was no pause from January all the way until now.
“ … I’m expecting him to play better than he did in 2020. Because he’s a year older, a year wiser and he’s heard the plays and heard the calls, and we’re expecting him to do that.”
TUPUOLA-FETUI ‘WILL FOR SURE BE SEEING THE FIELD IN 2021’
Less than four months after Zion Tupuola-Fetui — an All-American and All-Pac-12 first-team selection for the Huskies in 2020 — ruptured his left Achilles tendon during a spring practice, Lake offered encouraging news about his standout outside linebacker following Friday’s practice.
“He will for sure be seeing the field in 2021,” Lake said. “It’s been exciting watching him. We knew he was going to attack his rehab, and he is way ahead of where our doctors thought he was going to be. So, we’re excited about that.”
Tupuola-Fetui was an All-American and All-Pac-12 first-team selection for the Huskies in 2020 after compiling 13 total tackles, seven sacks and three forced fumbles during the four-game season, and finishing as the national leader in sacks per game (1.5).
When Tupuola-Fetui was injured in April, Lake indicated he thought the linebacker could make it back during the 2021 season.
“I remember the day he got injured,” Lake said Friday. “He was smiling and he was like, ‘Coach, I’m going to come back way quicker than the experts think,’ and sure enough that’s going to happen.”
Though Tupuola-Fetui is not yet practicing — he was watching from the sideline Friday — Lake said his recovery process is “way ahead of schedule.” Lake said he expects to see Tupuola-Fetui at some point during the regular season, though no specific timeline was given.
“It’s all really his drive and his competitiveness and how he was itching and scratching to get back on the football field,” Lake said. “That’s what it is. He’s been in that weight room, in the training room every single day, bugging our trainers, what can he do extra? His body looks great. He’s at the weight he wants to be at. He looks slimmer, faster, more explosive. I’m sure you saw him out there with his cleats on today.
“It’s just awesome to watch, and it’s awesome for the rest of our team to watch how you attack your rehab and how you get your body back right after an injury like he had.”
Lake said when Tupuola-Fetui, who is now listed at 6-foot-4, 260 pounds, does return, he believes he will be even more explosive.
“You guys saw the explosion he had in 2020,” Lake said. “It’s going to be pretty scary to see even more explosion now with about 18 pounds off of him. His diet is better. His training is better. He’s locked in. He’s going to be ready to go. As soon as he’s full go — watch out.”
EXTRA POINTS
▪ Lake announced Friday that two of UW’s linebackers — redshirt freshman Miki Ah You and incoming freshman Will Latu, a Bethel High School product — are no longer with the team as they have “personal and family issues” they are dealing with. He did not rule out a possible return, but did not anticipate either would rejoin the team this season. “The door is definitely not closed, but we don’t think they’ll be a part of our team this fall for sure,” he said. With the two departures, UW now has 12 linebackers listed on its roster.
▪ Lake noted about 95% of UW’s players are vaccinated as the program returns to a more normal fall schedule. “Which is awesome, which is phenomenal,” Lake said. “There’s still going to be some restrictions. We’ve still got to be smart. … There will be still some protocols that we still have to go through to make sure we don’t get that virus in the building again.”
▪ A connection between Morris and Terrell Bynum earned the first sounding of the siren in camp. Morris found Bynum on a deep pass down the left sideline, and Bynum beat Kyler Gordon in coverage before hauling in a 40-yard catch for a touchdown during the first team period.
▪ Freshman cornerback Elijah Jackson collected the first interception of camp, picking off a pass from Huard intended for Giles Jackson during the first team period.
▪ UW’s fall camp roster includes several familiar names who are products of South Sound high schools, including Huard, Morris, offensive lineman Ulumoo Ale (Fife), tight end Javon Forward (Auburn Riverside), tight end Caden Jumper (Eatonville), defensive lineman Bradley McGannon (Yelm), tight end Cade Otton (Tumwater), offensive lineman Samuel Peacock (Gig Harbor), offensive lineman Chase Skuza (Sumner), linebacker Sav’ell Smalls (Kennedy Catholic), wide receiver Jabez Tinae (Kennedy Catholic) and linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala (Federal Way).
This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 4:45 PM.
