Huskies notes: UW looking ahead to Colorado, WSU; coach search begins
The past two weeks have brought many changes for the Washington Huskies football program.
UW moved on from offensive coordinator John Donovan the day after the rivalry loss to Oregon, then suspended head coach Jimmy Lake ahead of the Arizona State game the next morning following a sideline incident with a player.
The program then parted ways with Lake on Sunday with two games left on the regular season schedule and started the process of looking for its next head coach.
Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory has been named the program’s interim head coach for the remainder of the season, while wide receivers coach Junior Adams is now calling plays as UW’s interim offensive coordinator.
Gregory and Adams led UW (4-6) on Saturday afternoon against Arizona State. The Huskies opened with consecutive touchdown drives to build an early lead, but the Sun Devils rallied in the second half to hand UW a second straight loss in Seattle. Now the two coaches, and the rest of the staff, will look to guide the Huskies through the final two weeks of the regular season.
“It’s our job to help these kids navigate through a tough time,” Gregory said during a press conference Tuesday. “It’s not easy for these guys. Their world has changed a little bit.”
Gregory noted the importance of continuing to focus on winning the final two games with a postseason appearance still in reach.
“You’ve got to finish what you started,” he said. “There’s no quit. … We’ve just got to keep those guys focused that way.”
The Huskies are no longer in the running for a Pac-12 North title — No. 4 Oregon is in front with six conference wins, while Oregon State and Washington State each have four, and UW has three — but there is still the possibility of a bowl game.
UW can avoid missing out on bowl eligibility for the first time since 2009 by topping both Colorado on the road Saturday afternoon and WSU in the Apple Cup next week.
“We still have a lot of really cool stuff to play for,” Gregory said. “We can have a winning season. Apple Cup. Bowl game. All that kind of stuff. And that’s what we’ve got to do.”
COACH SEARCH BEGINS
Following Sunday’s announcement, UW now begins its search for the program’s next head coach.
There is no specific timeline for the process, athletic director Jen Cohen noted on a video call with reporters Sunday. Cohen said the program will move as “swiftly and thoroughly as possible.”
“We have all the resources we need to be a championship program,” she said. “We’re going to be wide open in our search, and I know we’re going to have a really strong candidate pool.”
Cohen said the program is looking for “the right fit and the right person.”
“We want somebody that cares deeply about developing students both on and off the field and can build a championship program here,” she said.
Cohen said she will rely on a small group of advisers during the process while also hiring a search firm, though the scope of the involvement of the search firm is to be determined. She said she will seek input from student athletes on what they are looking for in their next head coach.
“I think it’s really important to engage students and hear their voices,” she said.
EXTRA POINTS
▪ Five-star freshman quarterback Sam Huard played a career-high 17 snaps last week against Arizona State in his third appearance, per Pro Football Focus. Huard played three series, finishing 3-of-5 passing for 20 yards, splitting time with regular starter Dylan Morris.
“I think we had to do that,” Gregory said of how the quarterback plan for Saturday’s game played out. “Give ourselves a little bit of a spark, and give Sam a chance to play. I think it helps him. It helps Dylan. A little bit of competition. I thought it was good. I think it helped overall.”
Morris has started each of UW’s 10 games this season and is 187-of-311 passing for 2,071 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Huard has now appeared in three games this season — he also played one series in both the Arkansas State and Arizona games — and is 5-of-11 passing for 51 yards.
Could Huard play again this week?
“We’re still evaluating all that,” Gregory said.
Huard can appear in one more game and retain his redshirt season.
UW also has a third option at quarterback in graduate transfer Patrick O’Brien, who has appeared in one series this season against Arkansas State.
“I think he’s got a chance to help us,” Gregory said. “Maybe this week a little bit more. They all took reps today. Today’s a big practice for all those guys in figuring out exactly where we’re at.”
▪ Saturday’s game against Arizona State was UW’s first since Adams took over play calling duties, with the Huskies’ first two drives resulting in touchdowns for the first time this season.
Here’s what Gregory said about the offense: “We just looked at the things we’ve done well in the past this year, really trimmed down the call sheet and then got the quarterbacks in the room and really discussed what they felt good about, what Coach Adams and the offensive staff felt good about, and came up with the game plan from there.”
▪ Saturday’s game at Folsom Field in Boulder is scheduled for noon Pacific on Pac-12 Network.
The Apple Cup kickoff has been set for 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 26, in Seattle. This will be the first time the Huskies and Cougars have played each other since 2019. Last season’s meeting was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 5:23 PM.
