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The offense speaks up before the pads pop Oct 13, 2020

Show notes

As of now, John Donovan has ruled no one out. And although he doesn't want to have to wait until game week to announce a starting quarterback, he hasn't ruled out the idea of using more than one signal caller, if necessary.

This is the reality of Washington's current quarterback battle, and the first-year offensive coordinator spoke to the media Tuesday a day ahead of when the pads could officially pop.

In other words, he hasn't really seen what any of the four scholarship quarterbacks can do when the bullets are actually flying, so to speak. And they wouldn't be allowed to go live in any event. But when the team can finally go full pads, that's when you know the speed of the game will go up too, as will the stakes.

Donovan talked about the four QBs - Jacob Sirmon, Dylan Morris, Ethan Garbers, and Kevin Thomson - what he's looking for in the position battle, and what it's going to take for one or more of them to separate themselves from the pack.

He also talked about the movement along the offensive line, utilizing the running backs in the pass game like they did at Jacksonville last season, and more.

The media also caught up with junior offensive lineman Jaxson Kirkland, who confirmed his move to left tackle, as well as his 30-pound weight loss, and senior tight end Cade Otton, who spoke on the challenges he faces as he takes on even more of a leadership role within his room now that the other senior TE - Jacob Kizer - has opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns.

The defense does the talking after Day 3 of camp Oct 11, 2020

Show notes

On Sunday, it was the defense's turn to stand in front of the media firing line via Zoom, so Washington Defensive Coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, senior OLB/DE Ryan Bowman, and senior defensive back Elijah Molden each took their spot after day three of fall camp to answer questions.

Kwiatkowski took questions on individual players like Bowman and true freshman Jordan Lolohea, as well as how the UW staff was able to maximize their time off the field when they weren't allowed to have spring football due to the coronavirus pandemic. He also talked about his relationship with first-year head coach Jimmy Lake, one that goes as far back as Jimmy's playing days at Eastern Washington in the late '90s, as well as how surprised he was that Chris Petersen stepped down as UW's Head Coach after last year's Apple Cup win.

Next, it was Bowman, and the senior talked about life after losing Joe Tryon as their bookend outside linebacker and what that meant for him in terms of having to step up as the sole senior leader of the room, as well as the different roles and responsibilities the two outside linebackers have in Washington's nickel base scheme.

Last, but certainly not least, was Molden, who was asked about his own mentoring responsibilities, how that has been passed down to him from former UW nickel Myles Bryant, and how he's started that same process with another nickel, true freshman walk-on Kasen Kinchen. He also broke down a few of the reasons why the Huskies have been historically difficult to score on during his time at Montlake, and also corrects the record on Dominique Hampton's off-season weight gain.

Fall Camp Day 1: Football in the Time of COVID-19 Oct 10, 2020

Show notes

Friday was the first day the Washington Huskies were able to take part in what most would accurately describe as an actual practice and not something that more closely resembled a smaller group activity.

They were able to line up, run plays, and basically do things you might see a football team do on Saturdays in front of a large crowd of fans.

But now we're talking about football in the time of COVID-19. It means coming into the football facility at Montlake wearing a mask at all times, employing social distancing. You come in and get a swab done as part of each Pac-12 team's coronavirus testing protocol. Some days you get tested twice.

First-year Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake sounded every bit the seasoned vet Friday, refusing to get lured into questions about his quarterback depth chart or off-season injuries. In that way, he sounded remarkably similar to his predecessor, Chris Petersen.

But he did drop the news that senior tight end Jacob Kizer and senior defensive back Isaiah Gilchrist have opted out of playing in 2020 due to COVID concerns, so they will have the option of coming back in 2021 if they choose to.

Lake also talked about certain players and their off-season weight changes, especially when it came to a defensive back like Dominique Hampton, who is now listed at 220 pounds, as well as newcomers that popped out to him the first day on both sides of the ball, among a number of other topics.

The interns have their say on the 2020 season Oct 08, 2020

Show notes

Two of Dawgman.com's interns, Intern Emeritus Luke Mounger and current intern Jack McCauley, are itching to get the 2020 Washington Football season underway! So what better way to do that than to put together a podcast of their thoughts heading into the season.

They talk about the new schedule and go through it game-by-game, including some in-depth talk on Washington's first opponent - a trip to the Bay Area to face the California Golden Bears, and how things look for the Huskies if they were able to get past the Bears. Don't sleep on their breakdown of the Oregon Ducks!

Then they move to their takes on the team itself, including the position battles they're excited to watch. They start with the offensive line, then move to the linebackers and the defensive line, and finish it up with the defensive backs and then finish up with their opinions on who will start at quarterback. Listen for Jack's hot take; it's not to be missed!

And at the end Luke and Jack each pick one player they are super-excited to see what they're going to do this fall. They both go offense: Jack picks a running back and Luke picks a tight end.

Jimmy Lake talks to the Pac-12 media ahead of fall camp Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

Technically, the Washington Huskies are going through their fall camp right now, but the reality is that camp won't really start until the pads start popping. And that won't be until this coming Tuesday.

In the meantime, Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake is making the rounds with the media, and he's also acting as one of the torch-bearers for the Pac-12 conference. He's doing his best to stick up for west coast football, but also understands that it's going to take a lot of winning, as well as winning some high-profile non-conference games, for the rest of the country to take note.

During Wednesday's zoom call with the Pac-12 media, Lake argued the league's case for why they should be included in the College Football Playoff, and also argued his case for a 6-team playoff format, one that would ensure that all of the Power-5 conferences are represented.

He was also asked about position battles at quarterback, offensive line, and inside linebacker, as well as how the freeze on eligibility will impact the staff's use of true freshmen this fall.

The topic of 9 am starts was also discussed, as well as how the most recent 7-game Pac-12 schedule was figured out.

DawgmanRadio: Emergency schedule release podcast! Oct 03, 2020

Show notes

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - discuss the Saturday morning breaking news; the Pac-12 has released their THIRD 2020 football schedule, and let's hope the third time is the charm.

The Washington Huskies open up their 2020 season at California on November 7th, followed by home games against Oregon State and Arizona. Then, as they do every two years, they make their Thanksgiving pilgrimage to Pullman to play Washington State in the Apple Cup.

That would normally serve as the end to the regular season, but no! In this delayed and shortened conference-only season, the Huskies then come back to Seattle to host Stanford before finishing up their 'regular season' in Eugene.

So could it be a Washington-Oregon finale to determine the North Division representative for the Pac-12 Championship game? It's a definite possibility.

What's even crazier is that, even if Washington doesn't make it to the Pac-12 title game, they'll still have a game the weekend of December 19. Who they'll play and where they play is obviously still to be determined, but they will have a game that weekend no matter what.

The Dawgman guys talk about the difficulty of the schedule, possible hiccups, heaping a little praise on the Pac-12 for how they came up with the schedule, and which fan base might feel the most aggrieved at how things were scheduled.

And lastly, Scott updates up on some Saturday recruiting news. There's always a recruiting update to share!

Jimmy Lake, Elijah Molden, Cade Otton speak to the media Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

On Tuesday, Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake answered the below questions from the media via a Zoom call, as well as gave some opinions on various position groups. He also talked about simplifying schemes, but still making it difficult for the opponent in order for his guys to play as fast as possible. He also talked about his job as being a different kind of problem-solver during this time, as well as how he's keeping the team accountable for their behavior out of the UW Football 'bubble'. He was asked about the possibility of Levi Onwuzurike and Joe Tryon returning, the importance of Elijah Molden returning for his senior year, the importance of daily Quidel antigen testing to help eliminate the need for postponing/canceling games, as well as offensive lineman Cole Norgaard's medical retirement.

Molden and senior TE Cade Otton also take questions from the media during this call.

DawgmanRadio: Fall Camp is here! So what's next? Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - spoke for the first time since practice started back up on Montlake. UW Football is back! Or at least back practicing, pending the release of this next iteration of the Pac-12 schedule. We'd be surprised if it isn't released sometime this week, but in the meantime, the Seattle media spoke with Jimmy Lake, Elijah Molden, and Cade Otton Tuesday afternoon, and the Dawgman guys talked about those conversations, as well as how they see certain position groups working themselves out in the next four to five weeks.

Then there was a big recruiting segment with Kim and Scott. Scott went up to the COVID 7's this past weekend at Tyee High School, where he got to see a load of in-state talent, including the newest 2022 commit, Chance Bogan. They also talked about the bumper crop of in-state linemen for the 2022 class, as well as Jimmy Lake's role as lead recruiter now that he's also the head coach of the Huskies, and what that means for the recruitment of the top 2021 in-state players like Emeka Egbuka and J.T. Tuimoloau.

Here's a great recent podcast with Scott and 247Sports National Recruiting Editor Brandon Huffman that will catch you up on all the latest having to do with UW recruiting and the top in-state prospects.

And finally, a shout-out to one of the all-time WR greats to ever play at UW, Jermaine Kearse, who called it a day after eight seasons as a professional. Congratulations to Jermaine!

DawgmanRadio: An Exclusive Chat with Jen Cohen Sep 26, 2020

Show notes

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds talks to the Washington Athletic Director Jen Cohen shortly after the news broke that the Pac-12 had voted to bring back football. How did it happen? How is the Quidel daily antigen testing going to be implemented?

They talked about the difficulties faced by the department during the pandemic, including the furlough of staff and cutting back to keep the non-revenue sports afloat. They also talked about scheduling, when will Michigan come back to Seattle to make up the game that was supposed to be played on September 5, and more about what next week's schedule will look like. We do know this: there will be no bye before UW's game at Oregon, and there will be no fans at Autzen Stadium.

Cohen also talks about Chris Petersen, Jimmy Lake, and her hopes for expanding the college football playoff system in this wide-ranging, comprehensive 45-minute interview.

DawgmanRadio: Recruiting Chat with 247's Brandon Huffman Sep 25, 2020

Show notes

Washington fans got great news Thursday evening when it was announced that the Pac 12 had voted unanimously to start preparing for the 2020 football season which will begin on November 6th, so some normalcy is starting to return and we thought it was a great opportunity to catch up with 247's Brandon Huf fman and get an update on the recruiting front.

In the 50-plus minute podcast, Huffman and Dawgman's Scott Eklund talked about the two top players left on Washington's recruiting board for 2021 -- J.T. Tuimoloau and Emeka Egbuka -- while also looking ahead to 2022 and 2023 and seeing where things are headed in-state on the recruiting front.

From the lineman heavy 2022 class, Josh Conerly from Rainier Beach (Seattle), Malik Agbo from Todd Beamer (Federal Way), Dave Iuli from Puyallup. Graham Kapowsin's Vegao Ioane and O'Dea (Seattle) offenive lineman Mark Nabou, the Huskies have their choice of top prospects to recruit along the offensive front line and it will be interesting to see how many spots they actually have available in the class.

In 2023, Lincoln (Tacoma) athlete Jayden Wayne tops the list of in-state recruits, but there are a couple of really good defensive backs already on the radar as well.

To listen to what Huffman had to say on a number of recruiting subjects as they pertain to the Huskies and their efforts as well as a quick glance at the rest of the conference, click on the audio link below...

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