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DawgmanRadio: Reviewing The Defensive Line After Spring Football May 02, 2023

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Now that spring ball has concluded, it's time to look back at what we saw during the 15 practices, looking in-depth at each position group. Today, the guys from Dawgman -- Kim Grinolds and Scott Eklund -- take a look at the defensive line group.

Washington's defensive line returns a lot of talent and experience in 2023 and they will be a huge key in helping the Huskies win a conference title this fall.

The guys from Dawgman go through the two-deeps, starting the leadership of Tuli Letuligasenoa, Faatui Tuitele and Ulumoo Ale. All three return after good seasons in 2022, but none have made as big of an impact as they were expected to when they were recruited out of high school.

For his part, Jacob Bandes, along with Tuitele, was one of the top defensive line prospects in the country in the 2019 recruiting cycle. The switch seems to have flipped for him over the past year and he looks like he could make an impact in the rotation this fall.

Eklund notes that Jayvon Parker and his twin brother Armon Parker are the future at defensive tackle for the Huskies. Both came to Washington after being lightly recruited, but no matter, they should have a big impact over the next couple of seasons. In 2023, they will be in the defensive line rotation, but with so much experience ahead of them, their impact likely won't be felt until 2024.

A player that hasn't gotten a lot of press is Siaosi Finau. The coaches believe he's made progress, but still needs some seasoning before he can really challenge for a spot in the rotation.

They also discuss walk-on Bradley McGannon, a local product who is a valuable practice players, along with 2023 freshman Elinneus Davis who showed up during the spring, but was busy rehabbing from a knee injury.

Lastly, they give a look ahead at some of the top 2024 defensive line targets on Washington's board, including Jericho Johnson, De'Andre Cook, Dominic Kirks and Omar Khan and where things stand with those prospects.

DawgmanRadio: Reviewing The Offensive Line After Spring Football May 01, 2023

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When Kalen DeBoer was hired and brought in a new coaching staff, one of the head-scratchers for many Husky fans was the retention of Scott Huff. Due to the 2021 seasons utter collapse offensively, many believed Huff and his group of players were a big reason why Washington's offense struggled so much. Fast forward a year and pretty much every Husky fan is ebulient that Huff was retained and that this group looks like a strength moving forward.

The guys from Dawgman sit down and go through each scholarship lineman on the roster, including true freshmen Landen Hatchett and Zach Henning, each of whom arrived early and showed they belonged on a Power Five roster.

They also broke down each position group, starting with center and then moving to the guards and then the tackles.

Led by Matteo Mele, the center group, including Hatchett and Paker Brailsford, is pretty deep right now while the guards are also a group that has some depth with Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow running with the first team and veterans Geirean Hatchett and Gaard Memmelaar nipping at their heels.

At tackle, Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten are the unquestioned starters and their main backups, at least right now, are two players -- Sam Peacock and Rogert Wyrsch -- who were brought in as projects when they signed.

Another big topic was the remaining incoming freshmen who will show up in the summer -- Elishah Jackett, Soane Faasolo and Khalee Tafai -- and where they will fit in once they arrive.

DawgmanRadio: Reviewing The Tight Ends After Spring Football Apr 29, 2023

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When Husky head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb came over from Fresno State, some were concerned that the tight end position wouldn't be utilized much in the offense. To be sure, the wide receivers caught a vast majority of the passes, but the tight ends became an integral part of the offense, both as blockers in the running game and in pass-protection, but the also combined to grab 66 receptions for 690 yards and two touchdowns during the season.

Jack Westover led the way while Devin Culp played a larger role as well.

During the spring, Westover dealt with some injuries and that allowed Culp and Quentin Moore to quite a few reps and transfer Josh Cuevas also found his way onto the field with the second and third team, showing why he was a coveted player from the transfer portal.

Waiting in the wings is Ryan Otton, a former four-star prospect from Tumwater. While he's made some progress, he's still probably a year away from making a big contribution to the offense, but the coaches have raved about his work-ethic and future in the offense.

The guys from Dawgman riffed on all five of those players and talked about how the rotation make work itself out this season.

DawgmanRadio: Reviewing The Wide Receivers After Spring Football Apr 27, 2023

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Following a record-setting season, Washington's first with two 1,000 yard receivers, the Husky wideout group is widely considered to be one of the best and deepest rooms in the entire country. In fact, aside from Ohio State, which features at least five future NFL Draft first rounders on their receiver depth chart, there may not be a deeper receiver corps in the entire country.

First thing the guys talk about is what makes Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan so good. Part of it is their rapport with Michael Penix Jr., but they are versatile playmakers who can do whatever is asked of them. Position coach JaMarcus Shephard has lauded their work-ethic as well as they playmaking abilities and both are considered to be two of the top receivers in the entire nation.

The scary thing is, players like Ja'Lynn Polk is rarely mentioned as being a key factor by those in the national media, but those close to the program understand how valuable he is to Washington's offense. The guys talk about what it is that he does best and whether or not they believe he will wind up playing for the Huskies in 2024 or whether he will move on to the NFL.

Throw in players like Denzel Boston and Germie Bernard, two second-year players who could start on quite a few Power Five teams, as well as Giles Jackson and Taj Davis, two role players who could play key roles this fall, and Washington is poised to have a very explosive passing offense this fall.

That's not even mentioning the three incoming wide receivers -- Rashid Williams, Taeshaun Lyons and Keith Reynolds -- all of whom will likely redshirt this season and you can see why everyone is so bullish on the Dawg offense this year.

DawgmanRadio: Reviewing The Running Backs After Spring Football Apr 26, 2023

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Washington lost a good one in Wayne Taulapapa following the 2022 season, but luckily they do return the man who shared carries with him, Cameron Davis.

Davis looked the part of a starting tailback during the spring and he seems firmly entrenched as the starter heading into the second half of the offseason, but make no mistake, with players like Dillon Johnson, Daniyel Ngata, Richard Newton, Sam Adams, Aaron Dumas, Will Nixon and Tybo Rogers, he'll be challenged all the way up until Washington's first game against Boise State on September 2nd.

Ngata, a transfer from Arizona State, has shown some flashes, but some nagging injuries kept him in a yellow jersey for much of the spring. Johnson was very much in the same boat, showing up for the second half of spring, but only taking part in two or three practices before suffering an injury that kept him on the sidelines and doing rehab for the final two weeks of camp.

The guys focused on the depth chart heading into the second half of the offseason and also talked about some of the youngsters who are just now starting to get the opportunity to show what they can do.

In addition to Davis' exploits, both felt that Nixon and Adams had very good springs and talked about how the coaches have raved about their positive contributions.

They also noted that Rogers looks like he could be a gamebreaker very early in his Husky career. Coming out of Bakersfield High School, the 5'11", 200 pounder struggled with some injuries, but he is back to full health and showed his explosiveness several times during the spring.

Could Rogers make himself valuable enough to the 2023 team to burn his redshirt? The answer to that is still to be determined.

DawgmanRadio: Reviewing The Quarterbacks After Spring Football Apr 25, 2023

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Heading into spring, there was no doubt who the starter for the Huskies is and that is a big change from last season.

Michael Penix Jr. had a strong spring, but the guys talk about how, if you just go by spring, there wasn't much of a difference between him and Dylan Morris. However, there's just something about the sixth-year senior that sets him apart once the lights go on and he's playing in front of a crowd.

For his part, Morris looked much more comfortable in the offense and he could be one of the top backup quarterbacks in the country with the way he prepares and his mental makeup.

Lastly, they talk about incoming freshman Austin Mack and walk-on Alex Johnson, who was third string during the spring, and what they bring to the table.

Michael Penix Jr, Rome Odunze, and Kalen DeBoer talk to the media after Washington's Spring Preview Apr 23, 2023

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The Huskies concluded their spring football campaign with a 90-play scrimmage between the offense and the defense in front of fans at Husky Stadium. Michael Penix Jr, Rome Odunze, and Kalen DeBoer spoke to the media on how the day went, as well as the rest of spring.

DawgmanRadio: Wrapping Up Washington's Spring Preview Apr 23, 2023

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Washington wrapped up their spring practices on Saturday with their annual "Spring Preview" which featured an 89-play scrimmage and some big plays on both sides of the ball. Eventually, the offense eeked out a 35-34 win over the defense in front of roughly 4-5,000 fans in the stands

The guys from Dawgman.com -- Kim Grinolds and Scott Eklund -- sat down afterwards to unpack what they saw and also give a relatively brief overview (a more intense one will take place at some point next week) of spring football and which players caught their eyes during the 15 practices.

They discussed Michael Penix Jr.'s day and discussed that he was always a bit off throughout the spring. Not to diminish what he was able to do, but helping people to understand that, much like last spring, the Heisman candidate didn't blow anyone away with his performance. That happened during the season.

Grinolds made the point that Cameron Davis appears to have separated himself, at least right now, from the rest of the pack in the tailback room.

On Saturday, Davis ran hard, totaling 51 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries while Sam Adams, Tybo Rogers and Aaron Dumas each had their moments as well.

As good as Washington's receiver room is, Denzel Boston has been one of the standouts of camp and the coaches have raved about his progress. During Saturday's game, the second-year wideout took a quick snap and ran it in from six yards out. As good as the play looked, especially when you consider the timing needed as he was coming in motion and took the direct snap from backup center Landen Hatchett, we found out later, both from Kalen DeBoer and Boston himself, that the play was actually a mistake.

Along the offensive line, we saw the Huskies ride the quintet of Troy Fautanu (LT), Julius Buelow (LG), Matteo Mele (C), Nate Kalepo (RG) and Roger Rosengarten (RT) through all of spring and DeBoer said afterwards that those were the five they were going with right now, but they are not so far and away better than some of the backups, namely Geirean Hatchett and Parker Brailsford, that the competition was over for the starting spots.

Turning the page to the defense, the guys discussed the progress of the cornerbacks, namely Elijah Jackson and the coaches being so effusive in their praise of the third-year corner. They also talked about the interceptions made by Jaivion Green and Jackson as well as the contributions of Jabbar Muhammad and Thaddeus Dixon, each of whom is in the mix for the starting two corner spots.

The wrapped things up by talking about some of the former players they saw on the sidelines, includin ...

Kalen DeBoer Talks Ahead of Washington's Spring Preview Apr 21, 2023

Show notes

On Friday, Kalen DeBoer spoke to the media one last time before Saturday's Spring Preview, which will take place at 1 pm at Husky Stadium. He talked about the preview itself (hint: it won't be a full-blown game), what Washington fans can look forward to seeing, as well as the recent departure of EDGE player Sav'ell Smalls, the impact of having two transfer portal windows and how that affects roster construction, players that have stood out during spring, and a lot more. A Husky legend was a special guest during Friday's practice, and he spoke to the team too!

The Offensive Players and Coaches Talk After Day 13 of Spring Practice Apr 21, 2023

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Husky offensive line coach Scott Huff, offensive linemen Matteo Mele and Roger Rosengarten, tailbacks coach Lee Marks and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb talk after Day 13 of spring practices

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