Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

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DawgmanRadio: Competition is what drives Husky defense Dec 01, 2020

Show notes

After a crazy game on Saturday night where their team came back from a 21-point deficit in the second half against Utah to get to 3-0 on the season, one of the biggest themes coming from the players has been the competition the coaches foster every day in meetings and on the practice field. Two sophomore contributors to Washington's success, not only this past weekend, but also the whole season so far are defensive back Kyler Gordon and defensive lineman Sam Taimani. Both met with the media and Tuesday and talked about the win over Utah, including a key play by Gordon that forced a fumble deep in Washington territory in the fourth quarter.

Taimani, a Utah native, knows quite a few players on the Ute roster as well as the entire staff who recruited him back in 2018, so Saturday's win was big for him. One person who wasn't able to watch was his grandmother, the woman who helped raise him, but it wasn't because she was doing something else that conflicted with watching the game. She was so "stressed out", according to Taimani, that she wound up going down to her basement and fell asleep. It wasn't until his grandfather woke her up and she was able to jump on the phone with her grandson that she found out the final score of the game.

Both players also talked about the competition encouraged by the coaching staff every day in practice has helped the team improve on both sides of the ball.

Taimani talked about how Zion Tupuola-Fetui's success has helped the offensive line improve while Gordon said the secondary competes every day and that has improved the entire group and that is why you have seen some of the success from that group over the past couple of years.

DawgmanRadio: Lake talks Utah win, upcoming Stanford fist-fight Nov 30, 2020

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You could still see the smile on Jimmy Lake's face on Monday as he was asked quite a few questions about his team's thrilling come-from-behind win over Utah and the resiliency his team showed in shutting out the Utes while scoring 24 points in the second half against a very good defense. But like all great coaches, Lake isn't going to bask in the glory of a win when he has just five days to get ready for another talented and physical opponent like Stanford.

Lake said that redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan Morris showed on Saturday night why he's the guy they chose to lead this team to start the season. After a shaky performance in the first half, one that saw the Husky offense completely shut out and shut down by Utah's defense, Morris came out and led his team to the win, completing a pass to tight end Cade Otton for a 16-yard touchdown with just :36 seconds remaining in the game to give Washington their only lead of the night.

"He's steady at the helm, he doesn't flinch, he doesn't blink, he's ready to go back through his process and deliver the ball where he needs to deliver it, get us into a good play and to get us out of a bad play and he's been able to do that in practice, so it's no surprise to our team that he was able to do that under tremendous pressure because we put that type of pressure on our offense in practice," Lake said.

Lake also noted that Zion Tupuola-Fetui is a player who really took things to heart following last season, a year when the coaching staff really started to see him come on, and he changed his physique, he worked on the technique and he worked on his game and improving himself and everyone is seeing that hard work pay off right now with his productivity in the first three weeks of the season.

Looking forward to their game against Stanford this weekend, Lake said that he knows it will be a fist-fight between these two programs because of the brand of football both schools subscribe to and he said he anticipates Davis Mills to be a tough quarterback for them to handle, but that he expects the Huskies to have a great gameplan to make things tough on the Cardinal starter.

Jamal Bey and Mike Hopkins talk after Baylor loss Nov 30, 2020

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Washington guard Jamal Bey and head coach Mike Hopkins spoke to the media after the Huskies lost their season-opener to No. 2 Baylor 86-52 in Las Vegas.

Jimmy Lake, players talk about Washington's crazy win over Utah Nov 29, 2020

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Needless to say, it wasn't hard to find players to talk about Washington's stunning 24-21 come-from-behind win over Utah Saturday night at Husky Stadium.

In a game no one knew would even be played a week ago, the historic fight back for the Huskies will be remembered around Montlake for years to come.

But most will want to forget the first half, a half that saw the visitors jump out to a 21-0 lead. Utah thoroughly dominated all phases of the game, and it didn't look good for Washington heading into the locker room.

But in talking with UW Head Coach Jimmy Lake, outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui, defensive back Elijah Molden, and tight end Cade Otton, the battle was only half-way through. It was a 'street fight' according to Lake, and the Utes were the only ones landing any punches. It was up to Washington to start landing some haymakers coming out of the tunnel, and that's what they did.

For the game, Tupuola-Fetui continued his torrid pace, coming up with 6 tackles, including 3 tackles for loss, three sacks, and a 29-yard fumble recovery after Kyler Gordon forced a Utah fumble in the UW red zone.

Molden, the senior nickel from West Linn, Ore., finished the game with 8 tackles, including 1 tackle for loss and 1 interception for 24 yards.

And Otton, the senior tight end from Tumwater, came up huge for the UW offense after they struggled for most of the first half. He finished with 8 catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 16-yard strike from Dylan Morris with 36 seconds to play.

All four spoke on the poise under pressure when it came to Morris, the redshirt freshman quarterback from Graham Kapowsin. In Lake's words, "he never flinched."

Morris finished the game 23-38 for 272 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions - although one of those picks was a Hail Mary at the end of the second quarter, and he also had an underthrown ball tipped and eventually intercepted by Utah.

Breaking down a historic UW 24-21 win over Utah Nov 29, 2020

Show notes

Everyone remember the 28-27 come-from-behind win by Washington against California back in 1988? Well, a little over 32 years to the day, the Huskies pulled off a similar shocker, as they came from 21 points behind at half to stun the Utah Utes 24-21 at Husky Stadium Saturday night in a game no one expected to be played a week ago.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - sorted through the madness of this game, this crazy tale of two halves, and what turned out to be a coming-of-age moment for young quarterback Dylan Morris.

Because of cancellations, this game was put together on short notice, and from the Huskies' point of view, it looked like it early. The Utes took the game to UW, out-gained them by a ton, and led 21-0 after two quarters.

In the first half of the podcast, the three pick apart what went right for Utah, namely their ability to move the ball on the ground and in the air, win the battle of third down, and score touchdowns when they were within striking distance - as well as what went wrong for Washington, including missed tackles, going without a third-down conversion, and having no luck at all on the ground, something that was supposed to be their bread and butter.

The second half? What a turnaround. The Huskies, for the second time in three games, shut out their opponent on the scoreboard, and UW came out firing on offense. In Jimmy Lake's parlance of the evening, Utah had hit them with some shots in this street fight, and now it was Washington's turn to take the fight back at Utah. They did just that, coming up with some key turnovers, and then UW's final drive of the night; an 88-yard masterpiece that showcased Morris's cool demeanor, his pocket presence, his ability to command the huddle and move his team down the field in the moments that mattered most. His poise under pressure was unbelievable.

The result? A beautiful 16-yard touchdown to Cade Otton with less than 45 seconds left gave the Huskies their first lead of the game.

The Dawgman guys go through it all, including their final thoughts on the lessons learned from tonight's game and how those lessons will help the Huskies as they continue through this nutty 2020 campaign, as well as talk about the performances put forth by players like Morris, Otton, Puka Nacua, Zion Tupuola-Fetui, and Elijah Molden.

DawgmanRadio: Saturday thoughts heading into the Utah game Nov 28, 2020

Show notes

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got on the mic this morning to give their thoughts on what they'll see later today when Utah tangles with the Washington Huskies, as well as what else is going on around the conference, and also some new UW recruiting information.

First they talk about how the Huskies' current play can impact how they finish out the 2021 class, with a specific nod toward the two in-state five-star targets left on the board; J.T. Tuimoloau and Emeka Egbuka.

The next subject was the Utah Utes. The guys talked about what they expect to see from Kyle Whittingham's team on both sides of the ball, what their loss to USC in their season-opener may have done in exposing certain weaknesses, and the areas the Huskies may be able to exploit.

Next was a focus on the Huskies. First, is today the day we see graduate transfer quarterback Kevin Thomson enter a game? Is this a situation where UW may want to play more than one quarterback to catch the Utes off guard?

And how do we expect Washington to use their running backs? Who will get the majority of carries, and what approach will they take in attacking a strong Utah front seven?

After a quick break, the guys go backward a day to give their thoughts on the two big Pac-12 games that were played; the Big Game, and Oregon-Oregon State. There was plenty to talk about there, with an emphasis on the end of the UO-OSU game and how is the Pac-12 going to sort out that dumpster fire from an officiating standpoint?

Talk comes back around to more recruiting talk, and Scott updates us on the two 2022 players that were offered on Thanksgiving: Sir Mells and Anthony Jones, and how their recruitment may offer a glimpse as to how the Huskies will recruit for 2022 and 2023 moving forward considering the dead period for recruiting has been extended through mid-April.

And in their final thoughts, Chris puts in his two cents when it comes to the College Football Playoff and the Pac-12's place in it, especially when talking about the Big Ten and where they currently stand.

The Interns preview the Utah Utes Nov 27, 2020

Show notes

Jack McCauley and Luke Mounger take time from their Thanksgiving meals to provide a comprehensive preview of Washington's Saturday opponent, the Utah Utes.

It's already been a crazy week! Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - have barely come up for air after it was announced that Washington would host Utah Saturday night instead of preparing for the 113th Apple Cup. But there's so much to talk about, we had to get it down on tape!

First, there's Wednesday's crazy AWS outage, which affected 247Sports, as well as dozens of other big companies, so apologies for that. Outages are never fun or come at a good time, but hopefully, the worst is behind us.

But what a crazy 72 hours it's been. First, the announcement that there would be no Apple Cup. Then, talk of Washington approaching BYU for a game, then talk of BYU saying no. Then BYU coming back, saying they would agree to a game only if it was played in Provo and the Huskies couldn't back out. The stakes in this mini-game of brinksmanship were exacerbated by BYU's claim they would play 'any team, any time, any place'. Well, that was clearly nonsense.

Then came word that San Diego State had an opening for this weekend because their game with Fresno State fell through. So was a game with the Aztecs a possibility?

UW Head Coach Jimmy Lake said, at one point, he had four depth charts in front of him (my guess is BYU, SDSU, Utah, and Colorado, but I doubt we will ever know), wondering who the Huskies would end up playing. He bet on Utah, so the team practiced for a potential game with the Utes on Tuesday. And, he was right.

The Dawgman guys also talked about Lake's decision to empty his bench in the fourth quarter of their win over Arizona last weekend when the game was already well out of reach for the Wildcats.

Talk then turned to opinions of John Donovan's pro-style, multiple attack after two games, what has worked well, and what continues to need work.

DawgmanRadio: Jimmy Lake thankful Washington will play Utah Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

It's been a whirlwind of emotions since Washington downed Arizona 44-27 last Saturday. Rumblings before the game were that the Apple Cup, scheduled for Friday, was in jeopardy due to a COVID-19 outbreak within that program and sure enough, on Sunday, the game was cancelled the very next day.

That's when Washington athletic director Jen Cohen and he staff went to work trying to find an opponent for the Huskies to play this weekend. According to Jimmy Lake, who met with the media following Wednesday's practice, there were four opponents lined up, but Washington's preference has always been to play a conference opponent, so he and the staff began preparing for Utah and their gamble paid off when it was announced that the Huskies would host the Utes on Saturday night as a replacement for their cancelled game with the Cougars.

Lake said that the respect for Kyle Whittingham and the rest of the Ute football program runs deep within Washington's program and he knows they will be well-coached and ready to play on Saturday night. His team will not take them lightly and will be ready to go as well.

Asked about redshirt freshman wide receiver Puke Nacua who had a game-changing 65-yard touchdown catch and run early in the game, Lake said the Utah native has a big body and is a tough matchup for opposing defensive backs, but that he wants him to be more consistent, noting some of the drops we've seen in the first two weeks. Once he improves in the area of consistency, Lake thinks he'll be a tough player to stop.

DawgmanRadio: Arizona review, will Apple Cup be played? Nov 22, 2020

Show notes

After Washington's blugeoning of Arizona last night, Husky fans have a lot to be excited about. The guys from Dawgman spoke Sunday about the numerous things they saw last night including a Husky offense that many considered to be too conservative and "run oriented". Redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan Morris came out throwing and made the Wildcats pay all night with his pin-point accuracy and good decision-making.

One thing that stood out was the play of the offensive line, a group that collectively paved the way for a running game that totaled 233 yards on the ground and kept Morris upright most of the night which allowed him to throw for 230 yards and two touchdowns while going 15 of 25.

It was great to see the offense show that they have enough explosiveness to hurt teams no matter how they try to stop them, but this game was determined by Washington's defense which only allowed Arizona 65 yard of offense by the end of the third quarter. Once the starters were pulled, that's when Arizona went to work and made the game appear to be closer than it was.

Following their discussion of last night's game, Kim, Chris and Scott discussed what they are hearing about the Apple Cup and whether it will be played this coming weekend as scheduled. If not Washington State, who might the Huskies be looking to add to their schedule?

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