SEATTLE — Washington officially reached the halfway point of its spring practice schedule with a Monday morning workout inside a sunny Husky Stadium.
For the first time this spring, the team spent nearly the entire practice inside the stadium, save for a brief period when the offense left for the east practice field. They utilized the clock and scoreboard for the final team period, a two-minute drill pitting the first-team offense against the first-team defense, then the second-team offense against the second-team defense.
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Here is what I saw and heard, including some lively action during three separate 11-on-11 periods.
• Neither group was able to score, though Jacob Eason and the starters came close. Eason completed a pass to Hunter Bryant for 8 yards, threw incomplete, found Trey Lowe for 8 yards, then Andre Baccellia for 6 yards, Bryant for another 10 and Marquis Spiker near the sideline for 8 more. In between, Salvon Ahmed rushed for gains of 8 and 3 yards, and Eason also picked up a first-down on a designed run that gave the offense a first down at the 7-yard line.
• But Eason threw incomplete for Terrell Bynum moving to his right, zipped a pass to Bynum in the end zone that he couldn’t haul in (cornerback Dominique Hampton also swiped at the ball as it arrived) and on third down, with the final seconds ticking off the clock, he threw a pass to Baccellia short of the goal line. It wasn’t clear if it was ruled complete or not — Baccellia insisted afterward that he caught it — but he was short of the end zone and the clock showed zeroes, so the series was over.
• Jake Haener was up next with the No. 2 offense, and the drive began with three consecutive completions — the first to Jordan Chin, the next two to Austin Osborne — that moved the ball about 24 yards. Taki Taimani stuffed a Kamari Pleasant rushing attempt up the middle, but Pleasant picked up a third-and-short on the next play. Haener then tried to force a pass over the middle that was deflected by Alex Cook and nearly intercepted by freshman safety Cam Williams, who had intercepted an overthrown Haener pass earlier in practice. A 6-yard completion to Bynum brought up third-and-4 at the defense’s 23, and Haener narrowly avoided a blitzing Williams to complete a short pass to Pleasant. But Haener couldn’t find anyone open on fourth down and threw incomplete to end practice.
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• Eason also took the first-team reps during the first team period of the day, completing two of his three attempts (to Ahmed and Jacob Kizer) while missing on a throw to Cade Otton with Hampton in coverage. Elijah Molden was all over both completions, and likely would have hammered Kizer had it been a live-contact period. Haener, too, went 2-of-3, completing a screen pass to walk-on running back Malik Braxton before being forced to throw the ball away after facing heavy pressure from Joe Tryon and Ryan Bowman. On the final play of the series, Haener found Lowe, who had settled in the middle of the field, before Peyton Henry came on for two field-goal attempts from about 36 yards. Both were well struck; he definitely made the second, but it was unclear whether he also made the first (the staffers standing beneath the goalpost seemed to give differing signals).
• During the two-minute period at the end of practice, the defense rolled out its six-DB package, featuring Taylor, Molden, Kyler Gordon, Hampton, Myles Bryant and Brandon McKinney. Cook and Williams continue to work at safety with the No. 2 defense, and Hampton took most of the reps with the No. 1 defense at cornerback.
• The first 11 defensive players to take the field for the first team period: Levi Onwuzurike and Jason Scrempos on the interior; Tryon and Bowman at outside linebacker; Brandon Wellington and Kyler Manu at inside linebacker; and Taylor and Hampton at corner, Molden at nickel, and Bryant and McKinney at safety. But it should be noted that coaches continue to rotate defensive personnel along the line and at linebacker quite frequently, and a bunch of guys are getting a shot with the “starters.”
• Senior center Nick Harris continues to be somewhat limited, but did get some snaps at center during the second team period of practice, with the offense beginning at about the defense’s 25. Again, Haener worked with the second team, taking a “sack” from lineman Josiah Bronson and linebacker Jackson Sirmon (who blitzed up the middle on the play) before dumping off to running back Richard Newton amid heavy pressure from Bronson on the next play. The series ended with Williams intercepting Haener after he missed on a long throw to Osborne, who was covered by Isaiah Gilchrist.
• Eason stepped back in with the No. 1 offense for a brief series that failed to move the sticks: Ahmed was stuffed after taking an option pitch, then rushed for a short gain before catching a short pass from Eason. Henry came on for a 39-yard field goal attempt from the right hash, which he made.
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• Working behind the third-team line, redshirt freshman quarterback Colson Yankoff completed a 19-yard pass over the middle to Chico McClatcher, and Braxton capped the series two plays later with a 6-yard touchdown run.
• It was redshirt freshman quarterback Jacob Sirmon’s turn after that. He threw an incompletion before scrambling for about a 7-yard gain up the middle, forced from the pocket by senior Benning Potoa’e. Newton took a wildcat snap for about 2 yards, setting up third-and-short on the next play. At first, it appeared Manu had stuffed walk-on running back Jamyn Patu, but the defense was ruled offsides, and the series continued. Newton picked up 6 yards on two rushes, then Kizer picked up one more on a shovel pass by Sirmon (Bronson tackled Kizer to the ground to stop him short of the sticks). On fourth-and-goal from the 6, Sirmon rolled out and somehow found walk-on tight end Jack Westover in the end zone for a fairly fortuitous touchdown. It appeared as if the pass might actually have been intended for receiver Jordan Chin, who also was right there.
• Haener came back in to work with the first-team offense for the final series of that team period, and he capped it by scoring on a 1-yard keeper on third-and-goal. The play was set up by a 21-yard completion to Baccellia, who was helped by a nice block by Otton. Sean McGrew moved the ball to the 1 with two short runs before Haener scored.
• I thought Jacob Sirmon looked pretty sharp during 7-on-7s, too, connecting with tight end Devin Culp on a touchdown pass into the front left corner of the end zone, then finding Bynum for a nice gain over the middle, then again in the back of the end zone two reps later.
• I talked to offensive line coach Scott Huff about his group for a bit. He said Saturday’s closed practice was the best of the spring “because the guys came out and we were physical and had the right mindset to play, and we had some live pops in there.” I also had the chance to ask him specifically about a few different players.
• On sophomore center Cole Norgaard: “He’s been good. He’s definitely taken that step that we wanted him to, in terms of running the show. There’s still a lot of things we’re working with him on, physical stuff, but he’s done a nice job. He has got a lot of reps. Really, all those centers have been getting a lot of reps, and they’re all doing some good stuff.”
• On senior right tackle Jared Hilbers: “He’s been real solid so far. I think he’s getting settled in. He’s playing faster. Our defense throws a lot at us in the spring. We’re obviously trying to throw a lot of plays at our own offensive scheme. I really feel like I’ve seen him take a next step in assignments and the speed with which he plays.”
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• On senior left tackle Trey Adams: “Having that couple months off to really kind of get caught up with the workout stuff and just some rest and recovery, and mentally maybe take a deep breath, it’s been nice. We’ve been getting quite a bit of work out of him so far in the spring. We’ll start tapering him back now. I like where he’s at. I’m excited for him.”
• Speaking of offensive linemen: Freshman Troy Fautanu, one of UW’s early enrollees, sustained some kind of left foot/leg injury during Friday’s practice and attended Monday’s practice with his foot in a boot, using a scooter to get around. It’s unclear how long Fautanu, a four-star prospect from the Las Vegas area, might be out.
• The first-team offensive line continues to look the same, with Norgaard still taking a lot of reps in Harris’ place. From left to right: Adams, Luke Wattenberg, Harris/Norgaard, Jaxson Kirkland and Hilbers. The second-team line mixes things up a bit more. We’re still seeing mostly Matteo Mele and M.J. Ale at left tackle and left guard, respectively, with Norgaard and Corey Luciano taking reps at center, Henry Roberts and Victor Curve taking reps at right guard, and Henry Bainivalu relatively firmly entrenched at right tackle. But we also saw a group Monday that had Roberts at left tackle, Ale at left guard and Mele at center.
• I also had a chance to catch up with new receivers coach Junior Adams. You’ll hear more from him down the road, but I did want to pass along his response to a question about what he wants people to think when they watch UW’s receivers: “I want them to think that we play with our hair on fire, that we play hard, that we’re tough and we’re playmakers. We want to be the guys that show up on film blocking down the field. We feel that long runs come from us blocking down the field, and when it’s time to make plays in the pass game — some people call them 50-50 grabs, I call them ‘moment-of-truth’ catches — when the game is on the line, we’re making plays. And we want to create some explosives. When people look at us, I want people to see us as one word: Attack.”
• Downfield blocking does seem to be an emphasis in drills each day, and it’s obvious that’s an area Adams wants his players to take pride in.
• Taylor snagged the defense’s second interception during 7-on-7s, though it should have been a touchdown for the offense. Freshman quarterback Dylan Morris threw on target to Westover, but it bounced off his hands and Taylor caught the deflection.
• Walk-on linebacker Ben Hines also must have sustained some kind of injury because he did not participate in Monday’s practice.
• The Huskies have another practice open to the media Wednesday.