Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

If you believe Jimmy Lake, we're not even sure if the quarterbacks themselves know who is going to start at Cal Saturday night at 7:30 pm, but we believe there will be someone back there handling the snaps.

Or they could run wildcat all night.

Such is the speculation that will undoubtedly run rampant all week leading up to the game, and Lake loves the speculation. He wants as much of it as possible to muddy up Cal's attempt to defend Washington in the season opener for both teams.

He wouldn't really even admit to whether or not defending multiple quarterbacks was harder or easier.

"If there's a guy back there that can just take control, that's difficult to defend," Lake told the media Monday. "And if there's a two-headed monster back there, that's difficult to defend."

And that's about as much as you can expect to get when it comes to information Lake sees as hurting UW's chances at being successful. And since he is the one currently in possession of said information, he gets to decide how hurtful or helpful it may be.

Here is some more information UW released about their quarterback situation; on their official depth chart, they have true freshman Ethan Garbers first, then Dylan Morris, than Jacob Sirmon, and then grad transfer Kevin Thomson last. All in alphabetical order. And next to each of the first three names are 'OR'.

Come Saturday night it's all going to be out there for everyone to judge. But for right now, Lake isn't even going to agree if they will be using a quarterback.

What Lake did discuss was the deliberate attempt to get as physical as reasonably possible during camp in a way that would make the team feel like they had already gone through a couple of games so that all the physical challenges that come with playing a real game - blocking, tackling, etc... - wouldn't come as a shock to them at all. In fact, he even said he doesn't mind if they are nicked up a bit or are feeling the effects of camp because that's how they should be feeling after an actual game or two heading into normal conference play.

Lake also talked about the hardest part of managing the team through the pandemic so far, what UW will do with their Name, Image, and Likeness plans once the rules are set up, dealing with the last couple of defeats to Cal, and more in this wide-ranging 27-minute media call.

There were also a couple of notes Lake shared with the media. First, the team is 100 percent registered to vote and '90 percent' have already voted. Election Day is tomorrow, a day they will have off.

Secondly, he announced that redshirt freshman receiver Taj Davis has opted out of the season due to coronavirus concerns. He is the third Husky to do so, following senior tight end Jacob Kizer and senior defensive back Isaiah Gilchrist.

It's exactly seven days, ladies and gentlemen. For a long time, we thought this moment would never come, but here it is. And to that end, the guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - discuss all the relevant topics as we head to game week.

With the Washington Huskies traveling south to California next weekend to play the Golden Bears at 7:30 pm on ESPN, there are all sorts of questions that have to be asked. And despite the availability of plenty of coaches and players, including first-year head coach Jimmy Lake, the answers have been very hard to come by.

Like, who is going to be UW's starting quarterback? The Dawgman guys tackle that topic, each picking who they think will start between Jacob Sirmon, Dylan Morris, Ethan Garbers, and Kevin Thomson. They also talk about the offensive line, the changes that have been made, and also how much of an impact can the true freshmen receivers make this fall?

Each of them also takes a stab at Kim's question: who is one player that is going to step up this fall on each side of the ball? They come up with six different players, and all of them could be breakout stars this fall.

There's also a little recruiting update at the end as a supplement to Scott's Friday recruiting blog. And we drill down on the age-old question: do they really teach Astrology in college? It will make sense when you listen to the discussion, we promise. 

You would stand a better chance of breaking into Fort Knox than the Washington Football offices if you were to try and find out who leads in the competition to start at quarterback. After tweeting a 9-6 result, courtesy of a game-winning field goal by Peyton Henry, Lake wouldn't even concede that touchdowns hadn't been scored during UW's last practice 'game', held last Saturday night.

The Huskies will have their final practice game Thursday morning at 9 am to cover any early game time contingencies the team may be faced with during their 7-game season that opens up in Berkeley a week from Halloween.

But that didn't stop the media from trying to ask questions in a way that would offer a bit of a window into Lake's thinking when trying to determine who will start at QB against the Golden Bears. Lake did offer that Thursday's game would go a long way toward determining who has separated themselves from the pack.

Jacob Sirmon, Dylan Morris, Ethan Garbers, and grad transfer Kevin Thomson have been the four protagonists in this particular positional drama, and Lake said all four continue to be well in the battle.

When asked if he could point to just one player who has impressed him during camp, Lake wouldn't bite. And in fact, he made a point of noting he wouldn't talk about any new players because that might tip off opponents, so he mentioned the usual suspects as having excellent camps: Elijah Molden, Cade Otton, Jaxson Kirkland, Keith Taylor.

But any insight into the younger prospects that have emerged as potential impact performers and game-changers? I think Lake would rather visit his dentist for multiple root canals than go down that rabbit hole.

But he did wax eloquently when asked about Budda Baker, and why not? The former UW star's performance against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday night was worthy of high praise, and Lake didn't mince words.

It was another feel-good story; a local player who decided to walk-on earned a scholarship for the fall quarter. It's happened in the past, and it happened again this year. The recipient? Jack Westover, who only thought about playing football again his senior season at Mount Si, and only played two games before breaking his collarbone.

But then-UW TE Coach Jordan Paopao spied something in the former basketball player and enticed him with an opportunity to walk-on. Westover, who cites the 2009 game versus Arizona (Mason Foster's immaculate interception) as his favorite growing up, took Paopao up on his offer, and the rest is history.

Westover talked to the media Tuesday about getting the scholarship, his recruitment to UW, and more. The press also spoke with Westover's position coach, Derham Cato, who talked about recruiting to the position nowadays and how they've had to account for every contingency during this hasty fall camp, including the possibility of dealing with multiple players out due to COVID-19 quarantine. He also spoke on the role of the tight end in new offensive coordinator John Donovan's pro-style attack.

Cato also gave his assessment on a number of players in his group, including the three true freshmen - Mark Redman, Mason West, and Jack Yary - as well as senior leader Cade Otton.

The Huskies are a little over four weeks away from the start of the 2020/2021 basketball season and Mike Hopkins has a lot of new faces on the court and a new offense to install. After eight practices, fourth-year head coach Mike Hopkins likes the versatility of his team and the progress they have made, but he knows there is still a lot of work ahead of him.

One of the biggest subjects for Hopkins was the status of the two transfers that Washington is expected to have this coming season -- Cole Bajema and Erik Stevenson -- and where things stand with both of them as well as where things stand with Nahziah Carter who recently was suspended from all team activities for a violation of the ICA (Intercollegiate Athletics) student code of conduct and while Hopkins acknowledged things are going through a process with all three players and he will reserve further comment until things are made public.

As far as what the players are up to, J'Raan Brooks came on and addressed the reasons why he left USC and is now at Washington and if he's a better player even though he's missed the better part of the last two years and hasn't played in a game during that time.

Guard Jamal Bey said he likes the new offense and is excited about some of the new faces on the team. He said last season they were more post-oriented because of the players on the team and while he misses those guys, he's excited about the players currently on the team now and the type of team they can be this season with all of the players that can shoot and handle the ball.

Finally, Quade Green, who missed most of the 2019/2020 season due to an academic issue, said he let the team down last season and that he was lower than he's ever been and he's used the mistake to help him be a better player and learn from it to become a better person and a better leader. For his part, Hopkins said he expects Green to be the leader of the team this season and to be not only one of the best guards in the conference, but also the nation.

Saturday night was Washington's third practice 'game', one where they simulate every situation they'll find themselves dealing with on an actual game day, from the coin toss to warming up, to special teams and everything in-between.

According to UW Head Coach Jimmy Lake, Peyton Henry hit a field goal to 'win' the game as time expired. So it sounds like the defense definitely carried the day.

To that end, the media spoke Sunday afternoon with assistant defensive backs coach Terrence Brown and sophomore defensive lineman Tuli Letuligasenoa, who talked about the defensive effort and how things went their way Saturday night.

Brown spoke about his relationship with UW secondary coach Will Harris, as well as what brought him back to coach at Montlake after two years coaching the cornerback at Vanderbilt. He was a Washington graduate assistant from 2015-17.

This was the first time the media had been able to speak with Letuligasenoa since starting his career in the Purple and Gold, and he talked about the positions he's currently playing (nose tackle), how he got to UW after originally committing to USC, his friendship with Sam Taimani (Taki) and how that has turned into something special on the field, how he was able to lose over 20 pounds over the off-season, and more.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund - recap their thoughts from a busy third week of fall camp, one where they were able to talk to a few coaches and players, but weren't necessarily able to glean a ton through their words. But they do talk about some of the things they've heard coming from camp as the Huskies go through their third practice 'game' today.

But first things first; who is winning the quarterback battle? Fetters and Eklund talk about the things they've been hearing, as well as the thoughts they have despite the fact UW Head Coach Jimmy Lake said Friday that all four are still getting equal reps and no one has separated themselves from the rest of the pack so far.

They next talk about how the defensive front is shaping up despite losing Levi Onwuzurike and Joe Tryon, what a freshman like Sav'ell Smalls could offer, and how the defensive line rotations could look like inside.

They also talked about the praise that has been laid on the three true freshman receivers - Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze, and Sawyer Racanelli - as well as how the size of the receivers and running backs could be seen as a hint toward how the new offensive coordinator, John Donovan, will want to implement his playmakers to do maximum damage, given what we've been told about the basics of his pro-style attack.

Moving to the mechanics of how UW's 7-game season is going to play out, Lake talked Friday on how their last practice 'game' was going to take place at 9 am in the morning, in the eventuality the Huskies have to play someone at 9 am in the morning. Fetters and Eklund talk about that possibility, as well as when the Apple Cup could be played. Right now there are three choices: Noon, 4 pm, or 7:30 pm. Could it be another freezing night out on the Palouse? We'll see.

And finally, we congratulate Race Porter on being the latest walk-on to earn a scholarship, joining tight end Jack Westover, who Lake publicly announced was on a full ride during last week's coaches show. Fetters and Eklund give praise to the student-athletes during this time for trying to keep their academics straight via zoom calls on top of all the time spent practicing and working out.

As his team wraps up its third full week of preseason camp, head coach Jimmy Lake is excited about the progress of his team. He has been effusive in his praise of the energy on the field and how quickly they have picked things up.

One area on the minds of everyone, including Lake and offensive coordinator John Donovan, is who will wind up taking the snaps for the Huskies when they take the field against Cal on November 7th in Berkeley. While he wasn't tipping his hand, Lake said he's seen quite a few good moments from the four young men battling things out -- Jacob Sirmon, Kevin Thomson, Dylan Morris and Ethan Garbers -- but that each of them have also had moments where you wondered what the heck they were thinking.

While he'd like to find "the guy" sooner rather than later, Lake said he's not willing to rush things and that there might be two quarterbacks who see time in games until they feel comfortable going with just one player at the position.

Turning to other subjects. Lake said he's been very excited about the play of freshman outside linebacker Sav'ell Smalls, the local product who many have tabbed as the "next big thing". While the youngster still has a lot to learn, he's made some plays that have the coaches excited about what he can do this season.

Lake also noted that yet another walk on, this time it was punter Race Porter, has been put on scholarship. The senior specialist from O'Dea has spent the past two seasons as the holder for Peyton Henry and the first year head coach said he's earned it not only with his work on the field, but his efforts off of it as well and that's something he looks for in a walk on prospect who hopes to earn a scholarship.

To listen to the 20-minute podcast, click ont he audio link below...

Richard Newton admitted to the media Thursday he didn't really care which single-digit number he got; he just wanted one.

And that kind of encapsulates the sophomore running back's personality to a T. As long as he gets his corner of the room, he's not going to get greedy. He doesn't need to be that every-down back. When asked how many carries he'd like to get against California on November 7, he couldn't give a number. He wants the ball, but he wants his teammates to get the ball too.

And that's going to be Keith Bhonapha's headache going forward. The UW Running Backs Coach spoke with the media with Newton Thursday, and they talked about the room, or what he calls 'The Stable', getting bigger - literally. There are TEN tailbacks listed on Washington's official roster, including six new faces: Jay'Veon Sunday, Sam Adams II, Javon Forward, Capassio Cherry, Christian Galvan, and Junior Faualo.

From 2017 to now, the average UW running back has grown from 5-10 and 193 pounds on average to 5-11.5 and 202. That's a pretty big jump. Bhonapha talked about going toward bigger backs during the recruiting process, to Newton talking about having more physicality and aggressiveness in the run game as part of new offensive coordinator John Donovan's pro-style scheme.

Bhonapha was asked to give profiles on the players we haven't really gotten a chance to see that much, like Cameron Davis, as well as the scholarship freshmen backs in Sunday and Adams.

Newton talked about his mentality as a running back, adding more things to his game, and also how his stomach was the first time he touched the ball as a Husky. It happened to be on a 23-yard direct snap touchdown run versus Eastern Washington.

We never quite got an answer to what Will Harris's favorite Monday Night Football snack is, but we do know he was paying full attention to what Budda Baker, Byron Murphy, and Ezekiel Turner were doing in Arizona's 38-10 win at Dallas.

All Baker did was earn NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for recording a sack, a forced fumble, and his first career interception in the win over the Cowboys.

Harris knows a performance like Baker's, as well as Murphy's, only raises the profile of Washington's impact on potential recruits. They see that and then find out that Budda went to UW, and now they could see themselves as the next Budda Baker. We've seen that happen a lot over the years. 

Will spoke to the media Wednesday about a potential 'Budda Effect' in recruiting, as well as how his current room of pro hopefuls are doing, with specific questions on Dominique Hampton, Kyler Gordon, Asa Turner, Cameron Williams, Julius Irvin, Kamren Fabiculanan, and of course Elijah Molden and the impact he has already had as the leader of the room. Questions were also asked about how he divides up the coaching load with assistant DB Coach Terrence Brown, and also how much time he still spends with new Head Coach Jimmy Lake when it comes to finding ways to improve the secondary. 

The media also spoke with sophomore inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon. Sirmon, cousin to quarterback Jacob Sirmon, is also the son of former UW Linebackers Coach Peter Sirmon, who just happens to be doing the same job now at California.

Guess who UW plays in their season opener on November 7? That's right, California. So of course Jackson was asked questions about facing his father, the crazy 20-19 loss to Cal last year with the 2 hour and 39-minute lightning delay, and more.