Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

Mike Hopkins gave the media a new phrase to digest Thursday afternoon: positionless basketball. Yup, throw away all the antiquated terminology. Who plays the one? The two? It doesn't matter at UW right now. Hopkins said he's fully embracing the idea of 'offense is spacing and spacing is offense'. He talked about getting Quade Green back, as well as how instrumental Wichita State transfer Erik Stevenson could be if his eligibility waiver is approved.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got together Friday morning to talk about all the latest news on UW Football, including a monster new contract for Budda Baker.

Baker is now the highest-paid safety in the NFL, and he's not the only Pro Dawg that has signed a big contract recently. Shaq Thompson, Cory Littleton, and Desmond Trufant have already cashed in, and others like Kevin King, Vita Vea, Taylor Rapp, Byron Murphy, Kaleb McGary, Will Dissly, and Sidney Jones are set to also enjoy nice bumps with their second contracts in the next year or two.

Talk turned to Washington's newest signing, Jack Yary, who initially signed with USC for the 2020 recruiting class. But Yary was released from his letter of intent, which allowed him to sign scholarship papers with Washington, pending completion of academic requirements. But is he going to be a tight end in college, or an offensive lineman? The Dawgman guys break that down.

Basketball was next on the agenda, as they discussed Paolo Banchero's decision to commit to Duke and whether or not he'll actually end up in Durham or if he'll try and jump to the G League. Also, does Banchero's choice signal a move for top local recruits that they might be looking elsewhere compared to staying at home? And how might that factor into the recruitment of a player like top 2021 football/basketball prospect J.T. Tuimoloau?

Lastly, Scott Eklund talks about a recent 7-on-7 event he went to, where he got to see future Huskies Sam Huard, Will Latu, and Jabez Tinae play, as well as some 2022 and 2023 prospects, like Lincoln QB Gabarri Johnson.

Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake and UW Associate Athletics Director for Health and Wellness Rob Scheidegger took questions from the media Friday in regards to the Pac-12's decision to postpone fall sports through the end of the 2020 calendar year, what the football team will do going forward, as well as more on the possibility of spring football and what's being done on the medical side that might help facilitate a quicker restart for Pac-12 athletics. 

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, University of Oregon President Michael Schill, Arizona State athletics director Ray Anderson, and Oregon State Senior Associate Athletics Director Dr. Doug Aukerman spoke Tuesday afternoon to the media and answered questions after the announcement that the conference would be postponing all fall sports through the end of the 2020 calendar year.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - offer up their initial reactions to the Tuesday news that the Pac-12 has postponed all fall sports until at least January 1, 2021.

Obviously this has huge ramifications, most of them still yet to be worked out. With current eligibility set on pause, how will this affect Washington's current seniors? And what about the rising juniors? Will they make the decision to opt out with the idea of starting preparations now for the 2021 NFL Draft?

So many questions to be answered and the Dawgman guys try and lay out how they see the evolution of the Pac-12 Football landscape moving forward, as well as how this decision affects other Power-5 conferences.

Finally, they break up the bad news with a bit of good news on the recruiting front; 2023 Lincoln DE/OLB Jayden Wayne was offered a scholarship. Scott Eklund goes into what kind of player Wayne is, as well as quickly updates the 2021 recruiting class for Washington, how former USC Tight End Jack Yary fits into that equation, and how tight scholarships may get for the 2022 recruiting class.

Even though we would normally be getting ready for fall football right now, the guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - wanted to get together to break down all the latest news and notes coming out of the Pac-12 in light of the new football schedule coming out late last week.

They talk about the realities of whether or not the schedule will ever be played and also delve into the added complication by the #WeAreUnited movement formed by Pac-12 football players willing to sit out the season unless specific demands are met - ranging from the elimination of liability waivers in the wake of COVID-19, to expanded scholarships and insurance, to battling racial injustice in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, to revenue splits. It's a wide-ranging set of demands, and the guys go through it and talk about the moment being an opportune time for the conference and universities to teach real-life lessons about finances, spending, taxation, and more.

Talk then turned to recruiting and the news that coveted tight end Brock Bowers from Napa, Calif. is set to choose between Washington and Georgia. Which school will it be? They also give updates on the two remaining in-state five-star targets - J.T. Tuimoloau and Emeka Egbuka, and also talk about new UW 2022 WR commit Germie Bernard, as well as where the numbers stand for both the 2021 and 2022 class. Things are tightening up! 

With the hope of fall football still lingering in the air, it's a GREAT time to get on board Dawgman, and because it's 247Sports' 10-year anniversary, they are running a 50 percent off yearly subscription for the entire month of August. Or, if you want to check us out first before jumping in with both feet, you can get the first month with us for just ONE DOLLAR.

To sign up, click HERE!

Pac-12 Football Schedule Release Webinar with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, Stanford head football coach David Shaw, Arizona State athletics director Ray Anderson, and Oregon State Senior Associate Athletics Director Dr. Doug Aukerman.

We're getting down the nitty gritty of the 2021 recruiting cycle, but on Thursday, Husky Nation turned their attention to 2022 and saw their favorite team's class get started off on the right foot when Liberty (Henderson, Nv.) WR Germie Bernard, rated as one of the top receiver prospects in the nation, made the decision to commit to the Huskies.

With that news, it was a good opportunity for Dawgman's Scott Eklund and Kim Grinolds to update things on the recruiting front.

They talked about Bernard's commitment and his impact on what could prove to be a very small class for the Huskies and whether or not they will have enough room to add another receiver for that class.

Eklund and Grinolds also discussed the final five or six spots that are up for grabs in 2021 and which players the Washington coaches will make a priority over the next five months as we head toward the mid-year signing period, including the top two prospects on their board, local five stars DT J.T. Tuimoloau and WR Emeka Egbuka.

It's the end of the week, so it's also a perfect opportunity for the guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - to delve into the latest issues surrounding UW Athletics and recruiting.

And there's no bigger story right now than Michigan canceling their scheduled trip to Montlake in early September. The Big Ten announced Thursday they were eliminating all non-conference football games, so it not only affected the Michigan-Washington game, but the Ohio State-Oregon game. Will the Pac-12 follow suit, and if they do (which seems likely at this point), how will they go about salvaging the rest of the 2020 season if they can?

They move from that story into recruiting, where they talk about one of Washington's latest verbal commitments - Renton's Siaosi Finau - and how tough it is to project a player without getting a chance to see much of them in games or off-season camps.

Brandon Huffman and Greg Biggins made Washington recruiting fans happy with two recent crystal ball projections for the Huskies. Grinolds, Fetters, and Eklund talk about those two prospects - O'Dea's Owen Prentice and DB Vincent Nunley from Freedom High School in the Bay Area - as well as how those potential commits could impact not only the 2021 recruiting class, but the 2022 class as well.

Things have begun to really heat up on the recruiting trail for the Huskies. They have received two commits -- DL Siaosi Finau and RB Caleb Berry -- so far this week and another one of their top targets, four-star Kennedy Catholic (Burien, Wa.) WR Jabez Tinae, is set to announce his college choice on Sunday.

Finau was a star on both sides of the ball Renton High School last season and he was a First Team All-League player on offense and defense. At 6'4" and nearly 280 pounds, the senior-to-be can really move and is light on his feet. The Huskies are the only school to even contact him and he committed almost immediately after getting offered. Did they offer him too early?

A three-star tailback out of Lufkin, Texas, Berry has been on Washington's radar since the end of the 2019 football season. Even though he missed three games due to a shoulder injury, Berry still rushed for nearly 1,000 yards on a team that went 9-2 on the season and made it to the second round of the Texas 6A state playoffs. He's a big back, measuring in at nearly 6'1" and weighing 210 pounds and he has great burst and vision and he will likely be the only tailback in the 2021 recruiting class.

With all that is going on, Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds and Scott Eklund got together and reviewed how Finau popped up on Washington's radar and why Berry is such a great get for Washington's offense. They also talk about where they believe Tinae is headed and why another four-star wideout from Kennedy, Junior Alexander, probably is headed out of state when he makes his decision later this month.

To listen to the 32-minute podcast, click on the audio link below.