Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

In what felt more like a walk-through, day one of fall camp on the east field next to Husky Stadium was 'study hall', as Washington Head Coach Jedd Fisch termed it when he met with the media post-practice.

And it was unusual because the guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, Scott Eklund, and new intern Beckett Jones - hadn't ever seen a practice with no competitive periods.

There was a lot of special teams work, a lot of fundamental work, and a lot of individual periods. Fisch wanted day one to be a bit of a ramp-up, especially for the players who were coming back from injury or the eight newcomers that were practicing with UW for the first time. For a couple of the true freshmen, it was definitely a 'Come to Jesus' experience.

Scott provided a quick recruiting update, including an update on top 2028 UW EDGE target Jalanie George, and then the guys wrap up the podcast with their final thoughts on day one of camp.

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds spoke today to the new 'Voice of the Huskies', Elise Woodward. Husky fans know Elise for her sideline work covering Washington Football for decades now, but she's just as well-known for her work with the Big Ten Network, as well as her play-by-play, analyst, and studio work for multiple sports since the early 2000's.

Elise talked about the hiring process, her pitch to Learfield once she found out that the previous 'Voice of the Huskies', Tony Castricone had moved on to take a job as the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers play-by-play announcer.

"We're thrilled to have Elise take the helm as our play-by-play announcer for Husky Football." said Brandon Forbis, general manager of Huskies Sports Properties. "Elise's passion for Washington sports coupled with her incredible talent and proven knowledge makes her the perfect person to lead our broadcasts into this next era of Husky Football."

She also talked about her decision to do football only for Washington while maintaining her ability to freelance during basketball season.

Kim and Elise reminisced about their times together covering Washington Football games on the sidelines since 2003, her fiery personality and how those skills honed over the decades will translate to the booth. Kim offered up a couple of choice memories of Elise working on the sidelines, including one from the 2008 0-12 season and another from the 70-21 game in Eugene in 2016.

Elise also talked about that fine line she constantly deals with in terms of tempering her excitement and passion for UW Athletics as an alum, yet making sure her first job - setting the scene and telling the story - comes across the way it needs to.

She also talked about her favorite part of a football game, including her take on walking down the tunnel pregame, and what she'll miss the most by moving from the sideline to the press box. And she talked about the responsibility she feels for following in the footsteps of announcers like Castricone and Bob Rondeau.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got together again to talk about what they expect to see on the defensive side of the ball when fall camp breaks for Washington on August 6.

They already gave their thoughts on the offensive side of the ball, and now it's time to flip the field and talk about Ryan Walters and his guys, as well as Chris Petrilli and his group of specialists.

Starting with Walters, how much of UW's eventual success will come down to coaching versus talent on hand? He took a defense at Illinois that was top-30 and turned it into a top-5 defense nationally in his second year. Going into his second year on Montlake, can he re-create that same ramp-up year over year?

Moving to the defensive line, Kim, Chris, and Scott roll through all the players on the defensive side of the ball, what they were able to see of them during spring ball - if at all - and also the newcomers that they will be focusing on starting in a couple of weeks.

There's at least 10 faces on the defensive side of the ball that were limited participants in spring through injury or weren't going to be available until the fall. That group includes former Mississippi State DL Kai McClendon, EDGEs Russell Davis II and Logan George, linebacker Taariq Al-Uqdah, safety Rahshawn Clark, and defensive back Rahsjon Duncan.

The guys finish the pod talking about the Washington special teams, how they look moving on from departed PK Grady Gross, who will win the punting battle between Hunter Green and Luke Dunne, and also offer up their thoughts on UW's punt return and kick return options.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got together to talk about what they expect to see when fall camp breaks for Washington on August 6.

Starting with the quarterback position, they go through position-by-position and talk about the main players for each room, expected position battles, the health of each room going into camp, and who needs to step up and be counted on as the Huskies look to improve on a season where they averaged 409.9 yards and 34.1 points per game.

When it comes to the signal-callers, what does Demond Williams need to do to take the next step in his development? Is it for sure that former Stanford quarterback Elijah Brown will be his backup?

How ready are Jayden Limar and Trey Cooley when it comes to leading the running backs despite not playing at all during spring? And who is going to join them as the backs Scottie Graham will have to lean on this fall?

Will Christian Moss be able to overcome his spring nicks and dings to provide the kind of production and leadership needed for a very young receiving corps? And who are the younger receivers that have the potential to step up and be counted on?

As far as the tight ends go, will they have the bodies necessary to play more than 11 or 12 personnel? Could a third tight end emerge? Will Kade Eldridge go back to strictly being a tight end, or did Jedd Fisch see enough of him at fullback to continue using him there too?

And when it comes to the offensive line, are the starters set even though two of them missed basically all of spring? Are there still position battles to be had, especially inside? And who are the linemen Michael Switzer can count on for providing quality depth?

One thing is for sure; they are so much bigger and better as a unit than they were back when Fisch took over in 2024.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund - got together ahead of the Fourth of July weekend to give their thoughts on this week's Washington commitments - OL Tye Kennedy (son of Lincoln Kennedy) and Gecova Doyal - and also the other players set to make their announcements soon.

With Evan Mack deciding on Arizona this week, where will UW go next with regard to cornerback? They're waiting on Censere Gaylord to announce, and they also gave J'Isaiah Mitchell an offer as a defensive back after they offered him earlier as a receiver. Will Mitchell, who recently committed to Boise State, take another look at UW on the other side of the ball?

The guys also talk about the next scheduled commit that Washington fans should be paying attention to - Chandler (Ariz.) Basha OL DaJohn Yarborough. Yarborough is expected to announce his decision on July 11, a week from Friday.

And if Yarborough decides Washington is not his preferred destination, who will the Huskies target? There are a couple of local prospects in Curtis' Rashaun Lavata'i (just committed to Washington State) and Inglemoor's Ben Rainwater (recently committed to Boise State) that the UW coaches could circle back on.

The final question; if the Huskies do end up landing Yarborough and Gaylord to get their 2026 class number to 25 prospects, does Scott expect that number to stay at 25 by the time Signing Day comes in December?

Now that FBS schools are in a recruiting dead period, it's a good time to reset and talk about all the latest news regarding UW Football recruiting.

Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund of Dawgman.com caught up Friday morning to break everything down, from Washington's latest commitments - Jaden Walk-Green and Braylon Logan - to wrapping up UW's last recruiting weekend in June and a look ahead to those players looking to make commitment decisions very soon.

Osani Gayles is set to decide on Saturday, June 27 and two offensive linemen that just visited UW - Tye Kennedy and Gecova Doyal - are set to announce their commitment decisions on July 1st. Another offensive lineman that just visited Montlake, DaJohn Yarborough, has announced a commitment date of July 11th.

Scott gives his best guesses as to where those players will commit to, as well as others who have visited Washington officially but could announce at any time, including Censere Gaylord, Nolan Balke, Jag Ioane, Evan Mack, and Caden Jones.

Scott also talks about the Rashaun Lavata'i recruitment, why he thinks Washington State is the best place for him, and also talks about how the Huskies might finish out their 2027 recruiting class.

Will it be with a late flip of a player the Huskies have been recruiting a long time that has committed to another school? Or will it be a late addition to their war room board, a high-flying senior that just burst onto the scene the last few months? If it's the latter, Scott has at least one particular local prospect in mind. 

All of that and a lot more were covered in this hour-long recruiting reset.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund - got together during this recruiting 'bye' week to catch up on all things UW Football recruiting.

First they talk about the last five UW commits - Reis Russell, Tevita Nonu, Tre Moore, Dontay Tyson, and Chaz Gray - and then recap the last two official visit weekends.

Then they talk about why there are no official visits this weekend (it's a pretty easy answer) and then preview the last big official visit weekend in June for the Huskies, focusing on OL and Special Teams recruiting.

To finish things up, Scott offers up his best guesses as to how Washington will finish out their 2027 recruiting class. Hint: they could end up taking more than 25 prospects, depending on how things work out. They could also lose a commit or two before December's Signing Day.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got together this week to break down what they saw from the defensive side of the ball during spring football. Over the course of 14 practices and a spring game, there was a ton to talk about, as well as any questions left unanswered depending on who was available and who wasn't.

Starting with the EDGE players and working their way down the order position-by-position, Kim, Chris, and Scott broke down their observations with one eye on spring ball and also with one eye focused on what it all means as the team heads toward the offseason and into training camp in August.

And so many questions to answer... Who were the standouts? Who took big strides during April? Who took advantage of their opportunities? Who needed to show more?

With so many first year players getting ample turns with other defensive players limited or out of spring football altogether, who were the players that the coaches relied on?

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - decided the last audio mailbag went so well that they wanted to do it again. So we took a sampling of your questions and put them all together. The first half of the podcast answered the ones that were related to Washington Football, and after a quick break they answered your UW recruiting-based questions.

Below are the questions that were asked, including the members who asked them.

jazzhands67

What are the biggest differences between last years team and this years in May?

MontlakeMonty

When will this national narrative that Coach Fisch and Demond are desperately trying to leave UW finally fade?

ASkalbania

Which position groups will be the strength of the team this season and which ones (if any) should we be worried about?

OlyFan

This staff seems to be leaning into a bigger than expected recruiting class from the high school ranks. They retained (checks notes) 61 players this past offseason. What do you think the plan will be with the portal after the season?

BDAWG2412

What are some things Demond Williams has improved at?

gohuskies898

Curious as to what High School coaches think of the program now.

WHB

Blake Roskopf's size, stats, arm strength makes him a Jacob Eason look alike. Eason was the top recruit in the country as I recollect. Blake is a four-star (just) rated prospect. Some believe he is way underrated. What's your take?

Zdawg22

Can UW ever recruit better than Oregon if NIL playing field isn't leveled? With half share in Big 10, and no big whale donors for football resulting in a big resource disadvantage.

MontlakeMonty

What is the real story on the Adam Mohammed transfer? Did we seriously lose our top back to Cal because we couldn't afford to pay him what they did?

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds and Chris Fetters - got together this week to break down what they saw from the offensive side of the ball during spring football. Over the course of 14 practices and a spring game, there was a ton to talk about, as well as any questions left unanswered depending on who was available and who wasn't.

Starting with the quarterbacks and working their way down the order position-by-position, Kim and Chris break down their observations with one eye on spring ball and also with one eye focused on what it all means as the team heads toward the offseason and into training camp in August.

And so many questions to answer... Who were the standouts? Who took big strides during April? Who took advantage of their opportunities? Who needed to show more?

How big was not having Jayden Limar and Trey Cooley when talking about the UW running backs? How big was not having Christian Moss to the overall outlook for the Husky receivers? And how much did not having the Hatchett brothers and Kolt Dieterich affect how the offensive line performed?