Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

Washington's Head Coach and Coordinators updated the media on the latest personnel news, as well as how they saw last weekend's win and the potential issues presented by their next opponent

Michael Penix, Jr., Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk, Jeremiah Martin, and Asa Turner talk about taking down the Wildcats at Husky Stadium. 

Chris Fetters, Scott Eklund, and Josh Wodka go over the main talking points on both sides of the ball, including Michael Penix Jr.'s record-setting day.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - got together ahead of the Arizona-Washington game to break down the main storylines, but it's hard to get past the biggest one of all; these defenses are bad.

To start the show, they talked about how Arizona should attack a wounded UW defense, licking their wounds and trying to limp through the next two games before a much-needed BYE week shows up. They are especially banged up in the secondary, which makes the recent news of Cameron Williams redshirting all the more curious. They talk about that, as well as what we might expect to see from a defensive backfield that will unveil their seventh different lineup in as many weeks.

They also talked about the defensive front and why UW had to rely on true freshman Jayvon Parker and what the future looks like in that position. But most importantly, they talked about Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura and what Washington has to do in order to get him off his spot and behind the chains.

After a quick break, that led them right into the main point in trying to limit de Laura; get out to a sizable lead, and force de Laura into situations where he needs to push the ball downfield. As it has been shown so far this season, when he feels like he's got to get the 'Cats back in the game, that's when he can make mistakes when extending plays.

The guys also talk about the interesting decision by Arizona Head Coach Jedd Fisch to hire former Washington, USC, and UCLA assistant coach Johnny Nansen to be his defensive coordinator. And with Arizona's run defense statistically one of the worst in all of college football, the UW offensive game plan seems clear; run, run, run, and then let Michael Penix Jr. play-action off of those runs.

But who will be UW's leading ballcarrier? Wayne Taulapapa? Cameron Davis? Richard Newton? Will Nixon? Sam Adams? It will be interesting to see who emerges, and it may be more than one.

They also talk about the role the tight ends could play in a game plan like this, and also delve into an important question about game mechanics; if UW wins the toss, should they take the ball? This may be one of the few games where going on the offensive from the start is the right tactic to take.

Luke Mounger and Jack McCauley offer their insight into what they see happening Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium as Washington tries to right the ship against the Arizona Wildcats.

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds was joined this week by WildcatAuthority's Jason Scheer, who gave us some fantastic insight into how the Arizona Wildcats are doing this season and what to expect from the visitors when they travel to Seattle to play Washington on Saturday at Husky Stadium.

After a quick UA Hoops update, Kim and Jason get into what has made the offense so good this season in Tucson. Longtime offensive coach Jedd Fisch, who coached at stops that include the Seattle Seahawks, Michigan, UCLA, the Los Angeles Rams, and most recently the New England Patriots, was named Arizona's head coach ahead of the 2021 season. Jason talked about how Fisch has been received so far by the UA faithful.

The talk then turns to his offense, led by former Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura. They talked a moment about de Laura planting the WSU flag in the middle of the field at Husky Stadium after the Cougars defeated the Huskies in the 2021 Apple Cup, and his regret over that decision. Jason also talked about Arizona's offensive skill players, a group that includes one of the best receiving corps in the entire country: Jacob Cowing, Dorian Singer, Tetairoa McMillan, and tight end Tanner McLachlan. And if you are Washington co-Defensive Coordinators William Inge and Chuck Morrell, Jason provides a blueprint he thinks could be successful in slowing the 'Cats down a little bit.

They take a quick break after talking about Arizona's offensive line to talk about the other side of the ball. It came as a bit of a surprise to see longtime Pac-12 coach Johnny Nansen take over as UA's defensive coordinator. Jason talks about that move, as well as the fact that the Wildcats will probably show more in terms of scheme than any other team Washington has faced so far this season. He is also quite frank when talking about Arizona's run defense. It's not good, as the 'Cats are giving up nearly 230 yards per game on the ground, and Cal's freshman running Jaydn Ott ran for 274 yards on 19 carries against UA earlier this season.

Kim asked Jason what he would do if he was Nansen and tasked with the job of trying to stop Washington Quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Then we hear some final thoughts from Jason on what he expects to happen during the game from an Arizona point of view.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund - broke down the main storylines heading into Washington's Homecoming game versus Arizona. After their UCLA loss, the sense was one of being hurt, but after losing to Arizona State in Tempe this past Saturday, the vibe seemed to be more of the 'pissed off' variety.

The defense is struggling to get off the field right now in a big way, but the coaches have been pleased and impressed with how the players have responded week after week, regardless of the result. They continue to practice hard and fix problems. Against UCLA they struggled to tackle effectively; their Pro Football Focus tackling grade at ASU was 90.0. That's an improvement.

Now they'll have to fix their third down woes against an Arizona team that is top 25 nationally in third down percentage on offense.

The guys talked first about some of the main talking points when Head Coach Kalen DeBoer, Offensive Coordinator Ryan Grubb, and Co-Defensive Coordinator Chuck Morrell met with the media, including a deep dive into some of the key plays and moments in UW's loss to ASU.

After a quick break, the guys talk about their conversations with the UW players they spoke with this week - Cameron Davis, Rome Odunze, Bralen Trice, Cam Bright, and Alex Cook - with specific reference to the main storylines heading into Saturday's game versus Arizona. UA quarterback Jayden de Laura planted the WSU flag at midfield after their Apple Cup win last season, and that is certainly something that is on the players' minds, even if the only current UW coach that experienced that game was Scott Huff. And there are certainly other UA skill players that Washington will have to focus on, including pass-catchers Jacob Cowing, Dorian Singer, Tetairoa McMillan, and Tanner McLachlan.

After another quick break, it was time to talk about the chats with the media and the other UW coaches they spoke with - Huff, JaMarcus Shephard, Eric Schmidt, and Julius Brown. There was plenty of talk about getting off the field on third down, how the combination of Troy Fautanu and Jaxson Kirkland on the left side of the offensive line is working out, how that might help UW this weekend against an anemic Arizona run defense, and more - including the guys' final thoughts.

JaMarcus Shephard, Scott Huff, Eric Schmidt, and Julius Brown spoke with the media this week to recap what they saw in Washington's 45-38 loss at Arizona State, as well as what they expect to see this coming Saturday at Husky Stadium, as UW hosts the Arizona Wildcats.

Cameron Davis, Rome Odunze, Bralen Trice, Cam Bright, and Alex Cook all spoke to the media about the ASU loss, pushing ahead for Arizona.

Ryan Grubb, Chuck Morrell, and Kalen DeBoer spoke with the media Monday after the Huskies endured their second-straight road loss, 45-38 at Arizona State.