Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

As the Washington football team began its first full scrimmage of the spring on Friday, the media was heading up the tunnel. So short story shorter, we didn't get to watch any of it. But new UW Head Coach Kalen DeBoer was able to give us some tidbits from the 89-play scrimmage in front of some former UW players, coaches, and current recruits.

He spoke of the two interceptions from defensive back Davon Banks. He talked about Cam Bright and Kuao Peihopa as two of the spotlight players from the scrimmage. He also talked about players like Devin Culp and Taj Davis from the other side of the ball, and let us know that both Michael Penix, Jr. and Sam Huard had touchdown passes of roughly 40 to 50 yards.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund - talked about the things DeBoer mentioned during his post-practice briefing, as well as questions that were asked of him pertaining to name, image, and likeness (NIL). You'll want to read those quotes when they become available a little later today.

Both Chris and Scott did talk about the things they were able to watch before having to leave, namely the first significant periods that had the punters involved, as well as a cool coverage drill where the coverage player had to defeat their blocker to get to the returner.

Scott talked a little about the recruits that were at Husky Stadium today, and we also talked about the two transfer players Washington officially announced today; Virginia RB Wayne Taulapapa and Nebraska WR/RB Will Nixon - as well as the two players Washington announced as signed for the men's basketball team; Garfield guard Koren Johnson, and former WSU guard Noah Williams.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - recapped a cold Day 7 of Washington Spring Football, held inside Husky Stadium. It was a Wednesday where some different combinations were being used on both sides of the ball during the 11-11 period where the media was able to watch. And Sam Huard got the first-team reps today.

The guys broke down their post-practice conversations with some of the offensive coaches and players they spoke to, including Lee Marks, JaMarcus Shephard, Aaron Dumas, Jay'Veon Sunday, Junior Alexander, and Rome Odunze.

After a quick break, talk turns to recruiting - namely the prospects that we were able to see watching practice, including one big local name and one big name from California that we were able to identify.

We also spoke a little bit more on Washington's latest hoops transfer, guard Noah Williams from Washington State, his potential impact on the roster, and the ongoing search for a couple of big men.

To finish up, we spoke on a couple of the newer drills - one involving special teams and one between the receivers and defensive backs - that we enjoyed watching during practice.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds and Chris Fetters - go through their observations from Day Six of UW spring football, and there wasn't a ton to talk about there because of the limited number of 11-on-11 reps the media got a chance to see on Monday. But we did get a quick chat in with Kalen DeBoer, who stopped by the media gaggle on his way inside, and he dropped a couple of interesting nuggets.

There was also plenty of good stuff to talk about during the post-practice interviews, and we get into some of the chats that we had with Tuli Letuligasenoa, Kuao Peihopa, Jordan Perryman, Asa Turner, Julius Brown, and more.

In the second half of the podcast, the guys dig headfirst into the basketball transfer portal, including talk about the two visitors the men's team had this weekend and a former O'Dea star that UW is prioritizing as a potential replacement for Terrell Brown, Jr..

On Friday, new UW Head Coach Kalen DeBoer spoke in front of the media for the first time since the start of spring football, and there were plenty of updates. Former Washington Defensive Line Coach Randy Hart spoke to the team after practice, which is what DeBoer is referring to at the beginning of his media session.

DeBoer went on to give updates on specific players, including Jaxson Kirkland and Emeka Megwa, as well as his thoughts as to how the team has done absorbing all the teaching that has taken place through the first two weeks of spring football.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - recap what they saw from Day Five of UW Spring Football, held Friday inside a blustery Husky Stadium.

And after practice, the media spoke with new head coach Kalen DeBoer for the first time since spring ball started. He hinted at the open practice, which is now officially scheduled for 11 am on Saturday, April 23, and also fielded questions about the quarterback battle, the status of Jaxson Kirkland (there is no change as of today), the news that Emeka Megwa will be out for months while he recovers from the injury he suffered in high school, and more.

There were also a number of former player and coach sightings, as Danny Shelton was at practice in his UW letterman's jacket, and former UW Defensive Line Coach Randy Hart was also there. DeBoer noted that Hart addressed the team after practice.

After a quick recruiting rundown, including the players that were spotted at Friday's practice, Kim also provided a quick hoops recruiting update. UW is in the process of hosting some potential transfers as they continue to remake their roster ahead of the 2022-23 season.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Scott Eklund, and Chris Fetters - had to pull rare double duty during Day 4 of UW Spring Football. For as long as we've been doing this, there has never been a player commit during practice, but we're in the transfer portal era now, so former Nebraska WR Will Nixon announced his intentions to join Washington about 15 minutes before UW's practice ended.

The Dawgman guys first get into what they were able to see during practice, which wasn't a great deal because the media's access to viewing practice is limited at this time. But they did note some grouping changes at cornerback and linebacker, and also talked about anything new they've seen in the QB battle between Michael Penix, Jr., Dylan Morris, and Sam Huard, as well as running back.

After a quick break, the talk turned to recruiting - and for obvious reasons. Besides the talk about Nixon and how his commitment came about from Nebraska, the guys also talked about the prospects that were at practice today - including Tacoma Lincoln QB Gabarri Johnson, and also about the two commitments the Huskies received on Tuesday. Former Virginia RB Wayne Taulapapa was the first to announce his intention to spend his final year of eligibility at Montlake, and then at the end of the day, it was WR/RB Keith Reynolds, a prep prospect from the small California high desert town of Adelanto - located outside of Los Angeles on the way toward Las Vegas - who decided to make his verbal commitment to the Huskies known.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Scott Eklund, and Chris Fetters - recapped their observations from Day Three of Washington's Spring Football campaign, held inside in the Dempsey Indoor for the first time this spring. It was quite windy outside, which normally wouldn't be an issue but with the weather coming in so quickly it was obviously better to err on the side of caution when the indoor facility is there to be used.

Most of the observations today revolved around the coaches and not only their styles and methods of coaching but also how they've been interacting with the media, from head coach Kalen DeBoer on down. Chris recounts a drill where he saw offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb jump in to offer a couple of quick insights, and then the drill ran double-time, and Scott gave his observations when watching new TE Coach Nick Sheridan working with his group. We also gleaned some insights talking with new DL Coach Inoke Breckterfield and co-DC/LB Coach William Inge after practice, and shared some things here.

After a brief discussion about the quarterbacks and running backs, as well as a break to pay some bills, the guys came back for the second half of the podcast talking about recruiting and eager to continue the 'umbrella' discussion that's been taking place on the Hardcore Recruiting Board. Well, one of us was. We finish the show talking about the methods and creativity used by the new staff in trying to put Washington's best foot forward, as well as talk about their approach toward NIL and how it's going to try and keep pace in a climate where pragmatism and prudence are getting dwarfed by expediency and over-the-top bidding wars.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - spoke with some of the offensive players and coaches after day two of spring football, including quarterbacks Michael Penix, Jr., Dylan Morris, Sam Huard, and new receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard. Shephard, in particular, has stood out for the sheer energy and enthusiasm he has pumped out so far through two practices. We give our observations on Shephard coaching his guys up, as well as what we saw from the three quarterbacks so far.

We also talked a little about some of the standout plays made during the brief 11-11 session we were able to watch, highlighted by a roughly 60-yard touchdown pass from Penix to Rome Odunze over cornerback Mishael Powell. There were also some odds and ends that we discussed, as well as the recruits and signees that were on hand for today's practice.

Don't forget: we have a really good spring football promotion going on for anyone interested in becoming a Dawgman subscriber. Fifty percent off a yearly subscription! And the promotion is also good for those monthly subscribers that want to take advantage of an upgrade to yearly. The promotion expires on Monday, so there's no better time to take advantage of us than right now!

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - were all at Husky Stadium to watch Day One of Washington's spring football campaign, and we were treated to an hour's worth of viewing.

That means we were not only able to see who was there and who wasn't, but where they were lining up on both sides of the ball. In the first half of the podcast the guys talk about the various position battles expected to take place during spring, some immediate day one thoughts on the quarterbacks and running backs, and what the first two offensive lines looked like. They also talked about a few of the new UW coaches and there were some definite first impressions made. No one made a bigger one than new UW Receivers Coach JaMarcus Shephard (who Scott, for some reason, likes to refer to Shephard as JaMarcus Russell).

After a quick break to pay some bills, they get into the details of the recruits that were at practice today, as well as any final thoughts they had about what they saw and just how excited they are to be back covering football for a change.

Dawgman.com spoke Monday to new Washington Head Coach Kalen DeBoer ahead of Wednesday's first day of spring football. DeBoer updated reporters on the latest injury news, including the offseason injury to Edefuan Ulofoshio that will cost the senior linebacker 'some games' of the 2022 season, as well as a host of other topics.