Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

Dawgman.com spoke Monday to Washington Offensive Coordinator Ryan Grubb ahead of Wednesday's first day of spring football. Grubb spoke at length about the anticipated quarterback battle, running backs that will be missing time due to injury, and which position groups he's been impressed with the most, and instilling a new culture around the program.

We also spoke to co-Defensive Coordinator Chuck Morrell. Morrell spoke at length about the expected schematic changes that fans will see, starting with a new defensive front. He also talked about having a healthy Zion Tupuola-Fetui and what that will mean for the defense, as well as what coverages they plan to use from the 'alphabet' of schemes on the back end.

On Friday, we wrapped up our position previews with a look at the special teams. It's hard to believe it, but we're less than a week away from the start of spring football. In today's podcast, the guys from Dawgman chat about the special teams and also give a long look at the secondary, which was previewed earlier in the week.

How will the Huskies line up this season in the deep patrol? Who fits the best at the "Husky" spot in their defense? Keep an eye on Dominique Hampton, who head coach Kalen DeBoer said is the prototypical prospect for the position, but there are some other players who could be a great fit at the position, including Zakhari Spears and even Demario King, depending on the down and distance.

How much will Washington miss Race Porter and his big leg? Who takes over as the holder on place kicks and extra points? Who will handle the return duties? With Giles Jackson back, the Huskies have an established return man, but can they get someone more explosive to take over and if so, who would that be?

In addition to all of that, the guys also discuss recruiting and some of the important visitors who are scheduled to be on campus for spring practices over the next five weeks.

The interns from Dawgman.com - Luke Mounger and Jack McCauley - are still suffering from March Madness, and as such decided to get together and talk about their picks for who will survive and advance in the NCAA Tournament. And for those that just love this time of year, this podcast is a must-listen.

The tournament starts today with Texas Southern playing Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 3:40 pm PT, followed by Indiana playing Wyoming. HERE is the television schedule for the tournament.  

Luke and Jack go in-depth with the West and South brackets to start the podcast. Gonzaga is the number-one seed out West, while Pac-12 Champs Arizona is the top seed in the South.

After a quick break they hit the East and Midwest brackets, and then after another quick stop to pay some bills they finish up with their Final Four picks and who ultimately wins the NCAA Tournament, and why.

Do they go chalk? How many number-one seeds do they have making it all the way to the Final Four in New Orleans? Which teams are going to win those tossup 8-9 and 7-10 matchups? Who are the 12-seeds that almost always end up with a first-round tournament upset? And how do they think the Pac-12 teams (Arizona, UCLA, USC) are going to fare?

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Head of Hoops Aaron Beach - met up at a location halfway from their own homes this week to talk about Washington Men's Basketball and all the relevant storylines now that their season is over. It wasn't all rainbows and puppies, as Beach offered up some sobering opinions about the season and how it may or may not translate as the program moves forward.

The questions they try to answer...

Was the season a success? And if so, why?

If the season wasn't a success, why?

Of the seniors who walked on Senior Night with remaining eligibility, who will leave and who will return?

With any scholarships remaining to fill up the roster, what positions will Mike Hopkins and the UW staff target in order of importance?

Will this coming season be an improvement on this past year, and why?

If not, why?

And for the players who decided to return, will they use the relative success of this past season, and more importantly the way the season ended with a tough loss to USC and no post-season, as fuel to push on to bigger things in 2022-23?

The guys from Dawgman.com -- Scott Eklund, Chris Fetters and Kim Grinolds -- sit down on Saturday morning to chat about the tight ends and the offensive line as they head into spring practice later this month. Who winds up at left tackle? How will Scott Huff mix and match his group up front during the 15 practices which begin on March 30th?

There are plenty of questions to answer along the offensive line which lost its defacto leader, Luke Wattenberg, to graduation and are still not sure if left tackle Jaxson Kirkland will be granted another year by the NCAA after declaring himself eligible for the NFL Draft, but then needing ankle surgery that will keep him out of action until at least the summer.

At tight end, the Huskies lost Cade Otton to the NFL Draft, but they return several top prospects to fill his spot including Devin Culp, Jack Westover and Quentin Moore. How many tight ends will Washington run through their offense under Ryan Grubb? Where will they line up?

In addition to those position questions, the guys also talk about Washington's first 2023 commit, Bakersfield (Ca.) RB Tybo Rogers, who chose the Huskies earlier this week and the National Preps College Showcase which will take place up in Marysville today.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund - were joined by Kim Grinolds who is down in Las Vegas covering the Pac-12 Tournament and got a real bird's eye view of how Washington did in winning their first tournament game versus Utah and their brutal Thursday night loss to USC.

In his post-game press conference, UW Head Coach Mike Hopkins believes the Huskies have done enough for a post-season tournament. The Dawgman guys discuss that, as well as what could happen to get them a potential NIT bid.

They discuss the nuts and bolts of the USC game, and where the game turned in the Trojans' favor in the second half. And off the back of that result, if the Huskies' season truly is over, what does Hopkins have to do right away to build on the momentum generated from the season?

With Terrell Brown, Jr., Daejon Davis, and Reagan Lundeen now off scholarship, those rides will be taken by the three incoming signees: Koren Johnson, Tyler Linhardt, and Keyon Menifield, Jr. But what about other attrition? What about the futures of Nate Roberts, Jamal Bey, Emmitt Matthews, and Riley Sorn?

The Dawgman guys take their best shots at who they think is gone and who they believe will return for at least one more year. And with any extra scholarships opened up, are there any names to consider that could potentially be available via the transfer portal?

On Seattle band Gas Huffer's first record, singer Matt Wright's first words were "The end!" Of course the irony is not lost on the listener, as the first song of the album starts up right after those words.

Well, on Monday, Washington's Mike Hopkins waited until the very end of his media session to loudly utter "VEGAS, BABY!" but he should have said it right from the start. It's Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament week, and the sixth-seeded Huskies are heading to Sin City to take on number-11 seed Utah in the final first-round game Wednesday night on the Pac-12 Network. Tip-off is at 8:30 pm, or 30 minutes after the previous game.

Hopkins was asked about the Utes, the key to beating a team three times in a year, what to focus on now that it's tournament time, and he makes his case for why Terrell Brown, Jr. should be the Pac-12 Player of the Year.

And yes, Gas Huffer also has a song on that same album called "Going to Las Vegas".

Every Senior Night is an emotional one, but it had to be doubly emotional for the three senior transfers who came back home to play at least one more year of basketball. Terrell Brown, Jr., Daejon Davis, and Emmitt Matthews, Jr. were three of nine Washington Huskies to walk on Senior Night Saturday, and for the first 10 minutes or so of their game against Oregon State, the emotions clearly got the better of them.

But the team eventually settled down, got some stops on defense which led to some transition baskets, and a 25-8 run to end the first half was exactly what UW needed to finish off their 2021-22 regular season in style. The 78-67 win over the Beavers meant the Huskies would have a winning league and overall record, a huge recovery from last year's 5-win season.

Brown, Jamal Bey, and Mike Hopkins met with the media after the win to talk about the game itself, the emotions involved, having momentum as the number-6 seed going into the Pac-12 Tournament, and more.

This week is the week of the NFL Draft Combine, but we had so many other things to talk about, we never got there. We promise we will the next time.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - catch up for a long chat about what they expect to see from Washington's new-look offense in spring, as well as the end of the men's basketball season and also some recruiting updates, as Scott is hitting a camp in California.

To start the podcast, the guys flesh out their takes on their first three spring position previews that have already been published: Quarterback, Running Back, and Wide Receiver. How will everything look, who has the inside track at impressing, and who needs to show up? We even throw some offensive line talk to, especially with the thought that Jaxson Kirkland may return. That would throw a whole different kind of wrench in the works, and in a good way.

After that, we pick out a handful of players featured in Scott's recent article about the 10 players that need to step up in spring.

After a quick break to pay some bills, the talk turns to the end of the men's basketball season, the win over Oregon, and the fact that UW will have nine players walk for Senior Night against Oregon State. Will they all leave? Who might return?

And then Scott provides a recruiting update, including the fact that he's attending the Under Armour camp at Mission Viejo High School on Sunday. Expect to see a lot of coverage on the UW prospects he spoke to at the camp!

Everyone was big smiles after Washington's 78-67 win over Oregon Thursday night, but then it started to dawn on the players - Saturday's Senior Night game versus Oregon State is the last game for at least a handful of players. Mike Hopkins confirmed after the Oregon win that nine players will walk on Saturday. He didn't name them, but there are nine current players - scholarship and walk-on - that are redshirt juniors and older.

Jamal Bey

Terrell Brown, Jr.

Daejon Davis

Jonah Geron

Reagan Lundeen

Emmitt Matthews, Jr.

Noah Neubauer

Nate Roberts

Riley Sorn

Only Brown and Davis are the ones without any eligibility remaining.

Hopkins was joined post-game by Nate Roberts and Terrell Brown, who talked about the win over the Ducks, how they were able to turn around a double-digit loss in Eugene into a double-digit win in Seattle, the upcoming Senior Night, and more.