Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

Washington Assistant Defensive Backs Coach Terrence Brown, middle linebacker Jackson Sirmon, and outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui spoke to the media Wednesday before the Huskies leave for their second road trip in as many weeks. This time it's to the Bay Area. They haven't won at Stanford since 2007.

On being able to kickoff again... It's been great. lost some of my form, but it's back. I kicked off a lot in high school because we scored a lot of points, but here, I just had to focus on kicking for the most part, so now I just had to get back into the rhythm of doing it, but I'm feeling good.

On the mechanics of kicking off... It's not just about kicking it as far as you can. There's placement, there's hang-time, lots of different things. I've really enjoyed it though.

On his season so far... Great battery of guys. Lots of work on consistency. Making sure we're continuing to work hard and getting things done.

On how they decide when to kick and when to punt or go for it... They come to me before and during the game to see how things feel that day. It depends on where we're at, the distance, the weather, all of that stuff, but yeah, we talk throughout gameday about what I am feeling comfortable with.

On getting in late and picking up where the other left off... Coach Keith Bhonapha does a good job of keeping us ready and making sure our heads are in the game and when it's your turn to step in, you'd better be ready.

On needing more carries to get in a rhythm... For sure. I'd like to get more carries to get in a rhythm, but I've just got to be ready to play when I get in there. Every running back will tell you that, but 

On the frustrations with the start of the season for the offense... Yeah, definitely haven't been happy with things, but we're getting better and we've still got a lot of work to do. We have played better every week and we just need to keep working at things.

On the recruiting process... Coach Bhonapha and coach Chris Petersen made it feel like family. It was a great experience from the start with them.

On Troy Fautanu... I thought he did a pretty good job. When you lose a guy like Jaxson Kirkland, that's a bummer, but I felt he came in and played well and was happy that he had some success.

On M.J. Ale's improvement... Julius Buelow had a great fall camp and M.J. was dinged up, but as he's gotten more healthy, he's played a lot better and done a good job. Credit to Buelow for having a good camp and M.J. perservering through his injury and getting better.

On what Ale needs to improve on to become more dominant... Not one thing, but if I was focused on something, it would be processing things quicker. He's had some really good practices and I feel really good about his progress.

On the improvement of the group... I feel like they've really bought in to things. They are making strides. Luke Wattenberg has been playing at a really high level. He's the field general for us out there and he's doing really, really well.

On reasons for the lack of success in running the ball... We have run the ball into some tough looks (defensively) and we can play better, but we've improved a lot and are doing a better job.

On rotating at right tackle... We have two guys (Matteo Mele and Victor Curne) who are playing well and why not compete for that spot? I am sure they'd prefer to be taking all of the snaps, but I feel like competition makes us all better and why not compete when two guys are playing well?

On Henry Bainivalu's progress... Overall I feel like he's played really well. He needs to keep working and improving, but I feel like he's played well overall.

On the progress of some of the younger guys... You watch the scout team film and those guys are doing a really good job. Sam Peacock, Roger Rosengarten are doing great jobs. They are progressing. We have over 20 offensive linemen which is the deepest group we've ever had since I've been doing this for 19 years. Lots of depth and talent and they are all pretty young too.

On Stanford's front seven... They have guys who have been there since I got here six years ago. Some sixth year seniors. They have some big guys. Looking at the stat sheet, they have surrendered some big plays, but overall, they are pretty solid at stopping the run.

Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake addressed the media Monday, and he had some big injury news to report. Richard Newton and Edefuan Ulofoshio are out for the season with ACL and arm injuries, respectively. He also recapped his thoughts on the 21-16 win at Arizona, as well as some questions about the Stanford Cardinal, Washington's next opponent.

Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake, as well as receiver Terrell Bynum and defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa, spoke to the media late Friday night after the Huskies' 21-16 come-from-behind win over the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - burned the midnight oil to put their thoughts down on tape after Washington's 21-16 come-from-behind win over Arizona Friday night in Tucson.

It was truly a tale of two halves, as the home team raced out to a 13-0 halftime lead. It was two quarters of play where the Huskies generated nothing on either side of the ball. And Sam Huard's entrance into the game was short-lived, as it was only because Dylan Morris needed some attention on the sideline to take care of a bloody nose that wouldn't stop running.

The same could be said of Arizona's run game, as they gashed UW for 218 yards on the ground, compared to 88 for the Huskies.

The guys hashed out their first half thoughts, and then moved to the second half, where it felt like a much different game. The Huskies outscored the Wildcats 21-3 and did their best to get out of the way while the home team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory via penalties and turnovers - including Tuli Letuligasenoa's interception, which became the play of the game.

The Dawgman guys talk about that, talk about the players that missed the trip due to injury, including Jaxson Kirkland, Sam Taimani, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Cameron Williams, and Richard Newton. And they wrap it up with their thoughts on if the win is going to do anything to change the opinions of those that feel UW Head Coach Jimmy Lake is turning a corner, or if he's in over his head.

With a trip to Stanford looming, will the win give the UW players some confidence heading to the Farm? Or are they simply who they are at this point and it's going to take a lot for this particular team to do something no Washington has done in Palo Alto in 14 years; win a game...?

The Dawgman.com interns - Jack McCauley and Intern Emeritus Luke Mounger - break down what they've seen from the Arizona Wildcats so far this season and how they match up against the Washington Huskies going into Friday night's game at Arizona Stadium.

Luke starts things out on the offensive side of the ball for the Wildcats. It's been a rough season for them, as they are on their third scholarship quarterback. He talks about the danger threat that is athlete Stanley Berryhill, as well as who he expects to see run the ball tonight against the Huskies. They make no bones about it; this will be the worst offense Washington will see in Pac-12 play. But can the Huskies stop the run?

On the defensive side of the ball, Jack details the key players the Washington offense will look out for, as well as a deep dive into Arizona's new defensive coordinator, Don Brown. Anthony Pandy is a linebacker to watch, as well as Christian Young, who Jack calls a 'Swiss Army Knife'. He also talks about two of UA's big defensive linemen, Trevon Mason and Kyon Barrs, as well as the player Jack thinks is the Wildcats' best pass-rusher, Jalen Harris.

How will the battle go between Arizona's front seven and Washington's offensive line? The guys talk about that particular matchup, as well as the other areas where the Huskies will have to take advantage in order to pull away in the desert.

And to finish up, Luke and Jack give their confidence level. Simply put, they're pretty confident of a UW win against a winless Arizona team, even with it being on the road during a short week.

Washington travels to the desert tonight to take on Arizona, the only winless team in the Pac 12 conference. While the Huskies are heavily favored, sitting as 15.5-point favorite, but weird things happen to the Dawgs when they play in the desert.

Both of these teams struggle to stop the run, but without their top two quarterbacks, the Wildcats are going to start the only healthy scholarship quarterback on the roster, Will Plummer.

Dawgman.com's Scott Eklund and Chris Fetters sit down and preview tonight's game, offering up their takes on Dylan Morris and the Washington offense as well as who needs to step up on the defensive side of the ball if the Huskies hope to stop the Arizona running game.

Washington punter Race Porter, Defensive Backs Coach Will Harris, and nickel Bookie Radley-Hiles all talk about the things that need to be fixed on the defensive side of the ball, as well as the leadership and mentality required to overcome their current two-game losing streak as they get set to travel to Tucson for a Friday night game at Arizona.