Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

Trent McDuffie wasn't aware of the name 'Death Row' until he got to Montlake, but he soon found out all about it through the play of guys like Myles Bryant and Elijah Molden. And now he's all about making sure his name is added to those before him.

That's just a part of what the defensive players and coaches - McDuffie, Edefuan Ulofoshio, and Bob Gregory - spoke to the media about on Wednesday.

Gregory is as experienced as it gets for being the 'new' defensive coordinator after taking over from Pete Kwiatkowski, and he spoke of the transition from last year, as well as his take on Montana's offense and what he expects to see from their quarterback, Cam Humphrey. He also spoke about the Grizzlies' number 18, receiver Samuel Akem.

Ulofoshio spoke on his relationship with fellow ILB Jackson Sirmon, their collective competitive fire, and also about some of the other inside linebackers in the room, like MJ Tafisi, as well as senior OLB Ryan Bowman.

Last season, because of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the Washington Huskies were unable to properly install their offense. Offensive coordinator John Donovan had a monumental task on his hands. From trying to bring along a quarterback with no college experience, to helping the entire group understand what the philosophy of the offense was and knowing what they wanted to get accomplished, meeting over Zoom was not an ideal situation for a new job.

Now, as he prepares to start his first full season as Washington's offensive coordinator, Donovan has the luxury of sitting back and truly evaluating what he saw during fall camp over the past 25 days.

He and the two players who were made available to the media on Tuesday -- Cade Otton and Jaxson Kirkland -- collectively said that things are much more polished than they were at this point last year and that while the offensive philosophy remains the same, they can now do different things out of formations than they were able to do last season.

Donovan also commented on the progress of Dylan Morris and Sam Huard and what sets Richard Newton and Cameron Davis, the two co-starters in the backfield, apart from each other as well as what each brings to the table.

With the season upon us, our interns - Jack McCauley and Intern Emeritus Luke Mounger - got on the mic this weekend to talk about their game-by-game picks for the 2021 season.

It's very difficult to run the table, and both the interns have the Huskies losing games in the Pac-12. But which ones? To offer a hint, they picked different games.

By and large, both Jack and Luke have the Huskies winning a lot of games this fall, including their game at the Big House in less than two weeks. But the conference slate appears to be a little tricky, and they have UW stepping on a couple of banana skins at some point this fall. In fact, you might be a little surprised by the teams Luke believes will give the Huskies all sorts of fits. 

But which ones? You'll have to listen in to find out! They go deep into their takes for the season throughout the 50-minute podcast.

Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake addressed the media Monday as the Huskies continue to prepare for their Saturday season opener versus Montana.

The 1991 Washington Huskies are, by most accounts, one of the greatest college football teams ever assembled. With top players like Steve Emtman, Dave Hoffman, Jaime Fields, Donald Jones, Walter Bailey, Beno Bryant, Mario Bailey, Billy Joe Hobert and Mark Brunell as well as many others, the cast of characters not only on the field, but also on the coaching staff, were the stuff of legend.

Former KJR personality Mike Gastineau, "The Gas Man", came to Seattle in early 1991, so he had a front row seat to see what that Husky team was able to do. Now, 30 years later, he has endeavored to give Husky fans and the rest of the nation a closer look at what that team was all about. His relationship with Hall-of-Fame coach Don James, James' wife Carol, as well as some of the players and other coaches associated with that team has allowed him to pull back the curtain, so to speak, and tell the backstories of what went on during that magical season.

Dawgman's Kim Grinolds sat down with "The Gas Man" recently and got the chance to get the scoop on why Gastineau decided to write the book, what it meant as far as all of the information and his interviews with the players and coaches who made history.

From the letdown of the 1990 season to the offseason of work the players and coaches put in to the epic win over Nebraska in Lincoln to their close call against Cal in Strawberry Canyon, Gastineau takes you through everything in his book "Fear No Man" that is required reading for any true Husky fan.

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds recently caught up with Washington Men's Basketball Head Coach Mike Hopkins after a workout for an exclusive chat where Hop was able to break down all the changes that have taken place since the end of last season - and there were a lot of changes.

First, Hop briefly touched on the lessons learned from a difficult 2020-21 campaign, one that saw the Huskies go 5-21, including 4-16 in the conference.

He spoke in-depth on Washington's new assistant coaches; Wyking Jones and Quincy Pondexter. Jones, who was the former head coach at California and is working with UW's bigs. And Pondexter is back with his alma mater after a career in the Purple and Gold that saw him finish as the all-time leader in career games played and career home wins. Hop talked about the hiring process and how Pondexter fit with the direction Hop wanted to take the program. He also talked about Quincy's coaching style as he's been working with the UW wings, as well as his ability as a recruiter.

Hopkins also went in-depth on all the new UW signings, their recruiting stories, and why they are the right fit for the Huskies:

Former West Virginia SF Emmitt Matthews, Jr.

Former Seattle/Arizona PG Terrell Brown, Jr.

Former Stanford CG Daejon Davis

Georgia Highlands College PF Langston Wilson

NBA Academy Africa SF Samuel Ariyibi

Olympia F/C Jackson Grant

(Even though former TCU SG P.J. Fuller has committed to UW, he has not signed yet, nor enrolled, so Hop couldn't talk about him.)

Hopkins also provided updates on all the scholarship players who returned from last season:

Nate Roberts

Jamal Bey

Riley Sorn

Dominiq Penn

Cole Bajema

Next, Hopkins talked about the schedule release that came out, including a change in his thinking when it comes to what they need to get out of their non-conference schedule now that the Pac-12 has grown to 20 conference games, a change the league made starting with the 2020-21 season.

He also briefly touched on Name, Image, and Likeness rules and how the program can help them, but he also wants the players to remain focused on the main objectives of being in school, which is their education and commitment to a winning program.

Lastly, Hop talks about the things that have been missed during the pandemic and the excitement about getting back to business and playing in front of the Dawg Pack and a full Alaska Airlines Arena.

Tight Ends Coach Derham Cato, Quarterback Dylan Morris, Right Guard Henry Bainivalu, and Center Luke Wattenberg spoke to the media this week as the Washington Huskies move into their final week of fall camp heading into their season opener September 4 versus Montana.

Saturday's practice was the final open scrimmage of fall camp, and the Washington Huskies played it out like a real game was on the line. Led by quarterbacks Dylan Morris and Sam Huard, the offense came out victorious 34-17 in a day that was also noted by the breakout of redshirt freshman receiver Taj Davis.

Davis, from Upland, Calif., took over for an injured Jalen McMillan to catch 13 passes for 197 yards, and the two quarterbacks combined unofficially for 455 yards, three passing touchdowns, and no interceptions.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters, Scott Eklund, and intern Jack McCauley - dissect what they saw from the live scrimmage, starting with the offense, going position-by-position group, and then moving to the defense after a quick sponsor break.

There were a number of starters that didn't play at all or played limited snaps - Jaxson Kirkland, Luke Wattenberg, Terrell Bynum, Trent McDuffie, and Kyler Gordon were the most notable - which meant opportunities for those right behind them in the depth. The Dawgman guys talked about those players that did step up, including some walk-ons on the defense (Mishael Powell, Ben Hines, and Drew Fowler).

They also finish the podcast with their general takeaways and what the scrimmage means moving forward as the Huskies continue to work toward their September 4 game hosting Montana, 14 days from now.

The football season is just around the corner, so it's about time we sat down with 247 National Recruiting Editor Brandon Huffman to get the lay of the land. In today's DawgmanRadio podcast, Scott Eklund and Huffman talk about a number of subjects that are on every Husky fans' mind.

To start off, they look at some of the decommitments that have happened, including that of Ben Roberts, the defensive tackle from Utah, who recently opened up his recruitment after taking a visit to Oregon. Why are things like this happening and is there still a chance he could come to his senses and still wind up signing with Washington?

Huffman also goes into detail on several of Washington's commits and why they were prospects that Washington went after hard and how they fit into the Husky scheme. Is Jackson Stratton under-appreciated? Why are TJ Hall and Denzel Boston prospects that Husky fans should be excited about?

Eklund and Huffman also look ahead to the 2023 and 2024 classes, both in state and out west, and discuss some of the top prospects in the region as well as the deepest position groups over the next couple of years.

Moments ago, 247 got a jump on the 2024 recruiting class by releasing its initial Top 100 and a handful of in-state players made it onto the list. The group includes two offensive players, both from the same school, and two defensive players from the South Sound.

Kim Grinolds and Scott Eklund from Dawgman sat down and talked about all four players and what they bring to the table.

O'Dea tailback Jason Brown is a special athlete who is expected to be the next one in a long line of great Irish tailbacks. He has sprinter's speed and a great frame to get a heavy dose of carries over the next three seasons.

Leading the way for Brown up front is Isendre Ahfua, a mammoth offensive lineman, who already sports offers from quite a few Top 25 programs including Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama and USC among others. He's the top offensive linemen to come out of the state, at least as far as rankings are concerned, since Foster Sarell in 2017.

The two defensive prospects both hail from schools who aren't typically on the itinerary of FBS coaching staffs, but in 2024 they will be all over Life Christian (Tacoma) DB Rahshawn Clark and Yelm LB Brayden Platt.

All four have offers from the Huskies and all four have them as an early favorite.

Eklund and Grinolds break down each player and also discuss a handful of other players who could make it onto the initial 2024 Top247 which will come out at some point this winter after analysts get a chance to see them play their sophomore seasons.