Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

Tuesday was a day for the defense to rise up and for Death Row to assert themselves, and that's exactly what they did. With the score 14-12 in the practice-ending Red Zone Lock Out and the offense just having scored via a Dylan Morris touchdown pass to Cade Otton, Jacobe Covington finished things off with an interception to win the day.

The freshman defensive back wasn't the only player who had a strong Tuesday workout, and the guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - went into detail on the players who stood out on both sides of the ball and also who was there, as well as who wasn't.

Head Coach Jimmy Lake didn't divulge any details on the players that got hurt Monday that didn't play on Tuesday, notably receiver Jalen McMillan who wasn't at Tuesday's workout, but Daniel Heimuli was out there with a brace on his left knee after getting banged up a day earlier.

The guys also talked about the departure of James Smith for personal and family reasons, revealed by Lake after practice. And finally they touched on the touchy subject of recruiting de-commitments after Lake was asked about the concept of players verbally committing to Washington to play, only to then back out before signing day. It happened Tuesday when Ben Roberts, a defensive lineman from Salt Lake City, announced on his personal Twitter account that he was re-opening up his recruitment after being verbally committed to Washington for roughly six weeks.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - pour through the rubble of a schizophrenic Day 10 of Washington's fall camp, one that saw the defense dominate early due to some unforced offensive errors, but then the offense roared back to redeem themselves in the final team periods, punctuated by a Dylan Morris-led 88-yard drive in under 80 seconds with no time outs.

A number of players were already not at practice, including James Smith, Sawyer Racanelli, and Asa Turner, on top of the ones that were already out - Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Alphonzo Tuputala, Dyson McCutcheon, Davon Banks, Elijah Jackson, and Samuel Peacock. Kuao Peihopa showed up Monday morning with his right foot in a walking boot, and then players started getting dinged up left and right - Caleb Berry, Daniel Heimuli, Jalen McMillan, and Noa Ngalu all left at various points of practice.

A lot of the problems stemmed from the team not being able to stay on their feet during the shells and shorts practice, which is a standard order from the coaching staff when you're not in full pads. It certainly didn't stop players from really getting after it, and Head Coach Jimmy Lake ran some drills you'd normally only see during a full pads workout, like a 9-7 run drill inside the box.

But ultimately, the quarterbacks finished the day strong, with Morris's drive the cherry on top of a day where Sam Huard had another touchdown-ending drive that went 75 yards, and Patrick O'Brien connected with freshman receiver Jabez Tinae for a 75-yard score.

Scott Eklund also gave a quick update on the juco prospect that Washington offered Sunday night - Snow College DB Keionte Scott.

One of the common themes during the first week of fall camp was the struggles of the wide receivers. They struggled to get open and even when they did, they were very inconsistent in catching the ball. Over the past couple of days though, we've seen an uptick in the play of the receivers, and more specifically second-year freshmen Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan.

Sunday's practice on the East Practice Field saw the receivers continue their hot streak with several big catches and consistent hands from everyone who had the ball thrown his way.

Dawgman's Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund and intern Jack McCauley sat down after practice and talked about the receivers' contributions as well as a very good day of practice for Dylan Morris and the best practice of young Sam Huard's career at Washington.

They also discussed the progress we are seeing from the offense as a whole and the impact that we've seen from players like Sam Adams, Jacobe Covington and several other young players who seem to be moving their way up the depth chart.

Eight days into Washington's 2021 fall camp and things are starting to pick up on both sides of the ball. During Saturday's open scrimmage that was attended by roughly 400 fans, the offense definitely seemed to get the better of things, but the defense still managed to make some plays, especially down the stretch,that made things close at the end.

Third-year sophomore quarterback Dylan Morris and his main targets -- wide receivers Terrell Bynum, Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan and tight end Cade Otton -- were on point most of the day, making big plays and generally having their way with the defense, but there were some big plays on the other side of the ball as well.

Cornerback Mishael Powell, safety Julius Irvin and walk-on linebacker Ben Hines each had interceptions and the front seven also got consistent pressure on the quarterbacks and recorded a handful of sacks during the two-hour practice.

The guys from Dawgman.com -- Kim Grinolds, Scott Eklund and intern Jack McCualey -- broke things down and talked about what they saw as well as some of the things that were said by Richard Newton, Victor Curne and Henry Bainivalu as well as tailbacks coach Keith Bhonapha during their time with the media after practice.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - were on hand with a couple of hundred Washington Football fans Wednesday at Husky Stadium to watch Day Six of fall camp. It was a bit of an occasion, as it marked the first practice where the team suited up in full pads.

On Tuesday there were a fair few skirmishes, mostly because you could tell they were ready to actually start hitting some people, and so Wednesday granted them that wish. Now, since it's their own teammates, they couldn't go all-out, but UW Head Coach Jimmy Lake did offer the team a chance to go 'live' at the end of practice on fourth downs and any play inside the 10-yard line.

The offense won the 'freeze out' competition at the end (a game which includes points given to the offense for touchdowns and field goals, and also to the defense for stops), which meant the defense had to run two gassers.

The guys talked about the practice, who stood out, how the quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers looked, as well as their thoughts watching the offensive line move around for the first time in full pads.

They then moved over to the defensive side of the ball to talk about the rotations at outside linebacker and safety. There's some healthy competition going on at those positions right now, and the guys break down their observations as the team takes a day off on Thursday.

But the Huskies will be right back at work Friday, and they've scheduled another public practice from 10 am to Noon, this time at Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center. It's expected to be a hot day, so plan accordingly!

Day five of Washington's 2021 fall camp was marked by an uptick in the intensity on the field. With a lot of redzone work, things got a bit chipping and there definitely was some chirping going on between the Husky offense and defense.

The guys from Dawgman -- Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund -- were on hand and discussed what they saw.

They touched on some of the skirmishes from the practices and there was a player in the middle of things that we've seen in some tussles already in camp -- freshman defensive back Jacobe Covington. The Arizona native got into things on Monday with tailback Jay'Veon Sunday and on Tuesday he and wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk got into an altercation that led to the latter's helmet wind up on the ground.

When the team actually decided to play some football, it was a give and take between the offense and defense with the stop unit probably "winning" the day as they posted three interceptions and generally were tough on the offense.

With officials on hand for the first time in camp, there were definitely some flags thrown, but overall, it was a relatively clean day.

Julius Irvin leaped to intercept and pass from Sam Huard that was intended for Taj Davis in the back of the endzone while Brendan Radley-Hiles made a spectacular interception at the goal line he tipped to himself from the freshman that was intended for a receiver.

Not to be outdone, Makell Esteen made the most of his opportunity to bring in an interception. Dylan Morris, who on the previous play had found wideout Terrell Bynum for a touchdown, tried to fit in a pass to tight end Cade Otton, but the pass sailed a bit and Otton got his hand on the ball, knocking it up in the air and allowing Esteen an easy move to make the play.

Overall, the guys had a lot to talk about and shared their thoughts on what they saw.

Despite the absence of left tackle Jaxson Kirkland, the Washington offense was able to make their adjustments from a tough Sunday workout to impose themselves a little bit more on Day Four of fall camp. The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - talked about the bounce-back effort from the offense, including a great drive during the field team period, led by Dylan Morris, that ended up with a 5-yard touchdown to a wide-open Cade Otton.

Richard Newton and Cameron Davis were the two running backs used in that series, but all the of backs had turns Monday to impress. The Dawgman guys talked about the offensive line shuffle due to Kirkland's absence (doesn't sound like anything serious), and how Troy Fautanu did as the number-one left tackle, followed by freshman Roger Rosengarten backing him up.

They also talked about the improvement of the receivers from Sunday, and who is starting to make some waves behind the first team, including Sawyer Racanelli, Taj Davis, Ja'Lynn Polk, and Giles Jackson, who caught a 27-yard pass from Patrick O'Brien.

Moving to the defensive side, it was all about mixing and matching some position groups, especially at outside linebacker. Cooper McDonald was paired with Bralen Trice, Ryan Bowman and Sav'ell Smalls were matched together, and Jordan Lolohea and Jeremiah Martin also made up a pairing that OLB Coach Ikaika Malloe used to great effect on Monday. True frosh Voi Tunuufi had a tackle for loss during the final team period, and we also saw more three-DL sets with Tuli Letuligasenoa, Sam Taimani, and Faatui Tuitele involved.

Generally, there was a lot of back and forth during the final team period. There was just the one touchdown throw to Otton from Morris, and only one interception, which came from Dominique Hampton, who got shaken up on the play but still came up with the ball.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds and Chris Fetters - were at Husky Stadium with a few hundred UW Football fans also in attendance, as they watched Day Three of fall camp from 10-Noon. What they saw was very similar to what the first two days of practice looked like; a lot of individual work, sprinkled in with some special teams periods, but also some lively 11-on-11 team periods, especially the periods that normally end the practice.

What they also saw was the defense once again out-perform the offense. The offensive line and the running backs are doing their jobs, but trying to get the ball downfield via the pass has become a bit of a chore, and Fetters goes into some detail on what he saw on that side of the ball.

That's not to say there weren't some standout performers, and typically the players that stood out on day three have also done so the first two days of fall camp. On the offensive side, it's hard not to look at the offensive line, as well as the running backs and tight ends, as groups that have hit the ground running. Cade Otton and Jack Westover have certainly caught the eye, as well as tailback Richard Newton and Caleb Berry.

On the defensive side of the ball, freshman defensive lineman Kuao Peihopa continues to be in the middle of things, literally. He found himself in the center of a pretty decent skirmish during the middle of Sunday's practice, and the defensive players that spoke to the media after practice (Edefuan Ulofoshio and Ryan Bowman) had things to say about Peihopa's work so far. Washington Defensive Coordinator Bob Gregory had good things to say about linebacker Daniel Heimuli, and Grinolds and Fetters discuss who they'd have as their starting safeties if the season started tomorrow, as well as the practice habits of Oklahoma transfer Brendan Radley-Hiles.

Saturday was the first day all the guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - were in the same room to talk about fall practice, so they dug deep into their takes on a lot of different subjects.

They started out talking about the turnovers they saw during the two-hour practice, then rolled right into one of the bigger talking points so far of camp; the inability of the receivers to step up and be consistent playmakers. Outside of Terrell Bynum, the rest of the receivers room has been hit and miss, or just missing. They are the lone room on the offensive side of the ball, however, to not consistently impress during the first two days. The running backs, especially, would be a group that should excel without full pads on, and that's exactly what happened on Saturday.

After a quick break to pay some bills, the guys came back to talk about the quarterbacks, including whether or not there's a real battle of the backups between Patrick O'Brien and Sam Huard. Kim thinks Huard is making a real go of it, while Chris and Scott are seeing a much bigger gap between the grad transfer and the true freshman. They also talked about Dylan Morris and the improvements he's made from last year to this year.

And speaking of improvements, the Dawgman guys finished up the podcast talking about the guys they have seen step up and show out so far through the first two practices. And then Kim gets bogged down praising the others for their work to the point where the talk veers into uncharted territory having to do with installing multiple televisions in his living room and the first-world problems that come with it.

Regardless, you're going to want to listen to all 55 minutes of this recap podcast to get a full accounting of what the guys saw out on the practice field on Saturday. 

Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake addressed the media Friday after day one of fall camp, where he dropped a couple of bombshells. First, Miki Ah You and Will Latu are no longer with the team, but Zion Tupuola-Fetui is expected to return much sooner than expected. He also spoke about Dylan Morris being the starting quarterback, the returning depth at inside linebacker, dealing with COVID over a year on, and a lot more.