Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Scott Eklund - had a ton to talk about after the first day of Washington Football fall camp was put to bed. It was two hours of guys running around in their 'pajamas', according to Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake, but there's still no time wasted, whether it's getting the newcomers up to speed or competing for a starting job.

The Dawgman guys first talked about the news of the day that came out of the post-practice press conference. The good news was that sophomore outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui is expected back much sooner than originally anticipated after suffering a non-contact achilles injury during spring football.

The not-so-good news was that two inside linebackers - Miki Ah You and Will Latu - would not be part of the program this year, as Lake said they were dealing with some 'personal and family' issues that needed to be resolved.

There was one more piece of good news: Lake stated that Dylan Morris was most definitely the starting quarterback, although he later amended the news to say that the competition is always open and if Morris doesn't continue to improve and Patrick O'Brien continues to impress, O'Brien could be in line to take over the spot. But in all the years we've been covering the team, you could count the number of times the head coach has announced the starting quarterback after the first practice on one hand. It's just never done.

After a quick break to pay some bills, Scott recapped what he saw on the offensive side of the ball, while Chris tackled the defensive side. They also talked briefly about some of the things they saw when the team went through their special teams periods, including the fact that both Peyton Henry and Tim Horn made all of their field goal attempts to end practice.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - decided to switch things up a little bit. Instead of doing a normal pre-fall camp podcast, they answered subscriber-submitted questions.

Here are the questions that were sent in.

When does camp start and what is the practice schedule?

Will the coaches use the same policy as in spring ball that resulted in the players getting more reps in practice?

Do you believe coaches Jimmy Lake and John Donovan limited the new offensive playbook last year? What do you expect from the offense this year?

Which specific position battles are the biggest to watch in fall camp? Not looking for the position group in general, but specific players that are neck and neck for playing time (eg: Sean McGrew vs. Richard Newton)

Will the three QB's get even reps to start camp, and if so how long into camp will that last?

Who are the new frosh showing up for day 1?

Which freshman do you expect to make an impact this year if any?

Each year we seem to have a breakout player (ZTF last year) who would you expect that to be this year?

Is Taj Davis really a thing now?

We have a bunch of 4 stars on the Dline, but has anyone really met expectations yet?

What needs to be done to bring excitement back to the program?

And before we finished up the pod, Scott gave a quick recruiting update that should have Washington fans on their toes for some good news soon.

It's been a while since we've talked about the recruiting trail and catch people up on all that is happening. After a busy last week of July, we thought it was a perfect time for another recruiting podcast to update where things stand.

Washington grabbed commitments from two players over the weekend -- DB TJ Hall, TE Ryan Otton -- and they made an offer late last week to 2022 in-state wide receiver Denzel Boston who seems poised to make a decision in the very near future.

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds and Scott Eklund sat down and updated the latest news on Washington recruiting as they discussed the August 'Dead Period' along with the total number of scholarships available for the 2022 class. They also talked about how things might play out of the next five months as the program and recruits get closer to the Early Signing Period which takes place in mid-December.

To listen to the 32-minute podcast, click on the audio link below...

Tuesday is Pac-12 Media Day, and Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds is in Los Angeles to take part. Before the Huskies that are there - Head Coach Jimmy Lake, Offensive Tackle Jaxson Kirkland, and Defensive Back Trent McDuffie - were put in front of the general media, Grinolds got some time to exclusively speak to all of them.

Next up, Washington Defensive Back (and potential offensive threat) Trent McDuffie!

Tuesday is Pac-12 Media Day, and Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds is in Los Angeles to take part. Before the Huskies that are there - Head Coach Jimmy Lake, Offensive Tackle Jaxson Kirkland, and Defensive Back Trent McDuffie - were put in front of the general media, Grinolds got some time to exclusively speak to all of them.

Next up, Washington Offensive Tackle Jaxson Kirkland!

Tuesday is Pac-12 Media Day, and Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds is in Los Angeles to take part. Before the Huskies that are there - Head Coach Jimmy Lake, Offensive Tackle Jaxson Kirkland, and Defensive Back Trent McDuffie - were put in front of the general media, Grinolds got some time to exclusively speak to all of them.

First off, Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake!

There was some big news that came down the 247Sports pipeline last week; former Washington Director of Player Personnel Cooper Petagna was joining the network as a National Recruiting Analyst.

Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds spoke to Cooper this week to talk about his Louisiana roots, how he got into the business, his move to Washington and how that came about, his takes on the head coaches he's been able to work with, including Cincinnati's Luke Fickell, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, and Chris Petersen. Petagna calls Petersen a 'true one percenter', a coach that will not only make you better at what you do but will also make you a better person, the type of person you want to be surrounded by.

Cooper also talks about his early time at LSU and his recollection of players like current Seattle safety Jamal Adams.

But the bulk of the conversation surrounded the mechanics of the prospect evaluation process from someone who worked in a number of big-time FBS recruiting offices, with a particular emphasis on Washington. How does the process begin, and what steps do the coaches take to move the process through as they vet the prospects and what they value as intangibles. Petagna also talks about the different position groups and how the evaluation process might differ when looking at offensive linemen compared to quarterbacks.

And at UW, compared to other programs Petagna worked at, the key word was 'fit'. He spoke about that never-ending search for players that fit what the Huskies were looking at, and he spoke specifically about players like Trent McDuffie, Elijah Molden, Rome Odunze, and Sam Huard.

Grinolds also asked Petagna about the differences between the schools he's worked at, and how regional factors and program priorities played into how recruiting was dealt with on a day-to-day basis. With Washington specifically, Petagna talked about how the Huskies went head-to-head against certain programs, like Stanford, Notre Dame, Oregon, and others, and how they approached those recruiting battles. He also spoke on Nike's influence within the Ducks' program and what makes Oregon a strong recruiting school.

In Cooper's opinion, why do prospects choose specific schools? What are the most important things that they focus on when they come to that point when they're ready to commit to a school? He focuses on one very specific trait that all the best recruiters have that separates them from the rest of the pack.

And what was it about Washington that appealed to recruits during his time at Montlake?

As a talent evaluator, Petagna has seen his share of freakish players. Who are some of the top guys that literally jumped off the screen when he watched tape of them?

During the course of the interview, Grinolds also asked Petagna about places to hit in Ann Arbor before the UW-Michigan game, his time living in Ballard when working at Washington, and also whether or not Chris Petersen will ever coach another college football game. And who might win a boat race; Petersen or Lake?

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - had plenty of news to dig into this week, as there were a lot of things happening at Montlake, as well as around the country.

To start, the guys dig into today's big news as Washington announced a ton of schedule updates for football. The home-home series with Michigan State was moved up to 2022-23, and the Huskies also added home games with Boise State for 2023 and 2029. And the Michigan game that was supposed to be played last season has now been officially rescheduled for 2028.

After a quick break to pay some bills, the guys move right into the latest recruiting news. Since our last podcast, Washington has received verbal commitments from two players, DL Ben Roberts from Salt Lake City (Utah) East, and RB Emeka Megwa from Keller (Tex.) Timber Creek. Megwa made his commitment official via CBS Sports HQ Thursday, picking the Huskies over offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, and many others. Both Roberts and Megwa officially visited Washington last weekend, and Scott Eklund provides an update on how the rest of UW's official visits should go, as well as what might happen at the end of July.

The last segment finds the Dawgman guys delving into the new world of Name, Image, and Likeness and how it will impact Washington's student-athletes. And if the new rules could have been retroactively implemented, there definitely would have been some former Huskies benefitting from NIL.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - decided it was a good time to catch up on all the latest Washington football news, as well as what's happening in the Pac-12 and in college football.

Right now, the story that's just beginning to ripple through the college football world but looks to have some real staying power is the one surrounding Arizona State and substantial recruiting violations that took place during the shortened 2020 season. A few former Pac-12 players and coaches have already commented on it and if the allegations are found to be true it would be a massive hammer blow to the Sun Devils, and one that would reverberate for years to come.

Next, the guys talk about the proposed 12-team college football playoff format, the winners and losers, and how the Pac-12 benefits from a super-sized playoff scenario. As always, it comes down to money and winning. But does the conference really benefit as much as you might think, especially compared to the real power players?

After a quick commercial break, the Dawgman guys talk about Wednesday's breaking news; 2021 defensive back prospect Davon Banks announced his verbal commitment to the Huskies, and Banks will make it official when he signs a scholarship agreement with UW on Friday.

Is Banks's situation a unique one? One where an injury and the coronavirus pandemic simply put him in the wrong place at the wrong time, ultimately found by the Huskies again at the last moment? Or will his case be one of many that emerge during the 2022 recruiting cycle due to the minimal amount of film being out there of 2021 seasons being shortened or canceled altogether in certain regions of the country, compounded by the fact that coaches couldn't recruit said prospects in person until just a couple of weeks ago?

Scott also updates us on UW's big recruiting weekend coming up at the end of the month, where they will be hosting five players on official visits. How many of those players could end up signing with the Huskies?

With the shackles off, the Washington Football staff can now go recruit. The NCAA has lifted the dead period on recruiting, so that means the staff can not only host recruits on-campus and host their own camps, but they can also go coach at satellite camps up and down the west coast and their recruiting footprint.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - talk about how the Huskies will tackle the summer recruiting period, as well as a couple of the newest verbal commitments for the 2022 class; O'Dea OL Mark Nabou and Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro OL Parker Brailsford.

Eklund and Fetters break down what they like in each player, and Grinolds offers up this scenario: what would the UW coaches do if two of the in-state OL prospects with current Washington offers not named Josh Conerly called up the same day asking to commit? What would Scott Huff do?

After a quick break, the guys go right back into more recruiting talk. Washington is hosting a very high-profile recruit this weekend - local 5-star DL/OLB J.T. Tuimoloau. The Huskies are Tuimoloau's first official visit; he still plans on visiting Alabama, Ohio State, USC, and Oregon before announcing which school he will attend.

The guys talk about Tuimoloau's recruitment, and how it should be seen as the standard for all 5-star players moving forward.

They wrap up the podcast with a little bit of Hoops recruiting news, a couple of players expected to visit Montlake, as well as a breakdown of the camps the UW coaches will be attending this summer as they continue to search for the talent that will take them to the next level.