Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

It would certainly make sense for Washington to use Monday's Day 8 practice to clean up and hone in on a lot of what they were trying to get accomplished during Saturday's red zone scrimmage, and that's exactly what they did this morning under perfect conditions at the east field next to Husky Stadium.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - delve into everything they saw Monday morning, but they start with the players they didn't see at practice, or those that were there but limited to work. It was a list that included Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Miki Ah You, Jack Westover, Mason West, Alex Cook, Richard Newton, Victor Curne. Ryan Bowman and Gaard Memmelaar were back practicing, as normal.

With the red zone emphasis, the guys talk about how Monday was really a tale of two halves. During the first half of the practice, the defense dominated. During one period of 1-1's going into the end zone from 10 yards out, the offense went 3-20, while the defense committed three penalties and the offense one.

In moving toward individual players, the guys talked about the work Brendan Radley-Hiles has already done to integrate himself into the defense, as he battles with Kamren Fabiculanan for the number-one nickel spot. On offense, it was a focus on the quarterbacks, including more talk about freshman Sam Huard and some of the things that may be hampering his ability to break through so far.

The media spoke with running backs coach Keith Bhonapha and receivers coach Junior Adams, and the guys talked a little about their comments about each position group, who is standing out, and who needs to work on their consistency.

To finish the podcast, talk turns to Washington's latest hoops commit, Emmitt Matthews, Jr., and what his commitment means for the team moving forward, what he can add, and what his commitment says about guys leaving home and then wanting to come back. Is this a development that someone like J.T. Tuimoloau is paying attention to, for example? We'll find out.

Next Saturday will be more situational, but Washington did a lot of red zone work today, and in front of roughly 2000 people, as Head Coach Jimmy Lake advertised it as a live scrimmage.

Well, he was right... to a point. There was certainly live scrimmaging going on as they mixed in some live reps with their normal wrap (or cut) tempo, but they didn't really go full live periods until the two-hour practice was nearly done, and even then the 'red zone lock out' game fans were able to watch only lasted 14 plays and the defense won 22-3 after a Jackson Sirmon interception sealed the win for the defense.

To explain the 'red zone lock out', it's a red zone period where each drive starts at the defense's 25-yard line. If the offense scores, they get 6 points. If the defense hold the offense to a field goal, the offense gets the three points, but the defense gets four points. And if they hold them on fourth down or create a turnover, the defense gets six points. They also get all six points if the offense misses a field goal.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - broke down what they saw during the day, including the red zone lock out, and also the individual highlights. There were some players that didn't play, whether they were hurt from earlier in spring camp or were held out for one reason or another.

So, for instance, not having Zion Tupuola-Fetui or Ryan Bowman available for the scrimmage meant players like Jeremiah Martin, Bralen Trice, and Cooper McDonald got even more turns with the first and second teams to show what they could do. And with the live periods, we got to see how all the quarterbacks and running backs responded to as close to oppositional adversity as they'll get during spring football.

They give their thoughts on the difference between the earlier 11-11 periods, ones where plenty of touchdowns were scored, and then how the tables turned during the red zone lock out period. As Tuli Letuligasenoa could be heard on the sidelines near the end of practice, 'we're back on schedule!'

Rip Rowan and Will Harris spoke to the media after Day 6 of UW Spring Football.

Friday's Day 6 of practice had all the hallmarks of a Thursday practice during a game week. It was shortened, it was not a full pads practice, yet incorporated all the periods you would expect the team to go through as they prepared for a big game.

And in this case, the 'big game' is Saturday's full scrimmage, open to the public.

But folks will still be talking about the non-pads injury to Zion Tupuola-Fetui that forced the junior outside linebacker off the field and down the tunnel, not putting any weight on his left leg.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - talk about that injury, as well as the one to walk-on offensive lineman Will Pliska, that took place as the team was getting fine-tuned for Saturday's scrimmage.

UW Head Coach Jimmy Lake has talked all spring about the need to go live as much as possible, but also be smart about the times they do it so they don't put their players unduly at risk. This makes the injuries to Tupuola-Fetui and Pliska even more ironic because they happened during a practice where they should have been protected the most.

The Dawgman guys also talked about the quarterback play on Friday, getting a chance to talk with new DL Coach Rip Rowan and DB Coach Will Harris, the versatility of a stacked defensive back room, and Sean McGrew's day among the running backs and how Giles Jackson may put McGrew's stranglehold on the kick-return job in doubt.

And finally for the fans - make sure you go to gohuskies.com and sign up for tickets to attend Saturday's scrimmage. From our memory, an event like this has never happened during spring football, outside of spring game. So this is your chance to get a sneak-peak on what the players have been working on, and the weather forecast is great too.

Here's everything Jimmy Lake had to say to the media after Wednesday's Day 5 of spring football. He talks about new drills and new approaches that have helped the coaches double the number of reps put down on tape, as well as comments on players like Edefuan Ulofoshio, Dominique Hampton, and others.

The band is back together! The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - were all at practice on Wednesday, and it was a glorious day on Montlake to watch some spring football. With roughly 200 fans in the stands, they got a chance to watch something you don't normally see with UW spring football; live reps!

Now, they weren't fully live, as the quarterback is almost never put in a live situation in either spring or fall ball, but when Tim Socha called out 'LIVE!!!' during the final team period, that was music to our ears. Jimmy Lake believes the best way to learn to play the game is to play the game, so he called for a mix of live reps with their normal 'wrap' tempo, meaning full-speed to wrap up, but never to take a ballcarrier to the ground.

The guys talked about going live at the end of practice, how the day could have been sponsored by Pacific Linen for the number of flags that were thrown all throughout practice, as well as some of the players singled out by us or by Coach Lake after practice: Dominique Hampton, Ja'Lynn Polk, and Bralen Trice.

They also touched briefly on why tailback Richard Newton missed a couple practices early in spring, something Lake talked about with the media after practice, as well as the breaking news that the UW Men's Basketball team hired an assistant coach Wednesday morning; former Cal Head Coach Wyking Jones.

Washington's Chief Operating Officer, Jason Butikofer, explains all the ins and outs of the season ticket renewal process for 2021 UW football, which starts today.

Washington OL Coach Scott Huff and Offensive Coordinator John Donovan spoke to the media Monday after Day 4 of spring ball.

The Huskies started their first full week of spring practices on a high note. High as in a temperature in the mid to upper 50s, sunny weather and the chance for the players to partake in their first full-pads practice of 2021.

The pads were popping all day and the defense again made some big plays, but the offense also held their own.

For the second straight practice, Scott Eklund and Kim Grinolds were not on hand, but Chris Fetters was joined by our intrepid intern, Jack McCauley, and the voice of the Huskies, Tony Castricone, to break down what they saw and the first place that the latter went was his excitement of just being able to cover practice again and his thoughts on what the future could hold for a team that returns so much talent and experience this season.

They also talked about the running backs room and how loaded it is as well as the implementation of John Donovan's offense and the progress of Dylan Morris, Patrick O'Brien and Sam Huard.

Castricone noted that Donovan is a teacher more than anything and he's excited about the second-year offensive coordinator to actually get the chance to install his offense during a full offseason instead of with two months before the start of the football season.

They also talked about Rip Rowan's energy and how good the defense could be with their ability to stop the run which was a bugaboo for them last season and Castricone believes this could be one of the best defenses they have had, but it all depends on stopping the run, something that new defensive coordinator Bob Gregory has said is their number one priority.

Jaxson Kirkland, Trent McDuffie, Edefuan Ulofoshio, and Cade Otton spoke to the media after practice Saturday, the third practice of spring ball. It was also the first practice that fans could go to this spring.