Cummings Has Different UW Coaching Style Than Shephard, Yet Similar Results

The new UW receivers coach knew a lot of the Husky pass-catchers before arriving.

When Kalen DeBoer became the University of Washington football coach two years ago, the wide receivers had never heard of JaMarcus Shephard, their new position coach from Purdue. They would learn he was extremely loud, a little zany and an acquired taste for everyone who was hauling in footballs.

However, introductions haven't been necessary for the latest guy with the job, Kevin Cummings, who's someone a little more reserved and hardly compelled to run step for step with his pass-catchers and scream in their ears.

While the holdover Husky wide receivers such Giles Jackson, Denzel Boston and Rashid Williams won't soon forget the always animated Shephard, most of them knew Cummings, who was an Oregon State receiver and previously coached at Arizona and San Jose State, well in advance of him coming to Montlake.

"A lot of these guys we all recruited," Cummings said. "We've known them. We recruited Denzel. We recruited Giles. I've known Giles since my time over at San Jose State, with him being from that area. We knew a lot about these guys and what they can do."

The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Jackson hailed from Antioch in the Bay Area, which was some 70 miles north of San Jose, but he ended up playing at Michigan for two years before transferring to a Jimmy Lake-run Husky program and staying for four seasons. He and Cummings finally have come full circle.

Giles Jackson catches a black ball in a specialized spring drill.

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The 6-foot-4, 207-pound Boston from South Hill, Washington, was recruited by Cummings when the latter was at Arizona with Fisch. The coach knew him to be a serious-minded player then and now.

"He's the ultimate competitor," Cummings said. "He loves to go out there and every rep to him is the most importan one. There are no plays off. Every time he's out there, he's going to go full speed."

Williams was another Bay Area player, a 4-star recruit, pursued by this coach for Arizona, maybe drawing more attention from the coach than the others.

Rashid Williams shows his speeds and hands on this spring play.

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"I was really close with him in the recruiting process coming out of high school," Cummings said. "I spent a lot of time at his high school in Pittsburg. Rashid was somebody I was really close with. I know a lot about him."

So it's no surprise that Jackson, Boston and Williams have fit right in with what the new coaches are installing and drawn a lot of first-team snaps this spring,

Unlike those others, California grad transfer Jeremiah Hunter brings big-play credentials to the Huskies yet he wasn't part of a pro-style offense in Berkeley, so he's had to learn the technique that comes with it and get better acquainted with his new position coach.

Denzel Boston hauls one in over the shoulder in spring ball.

Skylar Lin Visuals

Cummings won't pretend to be another Shephard as he handles the job in Montlake. He's talked to the man a few times while encountering him on the road recruiting, but they have decidedly different styles. Yet it appears both of their teams were closely watching what the other was doing on film when those two were guiding the respective receivers.

The new UW receivers coach is highly complimentary of his predecessor, but he's not afraid to show his competitive side when the comparisons arise.

"He's a fantastic coach," Cummings said. "I've seen him on the road and he's a relentless recruiter, so I've got some shoes to fill, for sure. But we've produced at the places I've been with coach Fisch, so we'll keep that going."

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