5 Things To Note At Halfway Point of UW Spring Football

Eight practices have been productive and largely injury free.

The weather hasn't cooperated at all, forcing the University of Washington football team to conduct most of its spring practices indoors, in a warm and dry but homogenized setting.

Otherwise, the Huskies really have no complaints.

Kalen DeBoer's second team appears more talented, disciplined and healthier than was the case in April a year ago.

Football practices in Montlake really haven't been this precise, with every little detail accounted for, dissected and corrected, with no wasted motion, since the James era.

At the near halfway point, with the completion on Friday of spring practice No. 8 of 15 before a huge gaggle of visiting and wide-eyed recruits watching in Dempsey Indoor, the Huskies resemble a confident, talent-laden Top 10 team. 

Michael Penix Jr. remains a Heisman Trophy candidate, showing no fall-off in his desire to be great. Edge rusher Bralen Trice and wide receiver Rome Odunze are first-team All-America possibilities, though this team needs to win big for that to happen. Linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio is completely healthy for the first time in three seasons.

If there is any mystery to these Huskies, it's who will be the starting and back-up cornerbacks, and can anyone rise up and unseat any of the five veteran offensive linemen who were given first-unit jobs to lose?

With that said, here are five observations coming out of spring football intermission.

1) 2 Parker Twins Are Better Than 1

These guys could turn out to be one of DeBoer's biggest recruiting steals in his time at Washington, pulling these massive, mobile and ornery brothers out of Big Ten country without any foreseeable resistance. They were vastly overlooked because they changed schools and lost in the recruiting shuffle of the pandemic. As a UW freshman, Jayvon appeared in eight games, too good to be a redshirt, and he's run with the No. 1 defense a good portion of the time this past week, even though returning starters Tuli Letuligasenoa and Faatui Tuitele have been limited by offseason medical procedures. Still, both Parkers, including Arvon, who sat out his first season with a knee injury and is healthy now, should play a lot this — and play together.

2) Hatchett and Memmelaar

The Husky offensive line has been fairly well set since spring ball opened with Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten at the tackles, Matteo Mele at center, and Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow at the guards. Fautanu and Rosengarten are honors candidates and immovable. Mele, a sixth-year senior who moves well, is solidified as the snapper. However, sophomores Geirean Hatchett and Gaard Memmelaar recently have been rotated in and out at the guard spots. They're part of the five 2020 linemen recruits, a group DeBoer singled out almost immediately after taking over last year. Hatchett played in all 13 games in 2022, versatile enough to be a tight end at times. If there's an O-line breakthrough, similar to Rosengarten last fall, it will be with Hatchett.

3) Here's To Good Health

In college football, it's a given there will be injuries. No one avoids this. Collisions at this level are like bad car wrecks. With the exception of edge rusher Maurice Heims suffering a neck injury early on yet returning, the Huskies have been remarkably healthy to this point. Only sophomore cornerback Davon Banks won't take part in contact drills after getting injured last season, yet he still shows up in uniform. Twelve months ago, DeBoer inherited a team with no less than a dozen players forced to skip spring ball or very limited in what they could do. Jimmy Lake's last Husky team got hit by a spate of serious injuries in spring practice and during the season that helped cancel out his coaching career. Currently, no one it appears is dealing with rehab to overcome a debilitating knee injury, which is remarkable.

4) Corner Pocket 

If the Huskies had to open with Boise State in two weeks rather than scrimmage each other, Oklahoma State transfer Jabbar Muhammad and holdover sophomore Elijah Jackson most likely would be the starters at cornerback. One's a proven and decorated player from the Big 12; the other, Jackson, is finally healthy and appears to be ready to accept a lot of responsibility. However, picking the back-ups is much more of a challenge, with sophomore Jaivion Green and JC transfer Thaddeus Dixon strong possibilities, though freshman Caleb Presley is getting acclimated to the DeBoer way of doing things, and the much-utilized Banks eventually will be healthy again. 

5) Walk-On Wants to Run

If there's a player without a scholarship who seems serious about trying to earn one and attempting to move up the depth chart it would be sophomore edge rusher Milton Hopkins Jr. Since arriving at the UW, he's changed his number, position and his body shape. Wearing No. 14 rather than 52, and playing a highly competitive position, he's rotated in with the second unit a lot lately. The former O'Dea High School quarterback carries a listed 6-foot-4, 226-pound frame that looks even bigger than that. Whether or not he can bypass any of of the paid-for players in his position group and get on the field this fall remains to be seen, but he's been noticeable.

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