UW Roster Review, No. 2-99: Covington Still Putting Himself in Position

The Arizona defensive back received spring trials at both safety and cornerback.

As talented defensive backs arrive one after the other at the University of Washington, people try to guess who will be the next Budda Baker or Taylor Rapp and play immediately.

Or who needs a little more time before they get on the field and flourish, such as a Byron Murphy or a Kyler Gordon?

In the case of Jacobe Covington, he appears to be leaning to the latter group of Husky defenders, though he came in from Chandler, Arizona, with the credentials that suggested anything was possible. 

First off, No. 12 needs to find his position.

This past spring, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Covington began his starting-job search with a lengthy stint at free safety, where full-scale auditions were held throughout the 15 practices, before he switched over to cornerback.

The redshirt freshman appears no closer to finding a permanent role, a situation that might not work itself out until, say, somebody such as Trent McDuffie makes an early break for the NFL.

"Jacobe's been really good," Husky defensive-backs coach Will Harris said. "We switched him over to safety also, because of his physical size. I know he played all over the place when he was in high school. Moving to safety I think was perfect for him. But he's another guy where it's going to be interesting for him because he's pushing, too." 

Going down the roster in numerical order, this is another of our post-spring assessments of all of the Husky talent at hand, gleaned from a month of observations, as a way to keep everyone engaged during the offseason.

Covington, who shares No. 12 with the newly obtained wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk from Texas Tech, played in one of the four games held during the pandemic season, on special-teams against Stanford.

So he's played early, but the big defender simply hasn't figured out exactly where and how he's going to dominate yet for the Huskies. 

Watching him throughout the spring, Covington was not an overly effusive or demonstrative player such as others who have come before him. Surprisingly, he seems more studious at this point. 

With increased knowledge and a few big plays, presumably the confidence and swagger for the Arizona transplant should't be too far behind.

2021 Outlook: Projected reserve cornerback

UW Service Time: 1 game

Stats: None

Individual Honors: None

Pro prospects: 2025 NFL middle-round pick

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: HuskyMaven/Sports Illustrated