Huskies Didn't Tear It All Down After Football Coaching Change
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At USC and Colorado, those schools went for Hollywood hires and brought in Lincoln Riley and Deion Sanders, with trumpets blaring, to fix their college football programs.
Once those new coaches were installed, massive personnel changes were promised, with the Trojans swapping out nearly 40 roster spots and the Buffaloes topping that number. At each Pac-12 school, nearly half of the 85 permissible scholarships soon changed hands.
Meanwhile in Seattle, the University of Washington approach to a football remodel was decidedly more low key and less radical, almost boring by nature.
To begin with, when it came to name recognition compared to Riley and Sanders, new Husky coach Kalen DeBoer virtually had to introduce and explain himself to just about everyone he encountered before he could skillfully launch his team makeover.
With players coming and going at a rapid rate in Los Angeles and in Boulder, the Husky football turnstile sending people in and out of Montlake clicked along at a much more deliberate pace.
Now 14 months following DeBoer's hiring, the UW has said farewell to 24 scholarship players with eligibility remaining who left the program — either voluntarily or with a nudge from the staff suggesting that new surroundings might be a better idea.
Fifteen of those Huskies exited before the 2022 football schedule played out, or less than half at those other two Pac-12 schools in need of a splashy football upgrade, and another nine UW players left once the recent regular season was completed.
Just one player departure outwardly seemed to bother the Husky fan base — that of sophomore quarterback Sam Huard, who transferred to the Big Sky's Cal Poly. He was a legacy player, the son and nephew for previous UW QBs Damon Huard and Brock Huard, and people wanted him to succeed in his hometown.
The difference in the roster cleansings between the Huskies and the other schools probably means that a lot of impactful coaching took place in Seattle, with the new staff getting more out of the holdover parts than the predecessor coaches.
DeBoer basically brought in a big-time quarterback in Michael Penix Jr., added a few more low-key pieces, paired them with the inherited players and coached everyone up to an 11-2, bowl-winning season. It was a fairly impressive effort.
The new UW staff was unafraid to mix and match different holdover pieces, no matter who it was. In the gutsiest move of all, the coaches asked two-time All-Pac-12 offensive tackle Jaxson Kirkland to play left guard and make room on the outside for a rising star player in Troy Fautanu at left tackle. Egos were checked at the door.
Also, these coaches took one-time starting offensive guard Ulumoo Ale and made him a defensive tackle, and used edge rusher Jeremiah Martin and offensive guard Geirean Hatchett in tight-end roles.
While a total house-cleaning could have taken place at the UW, same as the others, DeBoer's staff didn't feel that was completely necessary, instead choosing to do some coaching and slowly thin the ranks.
Most of all, the new Husky coaches determined they could work and win with a lot of holdover players who were awaiting them.
UW PLAYERS WHO LEFT POST DEBOER
1. Cooper McDonald, ER, San Diego State — Became Aztecs starter who had 41 tackles and 2 sacks.
2. Mark Redman, TE, San Diego State — Starter for Aztecs who caught 20 passes for 224 and a score.
3. Sawyer Racanelli, WR, Montana — Missed season with knee injury.
4. Laiatu Latu, ER, UCLA — Came out of medical retirement to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors with 10 sacks for the Bruins.
5. Terrell Bynum, WR, USC — Reserve who caught 16 passes for 159 yards and a score for the Trojans.
6. Jackson Sirmon, LB, California — Earned first-team All-Pac honors with 104 tackles and fumble recovery for TD for Cal.
7. Taki Taimani, DT, Oregon — Played in reserve role with 14 tackles for the Ducks.
8. Mason West, TE, TBD — Didn't resurface with a new team.
9. Triston Brown, P, TBD — Currently out of football.
10. Jacobe Covington, CB, USC — Became midseason starter, had 4 pass break-ups for Trojans.
11. Noa Ngalu, DT — Dropped to JC level with College of San Mateo.
12. Caleb Berry, RB, Incarnate Word — Played in four games and rushed for 16 yards and a TD at UIW.
13. Emeka Megwa, RB, Oklahoma — Will join Sooners as non-scholarship player, or walk-on, for spring practice.
14. Draco Bynum, DT, TBD — Didn't resurface with new team.
15. Jordan Lolohea, ER, TBD — Out of football for now.
16. Cam Williams, S, Georgia Southern — Rejoins former UW coach Will Harris at next stop.
17. Kuao Peihopa, DT, Hawaii — Midseason suspension doomed him at UW, so he went home.
18. Zakhari Spears, CB, Connecticut — Didn't play at UW over two seasons; will play for former Husky LB Jim Mora Jr.
19. Lonyatta Alexander Jr., WR, Montana State — After stops at ASU and UW, he heads to his third school.
20. Caden Jumper, TE, TBD — He appeared on one game for the Huskies in two seasons.
21. Daniel Heimuli, LB, Arizona — A late-season suspension sent him to the transfer portal and the Wildcats.
22. Victor Curne, OT, Ole Miss — Former two-year starter looks for fresh start in SEC.
23. Jay'Veon Sunday, RB, TBD — He's still shopping for a new school.
24. Sam Huard, QB, Cal Poly — After five UW reserve appearances, he's looking for a starting role in the Big Sky.
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