Huskies Reshuffle Starting Lineup Each Game, But Keep Winning

At midseason a year ago, Kalen DeBoer's University of Washington football team lost consecutive games largely because a spate of injuries left the Huskies vulnerable and shorthanded at key positions.

Almost defiantly, DeBoer — or as defiant as this even-keel coach can get — vowed he and his staff wouldn't let this happen again. They would build depth across the board to avoid similar pratfalls. They would have more players ready to play at all times.

While the Huskies have been overly successful this month with three one-sided victories, they've been tested in other ways. They've lost multiple veteran players to lengthy absences or even to season-ending injuries.

However, unlike 2022, the UW replacements have been more than up to the challenge, with no falloff showing up in the secondary — last season's major pothole — offensive line or running game.

The latest player to be thrown into this college football fire and emerge without second-degree burns was sophomore free safety Vince Nunley, who made his first career start at Michigan State because senior Asa Turner and junior Kamren Fabiculanan, the 1-2 guys at the position, were injured and unable to go.

Appearing in just his third UW game, the 6-foot-1, 187-pound Nunley stood his ground in the back row, didn't get picked on and drew plaudits from the coaching staff for doing his job in the 41-7 victory in East Lansing, Michigan.

"If your mindset is right where it's supposed to be and you're eager to learn, and if you're open to being coached up like he is, there's a lot he's capable of," DeBoer said. "He's long. He can run. I like the way he was coming downhill aggressively."

Nunley or Fabiculanan will start against the California Bears on Saturday night while Turner continues to convalesce with what looked to be a hand or arm injury.

The week before against Tulsa, sophomore running back Will Nixon and senior edge rusher Sekai Asoau-Afoa were called on as first-time starters and they did what was needed for the Huskies to put together a 43-10 victory.

Nixon, the 5-foot-11, 202-pound, one-time Nebraska transfer, confidently rushed 6 times for 31 yards and caught a pair of passes for 25 yards against the Golden Hurricane. Asoau-Afoa, a 6-foot-4, 263-pound California junior-college transfer in 2022, was a sturdy presence on the corner and came up with a third-quarter tackle for loss.

For the opener against Boise State, the Huskies surprised everyone outside of the team by starting redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford at offensive guard on the right side, bypassing several veterans in the process.

All the 6-foot-2, 275-pound Brailsford did was grade out higher than everyone else on the UW offensive line in the opener and, two games later, become the starting center for the Michigan State game when sixth-year senior Matteo Mele was lost with a season-ending bicep injury against Tulsa. With each assignment, Brailsford performed seamlessly.

To fill the vacancy up front against the Spartans, DeBoer's staff inserted junior Julius Buelow as a new starter at left guard and moved junior first-teamer Nate Kalepo from left to right guard.

The 6-foot-9, 313-pound Buelow, who started half the season in 2021, did well enough with his predominantly pass-protection assignments until he went down with a third-quarter knee injury and had to leave the field.

While his mishap seemed short-term, Buelow might not be ready to go against Cal, which would require yet another new face to start on the offensive line.

In this case, the most logical candidate to step up would be 6-foot-3, 304-pound sophomore Geirean Hatchett, who has played a lot of snaps but hasn't started as a Husky yet.

DeBoer and his staff diligently have been getting more and more of their guys ready to play and in three games have showed plenty of progress made. It's been so far, so good.

"We've been rotating guys in and out a lot throughout the fall, throughout fall camp," UW co-defensive coordinator Willam Inge said. "So being able to see what we call 'Next Dawg In' come in and play, they did a great job."

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