Husky Coach Review: Inge Has a Bite to Him Behind the Big Smile

William Inge is a tall, often smiling man, extroverted, friendly enough, someone who uses pet nicknames when discussing his players.

Ban-dieswel?

However, don't let the University of Washington's co-defensive coordinator's open-arms, good-to-see-ya, "Welcome to Husky Stadium" manner fool you.

Inge, when pressed to the limit by one of his guys in a helmet and pads, can be as snarly and demanding as the next guy, as a fire-breathing Chuck Morrell or Inoke Breckterfield with a severe migraine or a hemorrhoid.

Near the end of UW spring practice, Inge was the one who surprisingly wheeled on a veteran player — and we're not going to embarrass that kid here by revealing him — and got in his face and gave him a verbal blast.

"Bull ****!" Inge roared with a barnyard expletive so loud everyone in the stadium could hear it. "Quit making excuses!"

The Husky coaching staff has different personalities for sure, but there's an unmistakable undercurrent from all of these guys with whistles around their necks that requires players to do things a certain way without any long-winding debate.

Inge, a former Iowa linebacker who shared in a 38-18 whipping of the Huskies in the 1995 Sun Bowl, is as serious as the next guy in turning the UW defense into an intimidating outfit.

Going through the coaching staff, Inge is next up in a series of profiles about each of the Huskies' coordinators and assistant coaches, summing up their time spent in Montlake so far and surmising what might come next for them.

William Inge cuts a dashing coaching figure at Husky football practice in his aviator glasses.

William Inge chats up a spring football visitor, possibly a high school coach, during April's practices.

William Inge has his linebackers' attention as he offers a spring practice directive.

William Inge not only coached against and beat Texas in the most recent Alamo Bowl, he shared in Iowa's 19-16 win over Texas Tech as a player n the 1996 game.

With William Inge in the background, freshman linebacker Deven Bryant runs through a spring football drill.

William Inge has been waiting for his best linebacker, Edefuan Ulofoshio, to get healthy since first arriving in Montlake.

William Inge chats up linebacker Demario King (21) during spring practice before the California JC transfer left the UW and transferred to Old Dominion.

William Inge met with media members at the Alamo Bowl in a vacated locker area in the Alamodome.

William Inge spent seven seasons on the Indiana coaching staff, where he met Kalen DeBoer, who brought him to Fresno State and then Washington.

While plenty of well-stocked position groups were left behind by the Jimmy Lake coaching staff, cornerbacks and linebackers were not among them.

Inge, who also serves as the Husky inside linebackers coach, had to scramble some once he arrived in Montlake to put a representative second row on the field after the highly decorated Edefuan Ulofoshio blew a knee in winter workouts while recovering from a torn bicep and the rugged but under-appreciated Jackson Sirmon transferred to California.

Waiting patiently, Inge, who resembles a Top Gun fighter pilot in his reflective sunglasses at practice, now has a fully recovered Ulofoshio at his disposal. This sixth-year senior, always a big-play guy, could become the defensive lynchpin much like Michael Penix Jr. was for the UW offense in 2022.

Inge already has turned the reliable Alphonzo Tuputala into a starter and All-Pac-12 honorable-mention selection, plus he has former starter Carson Bruener and USC transfer and former starter Ralen Goforth available for big minutes, and the speedy Deven Bryant and Jordan Whitney in freshman development and each already through one spring camp baptism.

Since their CFP appearance back in 2016, the Huskies haven't had an overly dominant linebacker tandem, simply offering the big-tackle performer in Ben Burr-Kirven, the nation's leader with 178 in 2018; Ulofoshio, who had 18 against Stanford in 2020; and Bruener, who had 16 against Stanford in 2021. There's been no long-term second-row continuity with a lot of turnovers resulting.

Like Inge said, no more excuses.

WILLIAM INGE FILE

Background: Inge was a four-year letterman, a 1996 co-captain as a senior and an All-Big-Ten honorable mention for Iowa, so he's a good role model for his UW linebackers.

Big Fix: This would be Inge having to wait patiently for Ulofoshio to get healthy, which he did, in order to finally welcome a player worthy of All-America consideration to his defense without any limitations. The Huskies need to step it up with some linebacker turnovers.

Special Project: Inge inherited a five-game starter in Bruener, but the coach has preferred to use the legacy player in a reserve capacity. It's up to Inge to have this particular linebacker preform more to his liking and restore him as a starter and a leader of the defense someday.

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