Husky Coach Review: Juice Got Squeezed in 2022, Should Bounce Back

No one said it was going to be easy in Montlake. Shortly after Julius "Juice" Brown was hired as the University of Washington cornerbacks coach, returning starters Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon made themselves available for the NFL draft.

It wasn't like those two were going to stay in college any longer, but each had eligibility remaining and both going out the door at the same time represented a significant dent in the depth chart.

Brown next lost his new cornerback starters, Jordan Perryman and Mishael Powell, in games one and three of the 2022 season against Kent State and Michigan State, respectively, to debilitating injuries.

From there, he lost the replacements for the corner replacements, Davon Banks and Julius Irvin, to season-ending injuries.

Over-the-top touchdown passes on the Husky secondary became as frequent in 2022 as they were infrequent with McDuffie and Gordon providing sentry duty. Over and over, it was, "Incoming!"

The situation became so dire, in fact, that Brown, once a three-year corner starter at Boise State and All-WAC honorable-mention selection, might as well have strapped on a pair of shoulder pads and a helmet himself and headed for the defensive huddle.

However, the good news is when Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff fixes things, it goes all in, no hesitation — six new cornerbacks have joined the roster with fall camp set to begin, among them two portal transfers, one JC transfer and three high school signees.

Brown should have a much better opportunity to show what he can do as a Husky assistant coach in charge of the corners his second time around.

Going through the coaching staff, Brown 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.

Julius Brown was nicknamed "Juice" by his high school football coach in Stockton, California, in 1995.

With a smile on his face, Juice Brown is talking to sophomore Davon Banks during this spring football drill.

Juice Brown gathers all of his Husky cornerbacks in Husky Stadium during spring practice in April.

Juice Brown watches freshman Caleb Presley line up for this spring football drill.

Juice Brown, shown with transfer Jabbar Muhammad (1) and walk-ons Anay Nagarajan (40) and Antonio Hill (34), was constantly shuffling his corners in 2022.

Juice Brown listens to freshman Caleb Presley point something out during the final Husky spring scrimmage.

Juice Brown offers some spring advice to former cornerback turned Husky hybrid turned safety again Dominique Hampton.

Juice Brown played three of his four seasons (2000-03) at Boise State for Chris Petersen, who would become the UW coach a decade later.

While excuses easily could have been offered, someone had to be held accountable for the cornerback situation and lack of production, no matter what the circumstances were. That would be Brown.

A UW athletic department records release showed that everyone on DeBoer's staff received a salary increase following the 11-2 Alamo Bowl season except for the corners coach.

Professionally, this might have stung his pride some, but Brown didn't seem to wallow around. Instead, he might have come up with his most significant Husky coaching accomplishment of the offseason — he was responsible for Oklahoma State cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, currently the best on the roster at that position, transferring in.

These guys knew each other. When Brown was the Texas Tech cornerbacks coach in 2019, he recruited Muhammad in DeSoto, Texas, and lost out on him to Oklahoma State. Brown signed him the second time around.

The Huskies' biggest position problem area last season could be one of its best this fall, with Muhammad daring everyone to throw at him and lining up opposite any numbers of players from veteran returnee Elijah Jackson to JC transfer Thaddeus Dixon to battle-tested sophomore Jaivion Green.

Add to the mix Oregon transfer Darren Barkins and touted incoming recruits Caleb Presley from Seattle, Curley Reed from Louisiana and Leroy Bryant from Northern California, all welcome to bid for a starting role or game time.

Once this coming season ends, Brown just might be up for a raise.

JUICE BROWN FILE

Background: Brown is one of three former Boise State players serving as UW assistant coaches, along with offensive-line coach Scott Huff and running-backs coach Lee Marks. Guess who the Huskies open against in five weeks? Brown comes with a long list of coaching credentials, with stops at Troy, Boise State, Utah State, Texas Tech and Fresno State in his 12-year career.

Big Fix: He needs to find a solid starter to open alongside Jabbar Muhammad and make sure none of the targeted young guys in 2022, such as Banks and Green, carry any lingering scars after getting beat.

Special Project: OK, you have all this veteran talent to sort through and pick from, but you also have touted freshmen in Presley, Reed and Bryant at your disposal. If Brown could get one of them ready to contribute right away, that would be a testament to his coaching ability.

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