Lake Happy with Husky Progress as Team Gets Day Off

The UW football team completes its sixth practice in fall camp and draws a day of rest.

On the seventh day, the University of Washington football team will rest. 

Coach Jimmy Lake pronounced himself well satisfied with the progress made by his players following a sixth fall-camp practice, one conducted in bright sunshine on Wednesday morning inside Husky Stadium before a smattering of fans.

UW players pulled on full pads for the first time and worked primarily on red-zone plays in a fast-paced but well-behaved practice.

The Huskies had experienced a number of hot-tempered flare-ups over consecutive days, including one on Tuesday in which freshman cornerback Jacobe Covington and freshman wide receiver Taj Davis tangled following a pass play, with Davis getting his helmet ripped off.

"I feel like an MMA fight referee out there," Lake said. "I'm making sure everybody stays safe."

On Thursday, the Huskies will be idle, getting a much-deserved day off before resuming to practice the following day at Seattle's Memorial Stadium on the downtown Seattle Center grounds.

Lake pointed to his safety competition as possibly the most intense on the team. Past starters Cam Williams, Asa Turner and Alex Cook are battling with the emerging Dominique Hampton and Julius Irvin for the two starting roles, with the coaches regularly shutting people in and out.

Williams, however, was sidelined for the second day in a row for reasons not made public, likely an injury that will push him back some. 

"It's been a dogfight, to be honest," the coach said. 

Lake next mentioned his outside linebackers for coming to camp in superb shape, with sixth-year senior Ryan Bowman holding down one spot and nearly a half-dozen players seeking the vacancy caused by the spring injury to Zion Tupuola-Fetui. 

The Husky offense had its moments, with No. 1 quarterback Dylan Morris cooly finding wide receiver Terrell Bynum for a pair of short scoring passes and tight end Devin Culp for another.

The defense countered with H back Jack Westover getting stuffed on what resembled a fly sweep and cornerback Kyler Gordon coming up to blow up Bynum on a short pass. 

"We're playing at a high level," Lake said. "We're competing at a high level. But we're still playing with poise."

"Lover's Lane" will do that to you at the UW. Players such as Covington and Davis have to pay for their outbursts once practice is over with a show of peace. 

"They holds hands, walk around the field together and make up" Lake said.

Pop Star

Freshman defensive tackle Jacob Bandes had an eventful Wednesday practice. He walked onto the field loudly singing. While in line for a D-line drill, he attempted to preform a "Moon Walk" when Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" blasted overhead, but his football cleats wouldn't permit him to pull this off. Near the end of the two-hour workout, Bandes was making strange squeal-like noises as he ran toward a final drill. Catch his singing voice in this video. 

Hand It To Him

Cade Otton demonstrated why he's an All-American candidate when he made a sensational one-handed catch with Hampton all over him. Later, Lake acknowledged the following, "That guy absorbs everything thrown to him. Best hands on the team."

Team Player

Former outside linebacker Laiatu Latu, whose career ended last season because of a severe injury, shows up everyday to support his teammates. On Wednesday, he even ran sprints with the defense.

Team Player II

Injured outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui, recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, took a few minutes to show true freshman Maurice Heims how to get leverage and deliver a bowl. ZTF later played catch with Latu. 

Where There's a Will

One of the more amusing scenes from the Husky practice was defensive-backs coach Will Harris picking Irvin off the stadium turf with a bear-hug move. 

New Venue

After taking Thursday off to rest, the Huskies resume practicing at Memorial Stadium the next day, with the public invited to attend the 10 a.m. to noon workout. 

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