Inside The Huskies

UW Quarterbacks Go Under the Microscope Even More in Saturday Scrimmage

The four starting candidates will feel real decision-making pressure for the first time in the game-like weekend practice.
Dan Raley|
UW Quarterbacks Go Under the Microscope Even More in Saturday Scrimmage
UW Quarterbacks Go Under the Microscope Even More in Saturday Scrimmage

Coming Saturday, Jimmy Lake calls it preseason game No. 2.

Game, scrimmage or involved practice — whatever it is, it will be a pivotal time for the four starting quarterback candidates.

This will be their first test under fire in pads, which means the speed of their decision-making will need to ramp up.

"We're excited to see how these guys perform under some pressure," Lake said.

The Huskies have been fairly guarded in their assessments of this quartet over a week's worth of formalized workouts, not wanting to give California any intel at all regarding the position before their Nov. 7 opener in Berkeley.

However, that hasn't stopped them from releasing the following video on Twitter of Sacramento State transfer Kevin Thomson hooking up with freshman wide receiver Jalen McMillan.

"We've been happy with him," Lake said of the senior QB, who's shown in the photo in No. 7. "He's picked up the offense. We expect him to continue to improve as camp goes on."

As for the others, sophomore Jacob Sirmon hasn't gotten any social media exposure yet, but Lake said he turned in a moment in practice on Thursday that was worth mentioning. 

"He's played well," the coach said of Sirmon. "He made an awesome play, an awesome decision. He got rid of the ball."

Sirmon and Thomson, the two oldest players in the competition, stand to get a lot of reps as the competition picks up. 

If it's close, according to Lake, two guys could end up sharing the job once the season begins. With offensive coordinator John Donovan, his preference to narrow it to one.

The third candidate, redshirt freshman Dylan Morris, also received some recent screen social media time, with Lake's video guys capturing him sending a pass to junior tight end Cade Otton. 

The least likeliest candidate to snag the No. 1 quarterback job is freshman Ethans Garbers, no reflection on his talent level. He just has a lot of catching up to do after making the transition from high school to the college game.

Yet Garbers has extra incentive to make a big splash and win the job right away: An immediate starting role would send him up against his brother Chase Garbers, Cal's starting quarterback, in the opener. 

It would be sibling against sibling. A Manning against Manning-like battle. Peyton vs. Eli.  

For now, four Husky QB candidates will try to impress the coaches on Saturday in their biggest showcase opportunity yet. Each guy is unique and has made good things happen , but each has committed mistakes. No exceptions. 

"I see a progression early on," Lake said. "Mistakes, of course, those are going to happen, especially when going against such a good defense day in and day out. But [I see] a steady progression. They start making plays, making plays, then all of a sudden a few mistakes. Our goal every day is to get a little bit better... I think that whole group is on the right track."

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: HuskyMaven/Sports Illustrated

Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Husky Maven. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

Home/Football