Mencke Gets Chance To Show What He Can Do For UW

The sophomore safety has been given reps with the No.1 defense this spring.

Safety Paul Mencke Jr. is getting a chance to move up this spring. | Dave Sizer photo

Through nine spring practices, the University of Washington football team hasn't had much personnel movement at all.

While a handful of injuries have changed things up some, the Husky lineups have stayed relatively the same over three weeks.

It's the mark of a veteran team that's returning two-thirds of its starters from a 9-4 season.

One guy, however, who's helped himself this spring and moved up and down the depth chart some is sophomore safety Paul Mencke Jr., who's run with the No. 1 defense at times because projected starter Rylon "Batman" Dillard-Allen, another sophomore, has been dealing with a nagging injury.

After previously blending into the competition, Mencke plays with noticeably more swagger now and he's made the most of his April opportunity.

Paul Mencke Jr. played in seven UW games in 2025. | Dave Sizer photo

Two Saturdays ago, he intercepted an Elijah Brown pass. This past Saturday, he shoved a mouthy and angry running back Quaid Carr away from the defense. Like a veteran, he makes plays and polices the field.

An impressive physical presence all along, the 6-foot-3, 201-pound Mencke acts like he belongs now as a player to be taken seriously.

"You look at Paul and he passes the eye test," safeties coach Taylor Mays said in 2025. "He's big and he can run and he's physical. Paul's a guy who continues to get better and better."

Mencke is a Texan and part of the spoils of the Huskies' 2022 Alamo Bowl run, with Kalen DeBoer's recruiting staff finding him in Cibolo in the San Antonio area while they were beating the Texas Longhorns 27-20.

Even with the coaching change from DeBoer to Jedd Fisch, the defensive back came to the Northwest, a place not all that unfamiliar to his family.

Mencke's father, Paul Sr., is a former Washington State quarterback, wide receiver and basketball player in 1997 to 2000.

After redshirting in 2024, Mencke Jr. played in seven Husky games this past season, mostly on special teams while making his college debut against Ohio State.

With returnees Alex McLaughlin and Dillard-Allen penciled in as the safety starters for the coming season, Mencke and Rahim Wright Jr. likely will battle for the third spot behind them and keep pushing to eventually become starters themselves in the future.

Paul Mencke Jr. grabs the ball in an interception drill. | Dave Sizer photo

Mencke's continued progression is even more necessary now with the loss of senior safety CJ Christian to a season-ending Achilles tendon tear last week, thinning the ranks at that position.

While he has the physical tools to get on the field, Mencke has to show Mays and the rest of the defensive staff that he can hold up under game-day pressure and be trustworthy.