OSU's Smith, Huskies' Huff Trade Light Jabs Ahead of Saturday's Game

Two coaches who worked on the same UW staff will be on opposing sides in Corvallis.

Serious preparations for a high-profile football game between Washington and Oregon State, matching top 10-ranked teams who will play in a national TV broadcast this weekend, took a light-hearted turn.

Beavers coach Jonathan Smith, a UW offensive coordinator for Chris Petersen from 2014-17, got things started with a jab aimed at Husky coach Kalen DeBoer and his offensive-line coach Scott Huff, having worked in Seattle with the latter for the 2017 season.

“I question his decision-making sometimes because he’s got Scott Huff still sitting over there,” Smith said of his opposing head coach in a KJR radio interview on Monday.

Two days later, Huff responded to Smith in kind when he met with local media members. 

“Oh, I heard it,” Huff said. “Jonathan called me right afterwards. I question the leadership at Oregon State for hiring him. No, Jonathan and I are good buddies. I got nothing but love and respect for him, except for this week."

Possibly to commemorate the week, Huff lately has pulled on a well-worn UW hat with.faded lettering that presumably came from his days on the coaching staff with Petersen and Smith. 

With the fifth-ranked Huskies (10-0 overall, 7-0 Pac-12) and No. 10 Beavers (8-2, 5-2) possibly headed for a blustery, rainy afternoon in Corvallis, Huff's players will be a key factor if they can set the tone in the trenches for the conference showdown.

Both Oregon State and Washington feature two of the best pass-blocking units in the Pac-12 this season. The Huskies have surrendered seven sacks in 10 games while the Beavers have allowed 13.

However, no UW lineman made the semifinalist list for the Outland Trophy, awarded annually to the top offensive or defensive lineman in college football. 

Oregon State, however, had one of its guys, junior right tackle Taliese Fuaga, advance to the final group of seven Outland candidates.

Fuaga, a former 3-star recruit from Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, wasn't offered by the Huskies when he signed with OSU in the 2020 class. Instead Huff turned to 4-star offensive lineman Myles Murao from California's Mater Dei High School, a player who didn't work out at the UW and now plays for San Diego State.  

“You got to be confident in who you are and your players and go about your day,” Huff said, when asked if he felt vindicated by the UW's offensive resurgence since the struggles of 2021, which included a 27-24 loss to the Beavers at Reser Stadium.

While Huff might have missed on Fuaga, far more important is how Saturday's game turns out on the scoreboard.

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