Dropping Back in Coverage: Picking the Husky Starting Secondary

Typically the strongest unit on the University of Washington football team is the secondary. Until Tuesday night, the defensive backs in an interesting turnabout represented the Huskies' biggest question mark.

That is, until Jimmy Lake's staff added Oklahoma cornerback Bookie Radley-Hiles, a 32-game starter over three seasons for the Sooners.

The Huskies, in bringing back 18 of 22 starters, need to fill two of the four vacancies with defensive backs.

A cornerback and a nickelback.

And not only do those jobs need new faces in the five-man secondary, two others could use ample upgrades.

At strong safety and free safety.

With Radley-Hiles, suddenly this UW back row looks very formidable again.

Three weeks from the start of Husky spring practice, the coaching staff is no doubt furiously drawing up different combinations of defensive backs, moving individuals around, trying to settle on an effective fivesome.

These players carry huge responsibility, especially since they're forever under the watchful gaze of Lake, the former UW defensive-backs coach and defensive coordinator and now the Husky head coach.

We choose the five UW secondary starters for the 2021 season, a blend of old and new, a mix of fast and faster, one that should be really fun to watch:

Trent McDuffie

This cornerback fit the elite UW defensive-back profile better than anyone on the roster until Radley-Hiles showed up. Now he shares it with him. He's an uninterrupted starter since he was inserted four games into his freshman season, with 15 opening-game assignments in all. Speedy. Instinctive. Highly decorated. Two career interceptions. He's a returning second-team All-Pac-12 selection. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior from Westminster, California, has established himself as the top pro prospect from this Husky secondary. He's so good, this might be his final college season.

Cam Williams

A strong safety, the 6-foot, 190-pound junior started his first six games as a true freshman plus the Las Vegas bowl, beating out Asa Turner. Williams stepped aside for Turner, then reclaimed the job. Turner took it back for the four-game pandemic season. Now it's Williams' serve. He should have every chance to start again because Turner hasn't locked down the job. Asa hasn't been physical enough. In career starts, Turner has 9 to Williams' 7. It's neck and neck. From Bakersfield, California, Williams has 2 career interceptions, both coming against USC in 2019 in his finest UW moment. Upgrading this position with Williams, Turner or even someone else might be the highest priority for the Huskies in putting a truly dominant defense together.

Kyler Gordon

One of the feel-good stories of 2020, Gordon began the season as a back-up and played his way into the starting lineup for the final game against Stanford. The year before, the 6-foot, 195-pound cornerback did the opposite, starting the first three games and losing the job to McDuffie before making a late start in a custom-made six-DB lineup for Washington State's Air Raid. He was indecisive in coverage and got beat a few times. He looked much more comfortable the second time around. A junior from Mukilteo, Washington, Gordon is as athletically gifted as anyone on the team, twice named All-Pac-12 honorable mention for his special-teams play that involves both returning kick and tackling people. He could be the new slot corner, replacing the departed Elijah Molden. He is still awaiting his first interception.

Brendan Radley-Hiles

The speed at cornerback, pairing this Oklahoma transfer with McDuffie and Gordon as the nickelback, just got frighteningly fast. The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder from Inglewood, California, was a three-year starter for the Sooners, who, as a true freshman, was named as a midseason All-American by ESPN. He's a fearsome hitter, with images showing his helmet flying off, and a solid coverage man. This heavily bearded guy has 3 career interceptions, including one for a 30-yard touchdown return against South Dakota and another that sealed a victory over TCU. His lost outing for Oklahoma came in the Cotton Bowl, in a 55-20 victory over Florida.

Jacobe Covington

Coach Jimmy Lake raved and raved about his freshmen defensive backs last season, telling everyone they were so good that immediate playing time wasn't out of the question for one or more of these guys. Of this new bunch, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Covington from Chandler, Arizona, was the most decorated coming in, choosing the Huskies over Oklahoma, Michigan, USC, LSU and a host of others. His blend of size and speed, plus his aggressiveness in one-on-one coverage, projected him to be a multi-season starter. He's so versatile, Covington can play safety or cornerback. We'll put him at free safety. In the short 2020 season, the Huskies sent him onto the field only against Stanford. From here on, his opportunities won't be limited.

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

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