Taking a Deep Dive into Jimmy Lake's First Husky Depth Chart

Jimmy Lake finally gave us a look at the inner workings of his University of Washington depth chart and prospective starters — and there were a few misdirection plays.

For instance, Richard Newton, a sophomore running back with such great promise, took part in a Zoom call with reporters last week. The funny thing was, Newton, as of Monday at least, wasn't the starter at that position.

The media should have been speaking to Kamari Pleasant, a little-used senior who is listed as the No. 1 tailback entering Saturday night's opener at California. A guy with 268 career rushing yards and no starts. A guy apparently making a big move before he graduates.

Some other observations from the Husky depth listing, with the caveat that Lake could make massive changes by kickoff:

How good is the secondary of sophomore safeties Julius Irvin and Cam Williams, sophomore cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Dominique Hampton, and redshirt freshman nickelback Kamren Fabiculanen? That's Washington's second unit. All young guys. Williams and Gordon are one-time starters. Irvin is supposed to be a great one.

Alex Cook is the starting free safety. Did anyone see that coming? Yes, the junior from Sacramento is a talented athlete, having started at wide receiver for the UW in the 2019 Rose Bowl against Ohio State. But in this talent-laden secondary, after just one of season after moving over from offense, Cook's rise has been meteoric.

What's happened to Devin Culp, a sophomore tight end from Spokane who supposedly has NFL potential? He wasn't even listed among the top three players at his position. He showed up in enough camp video highlights over the past month. The guy must need work on his blocking abilities. Or the tight-end talent is significant.

At inside linebacker, redshirt freshman Daniel Heimuli still is nowhere to be found. He didn't play a down last year. He's not on the depth chart now. For someone who picked the UW over Alabama, Heimuli's progress has been unexpectedly snail-like. He hasn't been injured. Best guess is he hasn't grasped the necessary technique to get on the field. Maybe he'll show up on special teams.

A guy to keep an eye on is redshirt freshman inside linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala, currently Jackson Sirmon's back-up. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Tuputala has shot past players such as Josh Calvert, Miki Ah You and Heimuli, all players ranked higher than him in their recruiting class, to push for playing time. To be fair, Calvert and Ah You are still coming off injuries. To be real, Tuputala is a precocious player.

Corey Luciano came to Washington as the nation's No. 1 junior-college offensive guard, though it's unclear who actually is qualified to make that designation. Either way, he was considered a good pick-up. He proved to be a good soldier by moving to tight end last season to fill an urgent UW personnel need because of injuries. Luciano is a junior offensive tackle now, backing up sophomore Victor Curne on the right side. He would appear to be a versatile player.

Three freshmen have made an early move onto the depth, and none of them are a surprise in that regard: outside linebacker Sav'ell Smalls, wide receiver Jalen McMillan and tight end Mark Redman. Smalls remains the best bet to enter the UW starting lineup before any of his class peers.

With three veteran wide receivers in Ty Jones, Puka Nacua and Terrell Bynum grabbing starting spots in John Donovan's pro-style offense, and a host of touted newcomers in McMillan, Rome Odunze and Sawyer Racanelli showing up, sophomore Austin Osborne has shown great mettle in being competitive and earning a second-team spot amid all of his talent. Osborne had a great camp, his coaches said. However, his fellow classmate and the once highly publicized Marquis Spiker failed to make the two-deeps and languishes out of view for playing time.

Oh yeah, the UW starting quarterback is still a huge, well-guarded secret. Can it not be Kevin Thomson? Or will he and Jacob Sirmon rotate against the Bears?

We'll see how much Jimmy Lake changes up these guys by kickoff on Saturday night.

Offense

LT — Jaxson Kirkland; Troy Fautanu

LG — Ulumoo Ale; Nate Kalepo

C — Luke Wattenberg; Matteo Mele

RG — Henry Bainivalu; Julius Buelow

RT — Victor Curne; Corey Luciano

TE — Cade Otton; Jack Westover; Mark Redman

QB — Kevin Thomson or Jacob Sirmon or Dylan Morris or Ethan Garbers

TB — Kamari Pleasant; Sean McGrew or Richard Newton

WR — Puka Nacua; Jordan Chin

WR — Terrell Bynum; Austin Osborne

WR — Ty Jones; Jalen McMillan

Defense

OLB — Ryan Bowman; Zion Tupuola-Fetui

DT — Tuli Letuligasenoa; Sam Taimani

DT — Josiah Bronson; Faatui Tuitele

OLB — Laiatu Latu; Sav'ell Smalls

ILB — Jackson Sirmon; Alphonzo Tuputala

ILB — Edefuan Ulofoshio; MJ Tafisi

S — Alex Cook; Julius Irvin

S — Asa Turner; Cam Williams

CB — Keith Taylor; Dominique Hampton

CB — Trent McDuffie; Kyler Gordon

NB — Elijah Molden; Kamren Fabiculanen

Special Teams

PK — Peyton Henry; Tim Horn

P — Race Porter

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