Through 11 Practices, Running Back Remains UW's Most Uncertain Spot

While offensive plays are fairly basic during University of Washington spring football, Jedd Fisch has put in some misdirection stuff to end each of the past two practices.

On Tuesday, he gave his players some fairly convoluted if not exhaustive marching orders on how they were going to run from here to there to finish up a long workout and he then impishly wheeled on his guys and said, "Just kidding."

For Thursday, Fisch had his staffers sound three horns, which indicates everything is done, only this happened a full 30 to 45 minutes before practice usually ends, catching everyone off guard and sending the Huskies into a joyous celebration.

It was almost comical when freshman defensive tackle Derek Colman-Brusa and redshirt freshman offensive guard Jack Shaffer ran toward their coach and went up for an emphatic chest bump -- only to have the much heavier Shaffer get knocked to the ground.

Likely Fisch was permitting his team to finish early so it could watch the NFL Draft, already in progress, with former Husky wide receiver Denzel Boston expected to go in the back half of the first round.

By running a fairly efficient 11th practice, the Huskies easily could have been rewarded with the extra time off, too.

The UW did a lot of position swapping, particularly on defense with junior defensive tackle Darin Conley and sophomore safety Paul Mencke Jr. opening with the No. 1 offense.

Play was fairly clean with the exception of quarterback Demond Williams Jr. having a pass deflected into the hands of linebacker Jacob Manu, who returned the ball maybe 30 yards before he encountered orange cones set up for a coming drill and stopped running.

Everything remained up in the air at running back, where redshirt freshman Quaid Carr, freshman Ansu Sanoe, freshman Brian Bonner Jr. and walk-on redshirt freshman Ryken Moon took first-series carries in that order.

Asked if the glass was half full with his backfield candidates, running-backs coach Scottie Graham responded, "The glass is always full in Montlake."

Yet the position remains up in the air because the Huskies are missing the three most experienced backs on the roster in sophomore Jordan Washington, out for the spring with a neck injury, and senior transfers Trey Cooley from Troy and Jayden Limar recovering. from respective knee and ankle surgeries.

Typically, the team brings the coach and veteran players from each position group to speak with the media. In this case, the guys are so young and inexperienced, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. spoke on the running backs' behalf, along with Graham.

Players weren't tackled hard during the 11-on-11 competition, but the officials whistled the play dead or marked the ball where they presumed the defense stopped it.

Ansu Sanoe has dropped some weight since arriving as a freshman running back. | Dave Sizer photo

In this scenario, Sanoe, an Oregonian who's much lighter than he was when spring began but still a load, appeared to have the longest run covering 12 yards.

"He came in, I think, at 245 and he's 235 right now," Graham said of the 6-foot-2 runner. "Nice weight. He's moving a lot better. But he's got a long way to go and we'll keep pushing."

Since Washington went down, the 5-foot-11, 189-pound Carr primarily has been first up in getting handoffs. He's the Huskies' fastest back at 10.2 second over 100 meters. He's appears capable of carrying some of the load next season as a youngster.

"He's a complete football player," Graham said. "He's tough. He's a great football player."

Brian Bonner Jr. is transitioning at running back for the UW. | Dave Sizer photo

Bonner, a 4-star recruit from the Los Angeles area, seems a little undersized at 5-foot-11 and 196 pounds, needing more weight room time, and has had to transition to the step up as a college football player.

"He's adjusting," Graham said. "He's 17 years old. We're just keeping him solid and making sure the wheels don't come off."

With so few walk-ons on the roster, Moon, son of Hall of Fame quarterback and ex-Husky Warren Moon, continues to draw carries going back to last season. He brings a certain amount of toughness and confidence that overrides his status.

"I've challenged him to be a special-teams captain," his position coach said.

As for the transfers, Cooley comes to the UW as a sixth-year player having been at Louisville, Georgia Tech and Troy. He's been on a big stage before.

"Trey started as a freshman at Louisville," Graham said. "That big-game experience can come in handy down the road for us."

Meantime, the Huskies have three practices and the spring game remaining, and then will settle the running back competition and pecking order in the fall.

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