Is Nothing Sacred Anymore? Not UW Starting Lineup

For two seasons now, Jimmy Lake has provided surprise starters.

In some college football programs, the starters never change until someone graduates, gets injured or lands in trouble. Long ago, University of Washington players used to boast about how they could talk their way out of spring practice and still return in the fall as a starter. 

For Jimmy Lake, the competition is all that matters. 

His starting lineups for the season opener against Montana show that no one is a sacred cow on the Husky roster. 

"Everybody on our team knows I'm an equal opportunity employer," Lake has repeated over and over in his 21 months has Husky head coach. "As soon as a back-up on our team starts playing better, that player is going to get the opportunity."

Kamren Fabiculanan, Julius Irvin and Julius Buelow each beat out a returning starter and were rewarded for their steady development throughout spring practice and fall camp.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Fabiculanan, a redshirt freshman who showed himself to be a playmaker with multiple interceptions in Husky practice sessions, beat out not one, but two former first-team safeties in Asa Turner and Alex Cook, who are listed sharing the spot behind him.

Turner came into the program with a lot of fanfare, after turning down Notre Dame to play for the Huskies. He started five games as a true freshman, and all four during the pandemic-shortened season of 2020.

Yet after two seasons in the limelight, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound sophomore has regressed and Fabiculanan took full advantage. 

Cook, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior and a converted wide receiver, started three of the four games played last season. He was said to have had a good fall camp. Fabiculanan had a better one.

Irvin, the son of legendary NFL cornerback Leroy Irvin, had shoulder and knee injuries when he first came to the UW. He got lit up a couple of times and gave up a pair of TD passes in last year's Arizona game. But the 6-foot-1, 185-pound sophomore kept after it until he earned a starting job.

He beat out Cameron Williams, a seven-game starter from 2019 who seemed poised to play ahead or next to Irvin, but now is the other guy's back-up. 

Buelow's ascension has been nothing short of amazing. He broke up the continuity of all five Husky offensive-line starters returning. He was behind starter Ulumoo Ale and back-up Nate Kalepo in this position battle, though he was a second-unit guy elsewhere.

The 6-foot-8, 330-pound redshirt freshman blew past Ale and Kalepo so fast they didn't see it coming. The see it now. They have good seats with unobstructed views.

When the season ended last December, the Huskies had 20 of 22 starters returning. With a little portal transfer attrition, a few injuries and now competition, the UW will have seven new first-teamers when they take the field against Montana. 

A year ago, Lake surprised everyone by starting Cook over Irvin at one of the safety spots and running back Kamari Pleasant over Sean McGrew and Richard Newton, choosing lesser heralded players, though each of the five would have been a first-time starter.

Equal-opportunity employer.

UW Starters and Back-ups

Offense

LT — Jackson Kirkland; Troy Fautanu

LG — Julius Buelow; Ulumoo Ale

 C — Luke Wattenberg; Cory Luciano

RG — Henry Bainivalu; Nate Kalepo

RT — Victor Curne; Matteo Mele

TE — Cade Otton; Mark Redman or Quentin Moore

QB — Dylan Morris; Sam Huard or Patrick O'Brien

TB — Richard Newton or Cam Davis; Sean McGrew or Kamari Pleasant

WR — Ja'Lynn Polk; Taj Davis

WR — Terrell Bynum; Jalen McMillan or Sawyer Racanelli

WR — Rome Odunze; Giles Jackson

TE instead of WR — Jack Westover or Devin Culp

Defense 

DL — Tuli Letuligasenoa; Jacob Bandes

DL — Taki Taimani; Faatui Tuitele

OLB — Cooper McDonald; Jeremiah Martin or Bralen Trice

OLB — Ryan Bowman; Sav'ell Smalls

ILB — Edefuan Ulofoshio; Daniel Heimuli or Carson Bruener

ILB — Jackson Sirmon; MJ Tafisi

CB — Trent McDuffie; Jacobe Covington

CB — Kyler Gordon; Mishael Powell

S — Kamren Fabiculanan; Alex Cook or Asa Turner

S — Julius Irvin; Cameron Williams

NB — Bookie Radley-Hiles; Dominique Hampton

Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: Husky Maven/Spoarts Illustrated

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