Gregory Concedes UW's ILBs Didn't Play Well in 2019, Working on Fixes
The inside linebackers represented the weak link of the University of Washington defense last season. People too often ran over and around them.
The position area was low in veterans because of defectors and injury, vulnerable because of youth and lacking speed for whatever reason.
"We didn't play well," linebackers coach Bob Gregory said while meeting with reporters on a Wednesday conference call. "I don't know if it was one thing I can point to."
Whenever football resumes from the pandemic, the Huskies will fill these inside backer slots with newly seasoned players such as sophomores Edefuan Ulofoshio and Jackson Sirmon, and redshirt freshmen such as Daniel Heimuli and Miki Ah You, who were recovering from injuries when they joined the program but appear ready to go. Other young players are available, too, with no one older than a sophomore.
Ulofoshio started the final three games and showed the ability to cover more ground. Sirmon demonstrated toughness and nearly scored late in the Las Vegas Bowl, returning a fumble 54 yards before he was pulled down.
Those two, praised for their efforts against Oregon State in the video by now UW coach Jimmy Lake, will be counted on to play leadership roles and turn the second row back into a strength.
In a recent study by Sports Illustrated, the UW was singled out as one of the nation's top programs for turning out linebackers over the past decade.
Which means the Husky ILB performance of 2019 was an anomaly.
"This is really a hungry group, an athletic group," Gregory said. "We're excited about the competition."
Things turned sideways when gifted senior D.J. Beavers, injured much of the past two seasons and for the final time in the 2019 Rose Bowl, was forced to take a medical retirement a year ago. He was a big loss.
In 2017, the Huskies, feeling the position was well-stocked and that they'd reached their player allotment there, didn't recruit any inside linebackers.
Since that time, Milo Eifler transferred to Illinois, where he became a starter; Ale Kaho asked out of his scholarship after coming to Seattle and enrolled at Alabama, where he is a special-teams whiz; and Nick Bolton flipped his UW commitment in favor of Missouri, where he's a starter.
In 2018, UW inside linebackers Ben Burr-Kirven, the nation's leading tackler and a first-team AP All-America selection, and Tevis Bartlett each graduated in four seasons, which was good for them but put a further strain on player development at the position.
While Heimuli and Ah You were nursing injuries when they arrived, keeping them from playing in games, redshirt freshman Josh Calvert blew out a knee in fall camp and sophomore M.J. Tafisi suffered a midseason head injury and didn't play again. That was lost manpower.
On top of that, redshirt freshman Alphonso Tuputala appeared in just four games, among them the Apple Cup and Las Vegas Bowl, to preserve four years of eligibility. He was good enough to get a taste but not ready to pull a more concentrated role.
"You don't want to burn a kid's year to be on just kickoffs," Gregory said. "You want to make sure a kid can contribute. It's a tricky situation."
The linebackers coach, in assessing the past season, said he has identified three areas of improvement he's been stressing to his returning inside linebackers.
They need to have better communication amongst each other and with the defensive line.
They need to be as physical as they can whenever possible.
And when blitzing the quarterback, they won't always get a sack but they need to apply pressure at all times.
"Those are things we can do better," Gregory said.
