SAN ANTONIO – It looks like an avalanche of injuries.
Jordan Perryman missed three games. Michael Powell missed four games. Julius Irvin missed six games. Davon Banks missed four games. Elijah Jackson missed three games. Dominique Hampton missed a game. Asa Turner missed three games. Vince Nunley has missed 11 games.
At 10-2, the No. 12 Huskies have remained healthy in most places this fall…outside of high school.
“Look, it happens, and everyone has been through it in their career. But for me, in 25 years, I’ve never seen anything hit an entire position group like it hit our position group,” co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell said Tuesday, two days before the date of the UW’s Alamo Bowl with No. 20 Texas. It just challenged us. I’ll be honest: It made us better coaches, because we knew we had to find different mechanics and different ways to the guys pull it off and stick it out. That’s how things happen sometimes.
The challenges were immense, there is no doubt. The challenges were extreme. But it also strengthens your team. It brings the guys together. There are two things that can happen: it can separate you or it can bring you together. In many ways, I think it brought us together as a group and built trust over time.
It’s building trust… and leaving bruises. Months after starting corners, Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon were selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, UW ranked 91st in the country on passing defense (241.7 yards allowed per game), 96e in interceptions (7), 97e in opponent completion percentage (62.5%) 102n/a in opposing yards per pass attempt (7.8), 109e in touchdown passes allowed (25), 114e In the efficiency rating of the opposing pass (146.66) and 119e in third defense (44.91% success).
“Per Arizona State, if you weren’t injured, you probably hadn’t played,” UW safety Alex Cook said. “It was the reality.”
And, as UW’s experience eroded, guys like nickel “husky” Dominique Hampton (6-3, 221) were given more man-to-man coverage responsibilities as an inevitable result.
“There was definitely a point during the season where we were just trying to make sure the guys were in the right place at the right time and probably not exploring the full depth of defense,” Morrell said. “Because we had several young guys who had to come on the pitch in really critical games for us and who just didn’t have the experience of the game. So we wanted to put pressure on the guys who we knew could to do work.
“From the husky position, having Dom as a guy who often covers the best opposition spot, I think he did a great job with that. We’re looking to be able to build the program around athletic guys like that, and there’s a lot more we can definitely do once we get our depth and health squared.
Of course, if their secondary depth has remained squared, maybe these Huskies are gearing up for the college football playoffs.
As it stands, they’re here to prove they’re better than the stats say.
“I think we haven’t played our best game yet, just because of that,” said Cook, who leads UW with 77 tackles. There are so many things that we had to modify and adjust, depending on who could do what. I just think we couldn’t put together the game plan we wanted, just because of the injuries. Now that everyone is healthy, we could play our best game we have ever played. I am delighted to play on Thursday.
The Huskies are thrilled to turn off the excuses and prove their secondary is more than a metaphorical sign of a kick. And theoretically, they should have plenty of opportunities against a Texas offense without its top two running backs (Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson) or an explosive vertical passing attack.
In nine games this fall, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers completed just 56.7 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,808 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions (plus a 46-yard length). Sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy leads the Longhorns with 53 catches, 676 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
On Thursday, Ewers said the Huskies “don’t do a ton of things [schematically] like the recent teams we’ve seen, but what they do, they’re really good. I think that’s their goal, to stick to what they like to do and what they do well. They play very hard and they play well together, and they are very well trained. It should be a fun match.
On the other side of an avalanche, we’ll see if UW’s secondary can make the most of it.
A familiar enemy
Pete Kwiatkowski will finish his second season as Texas defensive coordinator trying to outsmart his former team. The 56-year-old assistant left UW in 2021 after seven successful seasons in Seattle.
When asked Monday what prompted the move, Kwiatkowski said, “I had been on the West Coast my entire career. I had been in Washington for seven years and felt the time was right. When I grew up… Texas was – before all cable television – Texas was Keith Jackson. Texas-Oklahoma. Texas-Nebraska. It has always intrigued me. I think it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. »
Kwiatkowski’s vastly improved unit ranks second in the Big 12 in total defense (362 yards allowed per game), opposing yards per carry (3.35), rushing defense (123 yards allowed per game), opposing yards per attempt passing (6.4) and red zone defense (50% opponent TD percentage) and third in scoring defense (21.2 points allowed per game).
But this is a new challenge.
And a familiar enemy.
“Yeah, I know a lot of these guys, I’ve recruited a lot of them, and obviously I have a history with Washington,” Kwiatkowski said. “Their offense starts with this quarterback. [Michael Penix Jr.] is an exceptional quarterback, very precise. O-line does a good job of keeping him clean, and they have three really good wide receivers he can distribute the ball to, so we have a huge challenge ahead of us for sure. I know the guys are excited about this, the top-ranked offense in the country, and that’s why we’re going to play.
“We’ll have a great week of training, preparation, and then we’ll go out there and let it go.”
Extra point
- The Alamo Bowl could mean more for redshirt freshman wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk — a transfer from Texas Tech who grew up in Lufkin, 300 miles east of the Alamo Dome. “JP really fought to get the job he has,” UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said of Polk, who recorded 38 catches for 649 yards and six touchdowns. JP is really kind of an emotional leader in this piece. I think being able to come back here and have a game like this in his own backyard is really special for him. But I think his preparation and the way he’s approached his game this year has really stayed the same. He has a ton of energy. He has a big heart. He plays with it a bit on his sleeve. It will be exciting to see him there.
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