OLYMPIA – Of the many questions facing the University of Washington football team, perhaps no segment needs more answers than the defensive line.
It doesn’t end with how the Huskies will replace defensive tackle Terry Johnson, now a Chicago Bear.
It includes the question of how fast can some true freshmen develop to add depth to some pretty thin areas.
Maybe the biggest question, however, is how to make up for the lack of experience.
Defensive line coach Randy Hart has an answer for the last one.
“Just work them,” he said. “There’s no substitute for experience. We’re going to try to give them enough but not too much. They’re not going to be a polished group, but they’re going to work hard and we’re going to play the basics.”
Hart’s system demands that at least eight linemen be ready to play in any given game. Should that happen – and for the Huskies’ sake it had better – at least two starters will have had fewer than three games played and at least four players will have never played a down at the line of scrimmage.
“If you want to trick us, you’ll get us now and then,” Hart said. “The plays they’re going to see, I’ve seen and they haven’t. So it’s going to be how much we can do, how much we can learn and how we can progress throughout the season.
“But I love their work ethic. There’s not a dog out there right now.”
The Huskies have one senior in tackle Manase Hopoi. End Ty Eriks is a junior, but has played multiple positions in his UW career and only moved to defensive end last season. Since he has been a Husky, Eriks has played fullback, outside linebacker, strong safety, tailback and now defensive end.
To prepare for this season, Eriks said he has gained 20 pounds and now weighs 250.
“It’s a great position for me, I think,” Eriks said. “I’m learning it. I haven’t played very much of it to this point, so I’m still in a learning curve. I’m trying to get my reads down. Other than that, it feels pretty comfortable.”
Aside from them, the line is as green as the Husky Stadium FieldTurf.
Much is hoped from sophomore Dan Milsten at nose tackle. A converted offensive tackle, Milsten almost has to produce because behind him are redshirt freshmen Wilson Afoa and Jordan Reffett, neither of whom has played a down of college ball.
Either sophomore Brandon Ala or junior JC transfer Mike Mapu will play opposite Eriks at the other end. Their development is essential because behind them are Caesar Rayford, a great athlete but painfully thin freshman, and Greyson Gunnheim, another true freshman.
Behind Hopoi at tackle is sophomore Danny Mateaki, who saw some playing time as a true freshman, and Andy Heater, a converted tight end from Snohomish High School. Behind them are true freshmen, Jordan White-Frisbee and Erick Lobos.
Although the situation demands the more experienced players stay away from injuries, Heater says all is not grim.
“I think we’re going to surprise some people,” he said. “I think there are people who doubt us and think we’re such a young group of kids that we’re not going to be very tough. I think we’re an extremely tough group. I think that’s what the coaches are looking for. They can teach you where you’re going, but if you hit the guy across from you, you’re going to play at a high level.”
Of the true freshmen, Gunnheim and White-Frisbee appear to have the best chance of surpassing their redshirt year and play this season.
It didn’t help that talent was plucked from the defensive line to fill spots in the injury-plagued offensive line. Tui Alailefaleula and Stanley Daniels moved to offensive line. It also didn’t help that tackle Casey Tyler quit the team.
But still, Hart likes what he has. It’s just that he should like it a lot more in two years.
“It’s a bright future,” he said. “We just have to hang together, continue to work hard and we’ll be all right.”
QB watch (cont.): UW head coach Keith Gilbertson said the winner of the battle at quarterback is becoming more clear in his mind, but he’s not saying which direction he might be thinking.
One clue may be in the way in which each quarterback handles the two-minute offense, which the Huskies have worked on for the last two days.
As was the case Friday, Casey Paus clearly had the upper hand over Isaiah Stanback and Carl Bonnell in guiding the offense through the two-minute drill while the defense threw a variety of stunts and blitzes at him.
Paus, a fourth-year junior, showed that he has run the two-minute offense many times before, at least in practice. In that way, Paus has a clear advantage. Whether that will be enough for him to grab the job remains to be seen.
Paus’ big moment came on a 60-yard TD pass to Corey Williams. The two also hooked up on a play-action pass completion between safety Jimmy Newell and corner Sam Cunningham.
After Bonnell led a promising drive with a first-down completion to tight end Dash Crutchley, he threw a interception right to cornerback Dre Simpson. Bonnell did, however, earn a couple of first downs with his running ability.
Stanback also was impressive on several quarterback-keeper plays and hit several short passes, but also made a bad decision on an option pitch to tailback Shelton Sampson that resulted in a fumble recovery by linebacker Scott White.
“It’s really a whole new aspect of football,” Gilbertson said. “It just takes a lot of time and maturity to learn. Casey, obviously, is more veteran at that, having done it a lot in previous years, so he’ll have the edge there.”
Short bursts: Freshman linebacker Trenton Tuiasosopo, from Mariner High School, still is hampered with a pulled hamstring and missed Saturday’s practices, as did wideout Charles Smith for the same reason … Wideout Charles Frederick still is on crutches with a sprained ankle and may not return for some days … Tight end Joe Toledo left practice with back spasms, but is expected back today … Linebacker Joe Lobendahn, who had four wisdom teeth extracted several days ago, returned to participate in all drills Saturday … The team had two sessions of practice Saturday before packing up and moving camp back to Seattle.
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