SEATTLE – Mike Denbrock was all ready for a vacation to Mexico with his wife over the University of Washington’s spring break when he realized something wasn’t right. He was having bad pains in his stomach, and he knew what that meant.
Last July, Denbrock, the UW’s offensive line coach, was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. The illness, which also affected former Huskies quarterback Taylor Barton, is an inflammation of the digestive tract and causes swelling in the intenstines. Denbrock got on medication to control the symptoms, and was fine until about a month ago.
The recurrence of the disease forced Denbrock to miss much of spring practice. He was able to watch film and started going to meetings about a week-and-a-half ago, but did not get on the field until Monday.
“It was never a situation where (the players) weren’t getting instruction from me or weren’t getting the necessary corrections from me,” Denbrock said. “But it’s different when your position coach isn’t on the practice field when the bullets are flying. It will help our situation a lot that I’m able to get back this week.”
Kyle Benn served as the offensive line coach and Denbrock’s mouthpiece while Denbrock was out. But now that Denbrock is back full time, Benn is no longer allowed by NCAA rules to be around the program. Last year, Benn served as a graduate assistant, but NCAA sanctions due to violations under former coach Rick Neuheisel took that position away.
As for Denbrock, he said he is feeling better now. The disease never goes away, but it can be controlled by medication.
“It’s a trial and error situation with the medication they put you on,” said Denbrock, who added that doctors at the University of Washington Medical Center have switched his medication.
“They try to get it to the point where you won’t have any type of flare-up or any reaction to anything you happen to eat. Unfortunately, the medication I was on didn’t work. I must have ate something wrong or did something wrong.”
The disease can be a real problem for coaches, who are notorious for spending long hours in the office and not eating particularly healthy. But Denbrock said it just requires him to do more planning of his meals.
“The problem is they say you don’t have to do a lot of modification to your diet, just stay away from the things that bother you,” Denbrock said. “The problem with that is, you don’t know what bothers you until after you eat it.”
While waiting for his new medication to kick in, Denbrock said he watched plenty of tape and was in constant communication with Benn. What he saw was a young, struggling line that is looking to replace four starters. Now that he’s back, he’s eager to spend the last week of spring ball finding a combination that works.
“We’ve got a tremendous amount of work to do,” he said. “I love their attitude, their work ethic. It puts us in a position to make strides very quickly. But we’re as green as the grass. We’re young up front in a lot of places. It’s going to be real ugly at times.”
Stanback still No. 1: Coach Tyrone Willingham said Isaiah Stanback is still the starting quarterback, but said he’s not sure who the backup is. Johnny DuRocher entered camp as the No. 2, but a strong spring by Carl Bonnell has opened Willingham’s eyes.
“Carl has made some moves,” Willingham said. “I don’t think we’re ready to say who the backup is right now. I’ve been pleased with what Carl has done. He’s so much better today than he was a year ago.”
Jones on the move: Sophomore Darrion Jones has been moved from linebacker to defensive end. Jones was one of two true freshmen to see playing time last season. He had two tackles in six games, playing primarily on special teams.
Injury update: Several players are battling hamstring injuries. Walk-on receiver Alex Mercier, one of the surprises of camp, is “in-and-out” of the lineup, according to Willingham. Safety Chris Hemphill and Durrell Moss also are limited with hamstring injuries. Shelton Sampson, making the switch from running back to cornerback after quitting the team last year, has been slowed by a shoulder injury. Starting receiver Sonny Shackelford is seeing more action after missing time with a high ankle sprain.
Gottlieb impressing: Tight end Michael Gottlieb has impressed to the point where if the season began today, he would start ahead of returning starter Robert Lewis, Willingham said. Gottlieb, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound sophomore from Mercer Island, saw limited action on special teams last season.
Cornerback depth: Dashon Goldson and Roy Lewis are the starters at cornerback right now, and would be backed up by Matt Fountaine and junior college transfer Jordan Murchison, Willingham said.
Kicker competition: Michael Braunstein continues to lead redshirt freshman Ryan Perkins for the starting kicker job.
Spring game on the air: The university will have a live video stream of Saturday’s spring game. The game will be offered as a premium service on www.gohuskies.com. The game only will be available live – it will not be archived – and former Husky running back James Sims will do the play-by-play.
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