Know the Foe: Washington
Tulsa travels to Seattle to face the No. 8 Washington Huskies on Saturday in the second game of the season for both teams. It will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Washington is 1-0 and coming off a 56-19 trouncing of Boise State. To learn more about the Huskies, Mark Schafer of UW Dawg Pound joined Inside Tulsa Sports for a brief Q&A session.
QUESTION: How good is quarterback Michael Penix Jr.? What are his strengths and weaknesses? Will he be a first-round pick?
Schafer: Michael Penix is the best quarterback UW has had in a long time. He’s the perfect quarterback for the wide-open nature of Kalen Deboer and Ryan Grubb’s scheme. He has a cannon for an arm, and all the physical tools you’d want in a quarterback. He gets the ball out quickly, makes good reads and has the faith in his receivers to catch the tough throws. That arm can also be a weakness, sometimes he puts too much on his throws and overshoots the receivers. His other weakness is that sometimes he has too much faith in his receivers, and that faith can lead to interceptions. But when that happens, he has enough composure to not be rattled and just continue to be steady.
I honestly think he won’t be a first-round pick because a lot of teams will be scared off by his injury history, but it doesn’t matter to me too much, because we are watching a masterful college quarterback. If I had to guess, he’s anywhere from a mid-second to early 3rd round pick, at least right now.
Q: What are the strengths of the Washington receivers and tight ends?
Schafer: Rome Odunze is probably going to be a first-round pick come April’s draft. He has the size, strength, and speed of a prototypical athletic wide receiver, in addition to great hands. Jalen McMillan has similar hands, maybe with a little less of the strength, but he can catch absolutely everything thrown his way, and he’s always a threat to take it the distance with his speed. Ja’Lynn Polk is the true deep threat, and the secondary needs to be aware of where he is at all times.
Jack Westover is a true do-it-all tight end who can split out wide and rumble down the field with the best of them, plus he has exceptional athleticism. Some other receivers the defense should watch out for include Germie Bernard, the transfer from Michigan State, and Denzel Boston, who really impressed in fall camp.
Q: Where are the biggest vulnerabilities and strengths of the Huskies on offense and defense?
Schafer: On offense, the biggest strength to me is by far the passing game. The Huskies have exceptional pass catchers at almost every position, even running back, and the quarterback to put it right on the money for his receivers. That’s where the engine of the Husky offense is. On defense, I’d say the biggest strength is the secondary. After some rough secondary play last season, they actually came away with two interceptions in their last game, though only one was by a defensive back (Kam Fabiculanan).
The major weakness, at least in the Boise State game, was the run game, both with the backs and the line up front. Maybe Dillon Johnson wasn’t fully healthy, or maybe the line needs to jell a little bit more. Or maybe they need to draw up different run concepts because Johnson couldn’t get rolling. Whatever the case, it will be interesting to watch how the running game progresses and if they can get going throughout the Tulsa game and the rest of the year. On defense, the major weakness is probably tackling, and it has been for several years. With this being year 2 of this current defensive staff, you have to start wondering if it’s in the technique or if they don’t have good tacklers. In any case, it’s something that has to be improved if they expect to contend for a CFP berth.
Q: Who are Washington’s best defensive players?
Schafer: My early candidate for best defensive player is still Bralen Trice. Boise State did a good job of keeping him bottled up, but he was still effective as his very presence allowed other guys to get home a few times and at the very least rattle Boise State’s quarterback. Jabbar Muhammad’s presence was greatly missed on the back end of the defense last year, and Davon Banks greatly impressed me in the secondary as well, with 4 pass deflections. He is a good candidate for a breakout player on this defense.
Q: What are the best things about Husky Stadium, besides its location by the water?
Schafer: The greatest things about Husky Stadium are the atmosphere on the way into the stadium, and how loud it can get when it’s full. I was at the inaugural game after the renovations in 2013, and Boise State couldn’t do much of anything during the game. Anyone who doesn’t believe in home field advantage should come to a game on Montlake.
Q: What do you think of UW leaving the PAC and going to the Big 10 and the demise of the PAC?
Schafer: I feel a mix of excitement and sadness watching my team go to the Big Ten. I feel excitement because they get to go toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the country every week. They get to go to the most historic venues in the history of college football. Their national profile will be boosted, which will lead to better recruits. But it is going to lead to 108 years of beautiful tradition collapsing like it’s nothing, all because of TV money. The regionality is going away in college football, and for that I am sad. However, if this is how the conference is going out, it’s one heck of a curtain call! From top to bottom, this conference is loaded with topflight talent, and it’s going to be a fun season, as it already has been.
Q: Score prediction?
Schafer: For this game, I think the Huskies have too much talent on both sides of the ball, so it will be more of a tune up for them. Tulsa has plenty of talent, but this is a team in the midst of a rebuild, and the aerial attack will prove to be too much for the Golden Hurricane.
Washington 56 - Tulsa 8