Fatters dropped this Doog gem in his depth chart overview today
Inside, it's another case of Washington needing to replace veterans with talented, yet inexperienced depth. Kyler Manu has a chance to become an instant fan favorite if he can step in and provide the same kind of production Tevis Bartlett did his final year at Montlake when he moved from the outside in. He and Brandon Wellington have been working almost exclusively together at the inside ones since the beginning of spring ball. They have a ton of turns playing alongside each other, and all you can hope is that they can jointly make it work inside.
If Fatters had his way Manu would start every position at LB and John Clark would be the only Lineman
OLB Laiatu Latu - Might be the most physically impressive freshman of the group who signed. Latu is big and physical and he moves very well for a young man of his dimensions. He's been running as the BUCK with the third unit opposite Zion Tupuola-Fetui, giving the Huskies a jumbo pairing of outside linebackers. Latu holds the edge well and when asked to rush the quarterback, he uses his hands and quickness to get by the offensive lineman.
DB Cameron Williams - While Latu is probably the most physically impressive prospect from the class, and trust us, there's a bunch of them that impressive on the hoof, but Williams has been the one that stood out the most due to his play on the field. He's just a special player, able to diagnose plays and he's seemingly around the ball on almost every play. Williams has been running with the first unit for the entirety of camp so far and we think there's a better than even chance he's in the starting lineup when the Husky defense takes the field on August 31st against Eastern Washington.
DL Faatui Tuitele - Sure, he's still struggling with a torn pectoral, but you wouldn't know it by watching him play. Tuitele has been running with the third unit for most of camp, but he's squarely in the rotation and he'll likely be one of the freshmen that plays quite a bit. He's quick and strong and he pursues really well when the play goes away from him.
DL Sama Paama - Paama is a run-stuffer who moves well laterally and could eventually be a real force on the inside for the Huskies. Paama missed most of the spring due to a lower-leg injury he suffered at the end of his senior season. Now that he's back to full health, he's been working hard to find his way into the defensive line rotation. Right now, he's seeing spot duty with the third unit, but so far, he still seems to be finding his "sea legs".
DL Jacob Bandes - It's too bad that Bandes missed most of spring after undergoing and appendectomy because he would be much further along in his development. He still seems to be working his way into shape, but his get off is great and he does a great job of holding strong at the point-of-attack.
LB Miki Ah You - It's been good to see Ah You running around and making plays after he suffered a torn ACL a little over 11 months ago. He arrived at Washington in the spring and got a lot of mental reps and now he's shown the instincts to be around the ball on a play-to-play basis.
DB Trent McDuffie - On pretty much any other team in the country, save maybe one or two, McDuffie would probably be in line to start or, at the very least, to see plenty of playing time in the secondary rotation, but as it is, he may not have a place on the field due to Washington's depth at corner. That being said, when McDuffie has been on the field as the 2nd team CB, he is very aggressive and seems to have great ball skills and instincts when the ball is in the air.
LB Daniel Heimuli - Heimuli has looked great running with the third group (alongside Alphonzo Tuputala), showing a nose for the ball and the ability to sniff out routes when he's been asked to drop back in coverage. The key for him will be how quickly he picks up the defense. If he can speed up the learning curve, he may be too good to keep off the field.
LB Josh Calvert - He was one of the top freshmen in the spring, showing incredible instincts and a nose for the ball. He's been running with the third unit and playing all three of the true linebacker spots -- SAM, WIL and MIK.
DB Asa Turner - Long and very athletic, Turner has the ability to high-point passes and the range to make plays from sideline-to-sideline. He needs to put on some bulk before he sees the field, but he sure looks the part of a future free safety.
DB Kamren Fabiculanan - Great looking athlete with the ability to play slot corner or safety. He's another prospect who shows great instincts and he ran really run.
OLB Bralen Trice - We haven't seen much of Trice on the field, but when he has been out there he doesn't look out of place. Like Turner, he needs to put on some more bulk and strength before he can get the job done, but he looks like he could be a real gem in a year or two.
DL Noa Ngalu - He seems to be lagging behind the other defensive linemen, but you can see the athleticism in the way he moves. He has a great first step and the ability to collapse the pocket when he's getting after the quarterback.
LB Alphonzo Tuputala - He was one of the surprises of the first day of camp as he'd lost nearly 20 pounds since he arrived this summer. Tuputala has great instincts and uses a very quick first step to cause issues for blockers.
Offense
QB Dylan Morris - Morris has looked poise and he seems to be picking up the offense rather quickly. His motion is compact and he really snaps the ball off. Sure, he's made a few "rookie" mistakes, but he looks like he could push for playing time very early in his career.
WR Puka Nacua - He's got a big frame and he knows how to use it. He shields defenders and he's got strong hands. He's had a few drops, but overall he's been one of the most impressive offensive freshmen on the field.
WR Taj Davis - Davis looks very impressive. He's a legit 6'2" and probably tops out at 6'3", with broad shoulders and a great frame. He needs to add more strength and get the technical aspects of the position down, but he looks like he could be a stud in a year or two.
RB Cam Davis - He's looked really solid and seems to be picking up the offense pretty quickly. Davis is instinctive and he has great explosiveness, but he's got a battle on his hands with so many promising running backs ahead of him on the depth chart.
OL Nate Kalepo - Kalepo is huge, but he's trimmed down a bit since we saw him in the summer. He's smart and has been running with the third-team offensive line at left tackle. Speed rushers still get him, but he seems to be settling in pretty quickly to his spot.
OL Julius Buelow - You just don't see a lot of guys with his size do much in college, but with the right grooming by Scott Huff, Buelow looks like a future fixture at right tackle where he's been running with the third team.
OL Troy Fautanu - He's been out while rehabbing from an injury, so we haven't seen anything since the spring. However, he looks the part and should be a key contributor either later in the season or as a redshirt freshman in 2020.
TE Corey Luciano - Started out as an offensive linemen, but he has moved to tight end although he's basically like an extra offensive lineman that they use to seal the edge on running plays. Luciano has done some route-running and after getting a look at him, at least at this juncture, his forte appears to be as a blocker more than as a receiver.
PK Tim Horn - He's definitely got a big leg, but he's still feeling his way. There are lots of reasons why this might be the case (different balls, different holders, etc.), but you can see the talent and why the Huskies pursued him. He appears to be behind Peyton Henry at this point in camp, but things can definitely change over the next month and into the season.
Fatters dropped this Doog gem in his depth chart overview today
Inside, it's another case of Washington needing to replace veterans with talented, yet inexperienced depth. Kyler Manu has a chance to become an instant fan favorite if he can step in and provide the same kind of production Tevis Bartlett did his final year at Montlake when he moved from the outside in. He and Brandon Wellington have been working almost exclusively together at the inside ones since the beginning of spring ball. They have a ton of turns playing alongside each other, and all you can hope is that they can jointly make it work inside.
In his fall camp preview, Fatters said the only thing certain about the running backs this season is that Cam Davis will be redshirting. He later admitted he had never watched his tape.
Way to throw a hot take out there without any fucking preparation for your goddamn job you fat fuck.
Cam Davis is going to be a fucking stud. I think he plays this year and could be the 2nd best back by the end of the season. He could redshirt, but at least I fucking did some homework first.
i listened to one of their recent podcasts...they ask each other who different players are, they can't come close to pronouncing the walk-ons names...as you said, do a bit of fucking preparation before you go live if you're trying to be the most trusted source of Husky football. it's painful to listen to.
None of them can consistently pronounce Benning's last name correctly. He's been here going on five fucking years! They also knew about him as a recruit since he was in 8th grade and his older brother played here too. That's a fucking decade of being too lazy to figure it out and remember it. They're all like "Ah shucks, we're just a couple of fat white guys. We don't know how to speak Poly and we're too lazy and don't have enough respect for them as human beings to pronounce their names correctly even though it's our job to know."
Yeah, but Fetters is the opposite. He thinks he’s a poly, so he affects a faux island accent. He also does the Madonna fake British thing when mentioning “footy.”
It’s fucking irritating.
Just when I thought my level of despise couldn’t increase, you mention this and I hate even more than I did. Chincredible
Fatters dropped this Doog gem in his depth chart overview today
Inside, it's another case of Washington needing to replace veterans with talented, yet inexperienced depth. Kyler Manu has a chance to become an instant fan favorite if he can step in and provide the same kind of production Tevis Bartlett did his final year at Montlake when he moved from the outside in. He and Brandon Wellington have been working almost exclusively together at the inside ones since the beginning of spring ball. They have a ton of turns playing alongside each other, and all you can hope is that they can jointly make it work inside.
In his fall camp preview, Fatters said the only thing certain about the running backs this season is that Cam Davis will be redshirting. He later admitted he had never watched his tape.
Way to throw a hot take out there without any fucking preparation for your goddamn job you fat fuck.
Cam Davis is going to be a fucking stud. I think he plays this year and could be the 2nd best back by the end of the season. He could redshirt, but at least I fucking did some homework first.
i listened to one of their recent podcasts...they ask each other who different players are, they can't come close to pronouncing the walk-ons names...as you said, do a bit of fucking preparation before you go live if you're trying to be the most trusted source of Husky football. it's painful to listen to.
None of them can consistently pronounce Benning's last name correctly. He's been here going on five fucking years! They also knew about him as a recruit since he was in 8th grade and his older brother played here too. That's a fucking decade of being too lazy to figure it out and remember it. They're all like "Ah shucks, we're just a couple of fat white guys. We don't know how to speak Poly and we're too lazy and don't have enough respect for them as human beings to pronounce their names correctly even though it's our job to know."
Yeah, but Fetters is the opposite. He thinks he’s a poly, so he affects a faux island accent. He also does the Madonna fake British thing when mentioning “footy.”
It’s fucking irritating.
Just when I thought my level of despise couldn’t increase, you mention this and I hate even more than I did. Chincredible
Fatters dropped this Doog gem in his depth chart overview today
Inside, it's another case of Washington needing to replace veterans with talented, yet inexperienced depth. Kyler Manu has a chance to become an instant fan favorite if he can step in and provide the same kind of production Tevis Bartlett did his final year at Montlake when he moved from the outside in. He and Brandon Wellington have been working almost exclusively together at the inside ones since the beginning of spring ball. They have a ton of turns playing alongside each other, and all you can hope is that they can jointly make it work inside.
In his fall camp preview, Fatters said the only thing certain about the running backs this season is that Cam Davis will be redshirting. He later admitted he had never watched his tape.
Way to throw a hot take out there without any fucking preparation for your goddamn job you fat fuck.
Cam Davis is going to be a fucking stud. I think he plays this year and could be the 2nd best back by the end of the season. He could redshirt, but at least I fucking did some homework first.
i listened to one of their recent podcasts...they ask each other who different players are, they can't come close to pronouncing the walk-ons names...as you said, do a bit of fucking preparation before you go live if you're trying to be the most trusted source of Husky football. it's painful to listen to.
None of them can consistently pronounce Benning's last name correctly. He's been here going on five fucking years! They also knew about him as a recruit since he was in 8th grade and his older brother played here too. That's a fucking decade of being too lazy to figure it out and remember it. They're all like "Ah shucks, we're just a couple of fat white guys. We don't know how to speak Poly and we're too lazy and don't have enough respect for them as human beings to pronounce their names correctly even though it's our job to know."
Yeah, but Fetters is the opposite. He thinks he’s a poly, so he affects a faux island accent. He also does the Madonna fake British thing when mentioning “footy.”
Redshirt Freshman Fall Camp Review: 10 Who Could Breakout
CB Kyler Gordon - We all knew Gordon was a freakish athlete, but his toughness and how quickly he picked up the defense have been a key in him finding a spot with the first unit on defense. All he's done is make plays, locking guys down on his side of the field. You know he'll probably be the most tested player in the secondary with Keith Taylor and Elijah Molden at the other corner spots, so he'll get his chance to make a lot of plays, especially early in the season.
WR Austin Osborne - Going out on a bit of a limb here, but Osborne has been impressive since the spring and he's continued to improve and show his abilities throughout the start of fall camp. Osborne is a big receiver, so the coaches use him a lot as a blocker outside for the smaller wideouts on short passes, but he too has made quite a few plays on short passes, showcasing his outstanding open-field running abilities and his underrated acceleration and speed.
DL Tuli Letuligasenoa - He's big, athletic and he can really stop the run. The coaches love his ability to anchor against the run and he looks like a natural nose guard in Washington's defensive scheme where he can use his outstanding lower-body strength and bulk to clog lanes and occupy blockers while allowing the Husky linebackers to roam free and make plays.
DL Sam Taimani - We originally thought Taimani would be more of a zero or one tech (nose tackle), but he's been playing more three-tech (outside shoulder of the guard) when he's been on the field. Like Letuligasenoa, because Washington lost so much experience up front following the 2018 season, he might find his way into the rotation due to need, but make no mistake, this guy has a very bright future with the Dawgs along the interior of the defensive line.
WR Trey Lowe - Like Chico McClatcher, the coaches will find many different ways to get the ball into Lowe's hands. The former tailback has looked outstanding so far in fall camp, able to make plays with his legs or beating defensive backs down the field with his outstanding quickness and explosiveness. He's also in the mix to get some reps as a kick or punt returner where he could be a real game-changer with his ability to flip the field.
OL Matteo Mele - Big and athletic, Mele is entering just his third season playing along the offensive line (he was a tight end until his senior season). The coaches have raved about his ability to sub in for Trey Adams at left tackle and think he could be one of the more versatile players they have up front with his ability to snap. Speaking of him playing center, he's been flipping between left tackle and center with the second unit the entire month and we think he'll get plenty or reps this fall at one of those positions in the very least.
LB Jackson Sirmon - This kid has the mind of a coach and he plays a physical brand of football. How he covers backs and tight ends will make or break his chances of playing quite a bit this season, but with the depth very thin at the MIK and WIL linebacker spots, he has a chance to be in the linebacker rotation very easily. He should also be a solid special teams player this season as well.
LB MJ Tafisi - Like his partner in crime, Tafisi has a chance to earn playing time pretty quickly out of the shoot with the dearth of depth at the MIK and WIL spots, but he definitely has the talent to be a play-maker for the Dawgs at either one of those positions. Of the two, Tafisi is probably the more physical while Sirmon is more rangy and has the ability to play better in space. Also like Sirmon, Tafisi should be a fixture on the coverage units this fall.
RB Richard Newton - We all know that Salvon Ahmed will get a bulk of the carries this season, but after that, reps are up for grabs and Newton just looks like a "dude". At 210 pounds, he's one of the bigger tailbacks on the roster and he has shown the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. If he can get the blitz pickup assignments down, we think he'll find his way into the tailback rotation pretty quickly this fall.
CB Dominique Hampton - The appeal of Hampton and Taylor (both over 6'2") playing on opposite sides of the field is very intriguing and while Gordon looks like he'll be the starter at least initially, Hampton will play quite a bit as well and he looks like an absolute beast on the outside where his length and physicality make him a key player to watch this fall. We also think he'll be a gunner on special teams with his good speed and ball awareness.
Others worth noting: A couple more who just missed the cut are outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui and tight end Devin Culp. Culp looks outstanding and has caught everything thrown his way while Tupuola-Fetui has been a mainstay on the outside with the second and third defenses. ZTF combined with true freshman Laiatu Latu could be an imposing set of bookends for the defensive front seven.
Doogman 10 Players Who Have Helped Themselves This Fall:
(Editor's Note: I had to delete so much fucking fluff from each of these. 2-5 sentences for each player that had no insight to the player or added anything to the peace. Fucking blowhard fat fucking Fatters)
TE Devin Culp - To be sure, it hasn't hurt Devin Culp's cause at all that one of the upperclassmen in front of him - Jacob Kizer - is currently out with an injury. But the former Gonzaga Prep star made big strides in the weight room during his redshirt year, gaining over 30 pounds. He can get downfield well and is a big target for the quarterbacks. And once he gets the ball in his hands, he's like a super-sized running back, which is what he was so good at when he was in Spokane. The added bulk also means he can really help out along the line when Bush Hamdan wants to utilize multiple tight end sets.
DB Kyler Gordon - Back a year ago when thinking of the true freshmen that would play right away, Kyler Gordon was right at the top of the list. And besides, how are you going to keep his 42.5-inch vertical jump on the sidelines? With Myles Bryant moving to safety and Elijah Molden taking Bryant's spot at the slot corner (nickel), Jimmy Lake and Will Harris were setting it up for Gordon to come in as UW's next great cover corner. And so far he's looked right at home. He's gotten plenty of turns with the ones this fall and has not disappointed.
PK Peyton Henry - When Washington signed Tim Horn, everyone just assumed that would be it for Peyton Henry. But Henry came back in the spring and kicked so well that the placekicking spot was going to become a legitimate battle once Horn arrived in the summer. And then something curious happened: Henry kept kicking really well, while the true freshman Horn struggled out of the gate. In fact, the first five days of the camp showed an even bigger leg from Henry and improved accuracy. He looked like the scholarship kicker. And right now there's no question in my mind he'll be the placekicker for the Huskies this fall.
OLB Laiatu Latu - Laiatu Latu is an uncommon athlete for his size (6-4, 275 pounds). The nice thing for co-Defensive Coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski is that he doesn't necessarily need to play Latu right away. He's got two bonafide starters in Ryan Bowman and Joe Tryon, but after that, it's a bit of a toss-up. But when it comes to the pass rushers of the future for UW, Latu is right at the top of the list, and frankly, his time just might be right now. He's practiced like he plays, with his hair on fire. All Washington fans should be very excited to watch Laiatu Latu this fall.
WR Trey Lowe - Chico is like Ahmed, has that burst in the box, that explosion that helps get him around the corner and separation in the open field. But Lowe is a lot like Gaskin when he gets the ball in his hands. The first five days of fall camp showed me something I wasn't quite expecting. The slot receiver was probably the readiest of any of the positions on that side of the ball for UW. Between McClatcher and Lowe, they were just making play after play down the field, running past people, catching passes and making the defense look rather pedestrian at times. It was exciting to see, and even more exciting for UW fans when you remember Lowe is just going into his redshirt freshman year.
WR Puka Nacua - Day One he's making catches with his knees, and he didn't stop there. In fact, outside of Trey Lowe, Nacua may have already passed up redshirt freshmen Marquis Spiker and Austin Osborne on the depth. It's hard to know at this point in time precisely because we haven't seen them the last week or so, but he definitely made a big first impression from the moment he walked on the practice field. Based on what I saw early in fall camp, the stage did not look too big at all for Puka Nacua. And he is a player that thrives under the bright lights. He'll play sooner, rather than later.
OL Henry Roberts - The fifth-year senior has become offensive line coach Scott Huff's Swiss Army knife. He's got a start last year at left tackle and right now he's backing up Nick Harris at center. Having Roberts as an experienced lineman to fill in just about anywhere along the line offers up a measure of security for Scott Huff, who certainly has his starting five down pat, but after that, it's basically a bunch of unproven talent outside of Roberts.
OLB Zion Tupuola-Fetui - It's hard not to notice the 6-foot-3, 266-pound redshirt freshman from Pearl City, Hawaii. Much like Joe Tryon and Laiatu Latu, Zion Tupuola-Fetui is one of those players that looks all-world coming off the bus. And when Washington co-Defensive Coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski paired Tupuola-Fetui and Latu together as an outside linebacker pairing, the mouth has to water if you're a UW fan wondering where the pass rush is going to come outside of Tryon and Ryan Bowman. With Myles Rice being less than convincing during the five days we saw at the beginning of fall camp, and Ariel Ngata certainly providing a very specialized type of rush as an undersized, but cat-quick outside linebacker, a player like Tupuola-Fetui is poised to take the position by storm and become an integral part of Kwiatkowski's rotation. He did get to play in the Rose Bowl, so he got a chance to see what the big stage is all about. Hopefully, he can use that experience as a springboard to do damage this fall.
TE Jack Westover - I distinctly remember Jordan Paopao talking about Jack Westover a year ago right around this time. We were doing the normal media thing of having a position coach go down his list of players to see how they've done so far in fall camp. Even though Westover, now a 6-foot-3, 241-pound redshirt freshman tight now, had walked on from Mount Si High School, Paopao gushed about him like he'd found the ultimate diamond in the rough. Westover is a little different than Culp. For starters, he's about 20 pounds lighter and is more of that receiving threat than as a blocker on the line. So right now if the Huskies lined up in a three-tight end power set, Culp would probably be preferred over Westover. But in the five games we saw at the beginning of fall camp, Westover showed some glimpses of Cade Otton when he first showed up at Montlake. He can get down the seams, find soft spots in the zones, sit and use his soft hands to make catches. I expect he'll continue to ramp up his play, and depending on Kizer's future he could feature more and more as the games go on.
DB Cameron Williams - Chris Petersen hasn't been asked about too many true freshmen this fall, but Cameron Williams has been asked about plenty. Part of the reason is that he was one of eight early enrollees for spring, but mostly it is because of the way he's taken advantage of his opportunities in the secondary. In short, he was the surprise of spring and through the five fall practices, we saw he's continued to get better. Here's what Petersen had to say about the former Bakersfield High athlete-turned-safety:
"There's no one I've been more impressed with than Cam Williams. He shows up every day. You go back and put the tape on and even if it's wrong he does it full speed and it's the right technique. It might be the wrong assignment, but there's not a lot of that. He's done a really nice job of practicing with a purpose every day."
I just don't fucking get the kicking thing. How fucking hard is it? I live by a high school where I use the track to run and several times I've seen random HS kicker out there practicing to try to get a college scholarship to some juco or small college and from what I see he's nailing kicks from 35 and in 98% of the time. Shit, I played HS soccer with a polish guy that could kick a ball through a fucking brick wall and hit a FG from 45 easy, and this was just some guy who wasn't even interested in football. And we hand Chris Sailer $10.95 and a blowie for some list and the guys on the list can't hit 3/3 from inside the 40?
It shouldn't be this hard. Fuck the kicking camps, scout the fucking soccer team.
LPT discussed this as well. They say Horn will likely handle kickoffs because his leg is incredible.
That said, they had good things to say about Henry. They said compared to the way he looked last year, it's night and day.
Supposedly he is booming all of them. Every kick is struck well and clears with plenty of distance (of course they're all fucking 30-40 so whatever). He's drilling the kicks without hesitation or looking shaky or dicey. People have been saying he is the player who has taken the biggest step between last year and this year.
Through 4 games, this is apparently legit. If only we had this shit last year.
Comments
CB Kyler Gordon - We all knew Gordon was a freakish athlete, but his toughness and how quickly he picked up the defense have been a key in him finding a spot with the first unit on defense. All he's done is make plays, locking guys down on his side of the field. You know he'll probably be the most tested player in the secondary with Keith Taylor and Elijah Molden at the other corner spots, so he'll get his chance to make a lot of plays, especially early in the season.
WR Austin Osborne - Going out on a bit of a limb here, but Osborne has been impressive since the spring and he's continued to improve and show his abilities throughout the start of fall camp. Osborne is a big receiver, so the coaches use him a lot as a blocker outside for the smaller wideouts on short passes, but he too has made quite a few plays on short passes, showcasing his outstanding open-field running abilities and his underrated acceleration and speed.
DL Tuli Letuligasenoa - He's big, athletic and he can really stop the run. The coaches love his ability to anchor against the run and he looks like a natural nose guard in Washington's defensive scheme where he can use his outstanding lower-body strength and bulk to clog lanes and occupy blockers while allowing the Husky linebackers to roam free and make plays.
DL Sam Taimani - We originally thought Taimani would be more of a zero or one tech (nose tackle), but he's been playing more three-tech (outside shoulder of the guard) when he's been on the field. Like Letuligasenoa, because Washington lost so much experience up front following the 2018 season, he might find his way into the rotation due to need, but make no mistake, this guy has a very bright future with the Dawgs along the interior of the defensive line.
WR Trey Lowe - Like Chico McClatcher, the coaches will find many different ways to get the ball into Lowe's hands. The former tailback has looked outstanding so far in fall camp, able to make plays with his legs or beating defensive backs down the field with his outstanding quickness and explosiveness. He's also in the mix to get some reps as a kick or punt returner where he could be a real game-changer with his ability to flip the field.
OL Matteo Mele - Big and athletic, Mele is entering just his third season playing along the offensive line (he was a tight end until his senior season). The coaches have raved about his ability to sub in for Trey Adams at left tackle and think he could be one of the more versatile players they have up front with his ability to snap. Speaking of him playing center, he's been flipping between left tackle and center with the second unit the entire month and we think he'll get plenty or reps this fall at one of those positions in the very least.
LB Jackson Sirmon - This kid has the mind of a coach and he plays a physical brand of football. How he covers backs and tight ends will make or break his chances of playing quite a bit this season, but with the depth very thin at the MIK and WIL linebacker spots, he has a chance to be in the linebacker rotation very easily. He should also be a solid special teams player this season as well.
LB MJ Tafisi - Like his partner in crime, Tafisi has a chance to earn playing time pretty quickly out of the shoot with the dearth of depth at the MIK and WIL spots, but he definitely has the talent to be a play-maker for the Dawgs at either one of those positions. Of the two, Tafisi is probably the more physical while Sirmon is more rangy and has the ability to play better in space. Also like Sirmon, Tafisi should be a fixture on the coverage units this fall.
RB Richard Newton - We all know that Salvon Ahmed will get a bulk of the carries this season, but after that, reps are up for grabs and Newton just looks like a "dude". At 210 pounds, he's one of the bigger tailbacks on the roster and he has shown the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. If he can get the blitz pickup assignments down, we think he'll find his way into the tailback rotation pretty quickly this fall.
CB Dominique Hampton - The appeal of Hampton and Taylor (both over 6'2") playing on opposite sides of the field is very intriguing and while Gordon looks like he'll be the starter at least initially, Hampton will play quite a bit as well and he looks like an absolute beast on the outside where his length and physicality make him a key player to watch this fall. We also think he'll be a gunner on special teams with his good speed and ball awareness.
Others worth noting: A couple more who just missed the cut are outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui and tight end Devin Culp. Culp looks outstanding and has caught everything thrown his way while Tupuola-Fetui has been a mainstay on the outside with the second and third defenses. ZTF combined with true freshman Laiatu Latu could be an imposing set of bookends for the defensive front seven.
(Editor's Note: I had to delete so much fucking fluff from each of these. 2-5 sentences for each player that had no insight to the player or added anything to the peace. Fucking blowhard fat fucking Fatters)
TE Devin Culp - To be sure, it hasn't hurt Devin Culp's cause at all that one of the upperclassmen in front of him - Jacob Kizer - is currently out with an injury. But the former Gonzaga Prep star made big strides in the weight room during his redshirt year, gaining over 30 pounds. He can get downfield well and is a big target for the quarterbacks. And once he gets the ball in his hands, he's like a super-sized running back, which is what he was so good at when he was in Spokane. The added bulk also means he can really help out along the line when Bush Hamdan wants to utilize multiple tight end sets.
DB Kyler Gordon - Back a year ago when thinking of the true freshmen that would play right away, Kyler Gordon was right at the top of the list. And besides, how are you going to keep his 42.5-inch vertical jump on the sidelines? With Myles Bryant moving to safety and Elijah Molden taking Bryant's spot at the slot corner (nickel), Jimmy Lake and Will Harris were setting it up for Gordon to come in as UW's next great cover corner. And so far he's looked right at home. He's gotten plenty of turns with the ones this fall and has not disappointed.
PK Peyton Henry - When Washington signed Tim Horn, everyone just assumed that would be it for Peyton Henry. But Henry came back in the spring and kicked so well that the placekicking spot was going to become a legitimate battle once Horn arrived in the summer. And then something curious happened: Henry kept kicking really well, while the true freshman Horn struggled out of the gate. In fact, the first five days of the camp showed an even bigger leg from Henry and improved accuracy. He looked like the scholarship kicker. And right now there's no question in my mind he'll be the placekicker for the Huskies this fall.
OLB Laiatu Latu - Laiatu Latu is an uncommon athlete for his size (6-4, 275 pounds). The nice thing for co-Defensive Coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski is that he doesn't necessarily need to play Latu right away. He's got two bonafide starters in Ryan Bowman and Joe Tryon, but after that, it's a bit of a toss-up. But when it comes to the pass rushers of the future for UW, Latu is right at the top of the list, and frankly, his time just might be right now. He's practiced like he plays, with his hair on fire. All Washington fans should be very excited to watch Laiatu Latu this fall.
WR Trey Lowe - Chico is like Ahmed, has that burst in the box, that explosion that helps get him around the corner and separation in the open field. But Lowe is a lot like Gaskin when he gets the ball in his hands. The first five days of fall camp showed me something I wasn't quite expecting. The slot receiver was probably the readiest of any of the positions on that side of the ball for UW. Between McClatcher and Lowe, they were just making play after play down the field, running past people, catching passes and making the defense look rather pedestrian at times. It was exciting to see, and even more exciting for UW fans when you remember Lowe is just going into his redshirt freshman year.
WR Puka Nacua - Day One he's making catches with his knees, and he didn't stop there. In fact, outside of Trey Lowe, Nacua may have already passed up redshirt freshmen Marquis Spiker and Austin Osborne on the depth. It's hard to know at this point in time precisely because we haven't seen them the last week or so, but he definitely made a big first impression from the moment he walked on the practice field. Based on what I saw early in fall camp, the stage did not look too big at all for Puka Nacua. And he is a player that thrives under the bright lights. He'll play sooner, rather than later.
OL Henry Roberts - The fifth-year senior has become offensive line coach Scott Huff's Swiss Army knife. He's got a start last year at left tackle and right now he's backing up Nick Harris at center. Having Roberts as an experienced lineman to fill in just about anywhere along the line offers up a measure of security for Scott Huff, who certainly has his starting five down pat, but after that, it's basically a bunch of unproven talent outside of Roberts.
OLB Zion Tupuola-Fetui - It's hard not to notice the 6-foot-3, 266-pound redshirt freshman from Pearl City, Hawaii. Much like Joe Tryon and Laiatu Latu, Zion Tupuola-Fetui is one of those players that looks all-world coming off the bus. And when Washington co-Defensive Coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski paired Tupuola-Fetui and Latu together as an outside linebacker pairing, the mouth has to water if you're a UW fan wondering where the pass rush is going to come outside of Tryon and Ryan Bowman. With Myles Rice being less than convincing during the five days we saw at the beginning of fall camp, and Ariel Ngata certainly providing a very specialized type of rush as an undersized, but cat-quick outside linebacker, a player like Tupuola-Fetui is poised to take the position by storm and become an integral part of Kwiatkowski's rotation. He did get to play in the Rose Bowl, so he got a chance to see what the big stage is all about. Hopefully, he can use that experience as a springboard to do damage this fall.
TE Jack Westover - I distinctly remember Jordan Paopao talking about Jack Westover a year ago right around this time. We were doing the normal media thing of having a position coach go down his list of players to see how they've done so far in fall camp. Even though Westover, now a 6-foot-3, 241-pound redshirt freshman tight now, had walked on from Mount Si High School, Paopao gushed about him like he'd found the ultimate diamond in the rough. Westover is a little different than Culp. For starters, he's about 20 pounds lighter and is more of that receiving threat than as a blocker on the line. So right now if the Huskies lined up in a three-tight end power set, Culp would probably be preferred over Westover. But in the five games we saw at the beginning of fall camp, Westover showed some glimpses of Cade Otton when he first showed up at Montlake. He can get down the seams, find soft spots in the zones, sit and use his soft hands to make catches. I expect he'll continue to ramp up his play, and depending on Kizer's future he could feature more and more as the games go on.
DB Cameron Williams - Chris Petersen hasn't been asked about too many true freshmen this fall, but Cameron Williams has been asked about plenty. Part of the reason is that he was one of eight early enrollees for spring, but mostly it is because of the way he's taken advantage of his opportunities in the secondary. In short, he was the surprise of spring and through the five fall practices, we saw he's continued to get better. Here's what Petersen had to say about the former Bakersfield High athlete-turned-safety:
"There's no one I've been more impressed with than Cam Williams. He shows up every day. You go back and put the tape on and even if it's wrong he does it full speed and it's the right technique. It might be the wrong assignment, but there's not a lot of that. He's done a really nice job of practicing with a purpose every day."