Washington Huskies Fall Camp 2019 Recap Open Thread

From Caple's piece on 10 players he will be watching this fall camp.

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Wide receiver: Puka Nacua

There are several candidates here, but I’m picking a guy making his college practice debut. Nacua, a four-star prospect from Orem (Utah) High, was viewed as one of UW’s top recruiting victories in the 2019 cycle. He has a reputation as an athletic playmaker with a big-time catch radius. If he shows all of that early on, there’s no reason to think he won’t play right away. He faces a ton of competition, of course, with UW returning every wide receiver who caught a pass last season. This is a veteran group with a bunch of starting experience. But Nacua has the potential to add something different — something more explosive — to UW’s passing game. That makes him as interesting as anyone else on the field.

Offensive line: Henry Bainivalu

After his performance at left tackle last season, fifth-year senior Jared Hilbers should be the presumptive favorite to start the season at right tackle in place of the departed Kaleb McGary, meaning that for now, UW’s starting o-line appears set. But if there is one position to watch, it may be that right tackle spot, and that’s because of Bainivalu, one of only two o-linemen other than the first-stringers who actually has played some meaningful football (fifth-year senior Henry Roberts is the other).

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 319 pounds, Bainivalu, a third-year sophomore, should be next in line at tackle, behind seniors Hilbers and Trey Adams. Will he push for playing time this season, though? Bainivalu spent the spring at right tackle with the No. 2 offense, but he’s played some guard, too, and could spend his sophomore season as a utility player (like Roberts) before stepping into a bigger role in 2020. His progress will be worth monitoring.

Defensive line: Tuli Letuligasenoa

Again, UW’s relative lack of experience here means there are several guys whose progress during camp will help dictate their playing time. Letuligasenoa, a 6-2, 318-pound tackle from Concord (Calif.) De La Salle, is right at the top of the list. It will be difficult to judge during five practices exactly where Letuligasenoa might end up on the depth chart because position coach Ikaika Malloe likes to experiment with all kinds of different personnel groups and packages. But it feels like Letuligasenoa could be the nose tackle of the future — offensive teammates are quick to praise both he and fellow redshirt freshman Taki Taimani — and he has a golden opportunity to prove it in the next few weeks.

Inside linebacker: Daniel Heimuli

I’m copping out again and picking another true freshman, most of whom are sort of inherently interesting because nobody has seen them practice with a college team before. As with Nacua, Heimuli represented a major recruiting victory, being that he was a four-star, consensus top-200 prospect with an Alabama offer. UW’s roster lists him at 6-0 and 216 pounds, so he needs to bulk up. But his speed and tenacity — coupled, of course, with the Huskies’ lack of experienced depth — should give him a chance to put his name on the depth chart if he can grasp the defense early on.

Defensive back: Julius Irvin

Despite the bevy of talented, young defensive backs vying for playing time, this was an easy choice. The reason is simple: Irvin was limited throughout spring by injury, and now that he is (presumably) able to participate, he should be a major factor in the safety competition. Like fellow freshmen Dominique Hampton and Kyler Gordon, Irvin played in four games last season while preserving his redshirt. He’s reputed as smart and versatile, and UW’s safety situation remains unsettled, though many competitors are involved (Brandon McKinney, Cam Williams, Alex Cook and even Myles Bryant, to name four). Four-star freshman Asa Turner will compete for time, too, and fourth-year junior Isaiah Gilchrist has practiced all over the secondary. Irvin’s presence in camp will only make things more interesting.

Doogman:

- Jake Haener took the first reps with the first team offense and he made a couple of nice throws across the middle.

- Jacob Sirmon got the reps with the second team and had a couple of nice throws scattered in with a couple of misfires.

- Jacob Eason, he got reps with all three units on the offense. Arm talent is obvious, but he misfired on a couple of passes and made a couple of bad reads. He also had a couple of nice reads and quick releases that caused the defense problems.

- Dylan Morris was actually the best quarterback on the day, at least from a big-play standpoint. Hit Trey Lowe on two touchdown passes.

- The catch of the day was the juggling catch by freshman Puka Nacua on the sideline. Keith Taylor was running stride for stride with Nacua down the near sideline, and after tipping the ball up in the air, both fell to the ground. Nacua was able to pinch the ball between his knees before grabbing it and rolling over. The play resulted in a 30-yard gain and a roar from the offensive sideline.

- First team secondary featured Taylor and Kyler Gordon at the corner spots, Elijah Molden at the nickel while Myles Bryant and Cameron Williams were at the safety spots.

- First team linebackers featured Brandon Wellington and Kyler Manu in the middle while Ryan Bowman and Joe Tryon each held down the the outside spots.

- Tryon looked outstanding coming off the edge. On one play, Tryon beat Trey Adams off the edge and would have absolutely broken Eason in half had things been live.

- First team defensive linemen were John Clark and Levi Onwuzurike while Josiah Bronson and Benning Potoa'e were the second group. The third saw a rotation of players which included Tuli Letuligasenoa, Sam Taimani and Faatui Tuitele.

GrundleStiltzkin said:

Tuitele is a surprise

Really curious how they deal with his pec. But if he's going to play, fuck it. He dominated with 1 arm for 2 straight years.

Highlight for me is Nacua already showing his big balls and big play ability day one.

Legitimate sources have weighed in!

Caple’s Day 1 Notes (yes I edited):

- Haener in the early period hit Ty Jones up the left sideline, with Jones leaping amid tight coverage from junior cornerback Keith Taylor to make the catch. Jimmy Lake acknowledged it as Jones jogged back to the huddle, shouting “Nice catch, Ty!” After missing almost all of spring with a hand injury, Jones looked strong in his camp debut.

- Eason took five snaps during the early period and has a short completion underneath to Austin Osborne, with Eason stepping up in the pocket as Joe Tryon brought pressure against the right tackle; a short incompletion after Eason appeared to hesitate just a bit; and an incompletion on a longer throw across the field to receiver Terrell Bynum.

- Eason’s best throw of the day came a couple of periods later. Most of the snaps were running plays, but Eason did drop a perfectly thrown ball into the arms of walk-on receiver David Pritchard, who beat junior defensive back Isaiah Gilchrist on the play.

- Dylan Morris has a touchdown pass to redshirt freshman receiver Trey Lowe from about 20 yards out. But Morris also threw the day’s only interception, a jump ball that freshman walk-on defensive back Nick Juran came down with.

- Sirmon saw more reps than he did during any single practice in the spring, and he even took some snaps with the No. 1 offensive line. His best throw was a long completion to senior receiver Quinten Pounds on the final play of practice.

- Lowe hauled in a one-handed grab on a throw from Morris up the seam during 7-on-7, with McDuffie trailing just behind in coverage.

- The first-team offensive line from left to right: Trey Adams, Luke Wattenberg, Nick Harris, Jaxson Kirkland and Jared Hilbers.

- With Cole Norgaard sidelined with an ankle injury, Henry Roberts and Matteo Mele each took snaps at center with the No. 2 line.

- The second-team from left to right: Roberts, M.J. Ale, Mele, Victor Curne and Henry Bainivalu. Roberts and Mele switched spots later in practice with the second team.

- The first team defense was Levi Onwuzurike and John Clark on the interior; Tryon and Ryan Bowman at outside linebacker; Brandon Wellington and Kyler Manu at inside linebacker; Keith Taylor and Kyler Gordon at cornerback, with Elijah Molden at nickelback; and Myles Bryant and Cam Williams at safety.

- Josiah Bronson and Benning Potoa’e were the second interior-line tandem, with Myles Rice and Ariel Ngata taking second-team reps on the outside. Freshman Trent McDuffie got some reps at cornerback with the No. 2 defense, with Dominique Hampton also at cornerback, Gilchrist at nickel and Brandon McKinney and Alex Cook the duo at safety.

- Lake spoke about Bryant after practice: “His versatility is going to help us. Two years ago, he started at corner vs. UCLA and vs. Stanford and held his own. He’s played nickel for us, he’s played our money position, he’s played safety. So now, we’re trying to get the starting best five, and how that’s going to be from week to week, we’ll see. The beautiful thing, like always, like all these guys — the Kevin Kings of the world who played every position, the Budda Bakers who played every position — Myles Bryant is right in that same mold. I have complete trust in him playing any positions in the back end, and I know he’ll play it at an all-conference level.”

- Lake puts juniors Molden and Taylor in a similar category. “Guys that are very smart, very versatile, very athletic, love football. They love learning more about the game every single day,” he said. “I think we have a few young guys that will grow in that mold, too. It goes back to who we recruit. We recruit football players. Not just guys that like to get recruited. We recruit football players. That’s what you see on the back end.”

- One of those young guys? Redshirt freshman Julius Irvin, whom Lake said played cornerback, nickel and safety on Friday. He was limited throughout spring with an arm injury, but now joins the competition for playing time. “He knows our defense. He’s been here over a year now,” Lake said of Irvin. “Now he’s healthy. He’s not the only one I’m excited to watch, but I’m excited to see how well he’s going to perform at any one of those positions and how many plays he’s going to make here in the next couple weeks.”

- True freshman outside linebacker Laiatu Latu at least looks the part. Latu, a 6-foot-4, 275-pounder took advantage of his few 11-on-11 reps, stuffing a run in the backfield and pressuring Morris as he rolled to his right before throwing incomplete.

- Pete Kwiatkowski seemed maybe a tad more optimistic than I expected when discussing the possibility of Latu playing this season. “Laiatu’s a guy — it’s only been one day, he hasn’t been in pads — but he looked really good, and he’s a big dude,” Kwiatkowski said. “He’s athletic. I’m optimistic about him, for sure. From what I saw today, it was encouraging. He’s got a good feel for how to play defensive end. He can do some things.” Of course, the challenge with any true freshman is how they pick up things when the defensive installations become more and more complex, and, Kwiatkowski noted, how they handle the transition when school starts again in late September. But if Latu and others continue to show up on film in practices, they’ll at least have a shot at playing right away. “Make plays,” Kwiatkowski said. “They’re out there swimming. Today was real easy install for them. I love how they’re playing. They’re playing fast. They’re not thinking, they’re just going, Laiatu and Bralen (Trice). For those guys, just keep playing fast. We’ll get them coached up, we’ll get them corrected. When pads come on, be physical. Make plays, and it’s hard to keep you off the field.”

- With Kizer out, converted offensive lineman Corey Luciano is getting a shot at tight end. During an early drill in which quarterbacks threw passes to receivers and tight ends for over-the-shoulder catches, Luciano gave a wide grin after hauling one in, with strength coach Tim Socha chiding playfully, “Don’t fight it, catch it!”

- There were only a few carries Friday for junior tailback Salvon Ahmed, though he looked explosive as ever, bursting through a hole for a gashing run up the middle during an 11-on-11 period.

-I saw two kicks Friday, one by Peyton Henry and the other by freshman Tim Horn. Henry made his from about 33 yards out. Horn missed from roughly the same distance.

- The first day of camp also meant the first look at Washington’s new Adidas practice uniforms. They actually look quite a bit different than the old Nike version, with three stripes on each of the shoulders and a “W” above each player’s number on the back. More than one observer thought they had a UCLA vibe to them. But, hey, at least there was no black.