UW Huskies open first fall camp under new coach with a QB battle and a full backfield

The question in April remains the question in August.

Who will take the first snaps of the season for the Huskies at quarterback when they open the season Sept. 3 against Kent State?

For now, Washington will continue to wait and see. When fall practices began Thursday at Husky Stadium — during an uncharacteristically chilly and rainy summer morning in Seattle — the three quarterbacks who split reps in spring camp continued to split reps in fall camp.

Michael Penix Jr., who joined the Huskies in the spring following four seasons at Indiana, took the first snaps of the fall at quarterback, but returning passers Dylan Morris and Sam Huard also worked with the offense during team periods.

Penix worked with the first-team offense throughout the morning during 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 periods, while Morris often worked with the second team and Huard quarterbacked a pair of series during the final team period on Thursday, but UW head coach Kalen DeBoer said reps will change day to day.

“I know everyone wants to know timeline and things like that,” DeBoer said. “We would love to make a decision as soon as possible, right? But, we also just want to really make sure that we’re giving each guy the proper number of reps.”

DeBoer also noted the Huskies want to see the three quarterbacks practice with the first-team offense on each day’s install.

“There’s four or five days of install that we have, when you talk about red zone and even getting into two-minute, which we did very little of in the spring,” DeBoer said.

“So, we’ll definitely keep rotating the guys. Today we kind of went one route, and then tomorrow we’ll transition to another, and there’ll be a little bit of playing it by ear as we get into the end of the first and into the second week.”

DeBoer said as the Huskies move closer to their first scrimmage, which will be played one week from Saturday, “we’ll kind of see who will kind of go with the ones in the scrimmage, and then we’ll reassess.”

Penix, a fifth-year junior, has the most experience of the group, appearing in 20 games (17 starts) the past four seasons, and also played in DeBoer’s offense at Indiana in 2019.

He has completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 4,197 yards in his career, tossing 29 touchdowns to 15 interceptions.

Last fall, he started five games, completing 53.7 percent of his passes for 939 yards and four touchdowns prior to a season-ending shoulder injury in October.

Morris, a redshirt sophomore and former Graham-Kapowsin High School standout, enters his fourth season with UW, and started 15 games for the Huskies the past two seasons. He has completed 60.7 percent of his passes for 3,355 yards in his career, throwing for 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Morris started the first 11 games of the season last fall before Huard made his first career start in the Apple Cup.

Huard broke the state’s career passing record at Kennedy Catholic before appearing in four games for the Huskies as a true freshman in 2021. He completed 52.4 percent of his passes for 241 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions last fall.

DeBoer noted while having a starter named entering fall camp does “speed up the process” heading into the season, the Huskies are not at that point entering 2022.

“We’re not in that situation,” he said. “And we need to do a good job of making sure that we get the right guy out there.”

As camp moves ahead, the three quarterbacks — who all have starting experience at the Power Five level in their careers — will continue to compete for the starting spot.

“They all want it really bad and you can see that,” DeBoer said. “And I don’t want them to press, I want them to enjoy it. I want them to push and be competitive, but I want them to just go do what they do best — play their game.”

‘THAT GROUP LOOKED DIFFERENT’

Thursday’s practice provided the first look this season at a more complete backfield, with two returners back from injury and the arrival of two more transfer additions, and the group as a whole caught DeBoer’s eye.

“You’ve got the guys that have transferred in and you had the guys that didn’t go through spring ball,” DeBoer said. “So really, really though that group looked different — No. 1 in numbers, but No. 2 in the quality.

“I think we’ve upgraded a lot there, and it’s obviously going to be a very competitive group, because there’s a lot of guys that want to step on the field.”

Two of the program’s leading rushers from last season — sixth-year seniors Sean McGrew and Kamari Pleasant — graduated, leaving the Huskies to restock their backfield.

Their top returner, sophomore Cameron Davis, missed the spring due to injury, but is back after finishing with 308 yards and two touchdowns on 85 carries in 12 games last fall, and adding 115 receiving yards on 14 catches.

Junior Richard Newton, who was UW’s starting tailback the first three games last season, is also back for the first time since his season-ending knee injury last October. Newton will still be limited in practices “for the next week or so, maybe two weeks,” DeBoer said Thursday.

“Just easing into it and making sure we don’t overdo it,” he said.

The Huskies also added three running backs from the transfer portal during the offseason, bringing in graduate transfer Wayne Taulapapa (Virginia), Will Nixon (Nebraska) and Aaron Dumas (New Mexico).

Taulapapa spent four seasons at Virginia, rushing for 1,192 yards and 19 touchdowns, and led the Cavaliers in rushing last season with 62 carries for 324 yards and two scores in 10 games.

Nixon appeared in three games on offense for Nebraska last season, and is listed as both a running back and wide receiver on UW’s roster after playing receiver at Nebraska.

Dumas joined the Huskies for spring camp after leading New Mexico in rushing with 136 carries for 658 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games.

Taulapapa and Nixon took significant reps during the team periods Thursday, while Davis and returning redshirt freshman Sam Adams II also rotated in.

UW also brings back redshirt freshman Jay’Veon Sunday, the only returning running back who recorded a carry for the Huskies last season apart from Davis and Newton, this fall.

Sunday and Dumas were the Huskies’ unofficial rushing leaders during the spring game back in April.

“I think that competition is going to continue to just be stronger and stronger as we go through the next week or two of camp,” DeBoer said of the group.

Two more former UW running backs in 2021 four-star recruit Emeka Megwa and 2021 three-star recruit Caleb Berry entered the transfer portal prior to camp.

EXTRA POINTS

▪ Linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio attended practice, but did not participate, and DeBoer said the fifth-year junior will likely miss “the first half or more of the season” following an injury during winter workouts that also kept him out of spring practices.

Ulofoshio led UW in tackles with 47 during the shortened 2020 season, and was the Huskies’ leading tackler through six games last season with 51 before an injury last October sidelined him for the rest of the season.

▪ Penix connected with Ja’Lynn Polk on a long touchdown down the left sideline of about 45 yards during a team period. Polk beat cornerback Mishael Powell in coverage for the first score of camp.

▪ Cornerback Davon Banks hauled in the first interception during a team period, snagging a long pass from Morris that was intended for Jabez Tinae.