Huskies' First Spring Practice Was An Introduction

On the way to the CFP national championship game, most University of Washington football players knew each other well. They were one of the oldest teams anywhere in the college game and went through a lot of battles together.

On Wednesday, while there was the business of Jedd Fisch's first spring football practice unfolding, this workout also provided an introductory moment for a much younger team, a chance for someone such as Arizona cornerback transfer Ephesians Prysock to reach out and shake hands with sixth-year senior safety Kamren Fabiculanan.

Unlike last year, when spring ball opened with players in designated roles and the Huskies experienced few surprises among the assembled manpower, Fisch's coaching staff sent nearly everyone through a scrimmage play or more as if this were a tryout, which it was.

"I think it's super cool we're all doing this together and we're all just trying to get to know one another, and they know that I'm coming in with no preconceived notions," Fisch said. "I didn't live through the last few years where the.y might have felt it was their time. i didn't live through the recruitment process. I know this is a talented group of players."

With just two starters returning, Fisch and his staff had to almost blindly select players to step into the first repetitions and go from there. He and his coaches similarly relied on available game and practice footage to make initial decisions on who goes where in the rotations.

"There are guys who had a lot of tape," the coach said, "whether they played somewhere else or not."

Fisch and his coaches also used the eyeball test to figure things out, such as with sophomore wide receiver Denzel Boston and sixth-year senior Giles Jackson, and understanding their previous circumstances as pass-catchers.

"Denzel and Giles, clearly those are very, very talented receivers," the head coach said. "They happened to be behind three elite receivers that are all NFL players, that are all going to be drafted probably in the first 90 picks, I hope. You look at that, you know that they're good."

A little more complicated is the situation surrounding senior Voi Tunuufi, redshirt freshman Anthony James and Arizona junior transfer Russell Davis II, who each present the following coaching challenges for this staff: Do they use them as edge rushers or down linemen on defense, or both?

Kalen DeBoer's staff tried to shift the 6-foot-1, 260-pound Tunuufi, who has 10 career sacks, to the outside last season, but he was back in an interior stance for Fisch's first practice with the first defensive unit that took the field. Likewise, James and Davis were pulled off to the side for drills together that precluded what the other edge rushers were doing.

Injured players such as sophomore center Landen Hatchett, junior offensive guard Gaard Memmelaar, running backs in senior Cam Davis and junior Sam Adams II, plus redshirt freshman Deven Bryant each took part in a lot of stretching and agility drills off to the side while their healthier teammates moved from station to station. Most of them are dealing with knee injury recoveries, though Bryant wore a protective boot on his foot.

While a good portion of the players at the first practice were fresh faces, one remnant or relic from the recent glorious past showed up to watch practice in former defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele, a starter in the CFP title game who passed up his final year of eligibility.

Tuitele, wearing shorts, a hoodie sweatshirt and a cap, showed no inclination to jump into the drills and resume his career. As UW defensive players spotted him, they came over one by one to embrace him, shake his hand and honor him in an emotional manner.

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