The 2021 Washington football season felt like a slog at times. Losses piled up and the Dawgs had the same problems week after week. It was clear to any observer that the program needed to make changes after the season. About six weeks after the Huskies announced Kalen DeBoer, the number of changes has been head-spinning. Even the most dedicated UW fans would have a tough time listing all the recruits who have committed or decommitted, transfers who have arrived or left, and coaches who have stayed, moved on, or come aboard. Today, I want to try to make sense of these moves as they stand today to get a better sense of what Coach DeBoer has accomplished in his first stretch in charge at Montlake.
Coaching Staff
Save for Scott Huff on the offensive line, the entire staff has turned over under DeBoer. Given the level of performance in 2021, it’s hard to argue that many of the prior coaches earned additional time. The two position coaches who caused the most heartache for their departures were probably Ikaika Malloe and Junior Adams. Fortunately, both spots look on track to be filled by new coaches who are arguably upgrades from their predecessors. Inoke Breckterfield will coach the DL (a slight change from Malloe’s OLB designation) after great success at Pitt, Wisconsin, and Vanderbilt. He has an impressive resume as a recruiter and developer. With the untapped potential along the DL, it will be fun to see what he can accomplish in the immediate future. Adams only committed the mortal sin of leaving for Oregon very recently. Yesterday, we learned that the Dawgs are set to hire Purdue’s JaMarcus Shepherd. The passing game has lifted the Purdue team during Shepherd’s tenure and he could also build on a talented group that Adams assembled.
The coordinators also look promising. Ryan Grubb will be the OC and he has long-term experience running DeBoer’s offense. Simply put, DeBoer’s offense has worked everywhere he has gone. Yes, UW is the biggest program where he’ll implement it, but he has been successful in the Big 10. As long as he doesn’t put himself at a huge talent deficit, the offense should work, so having an OC in lockstep with the philosophy and tactics is a bonus.
After close to a decade with a great deal of defensive continuity, it will be refreshing to get some new ideas in the office. William Inge was the DC at Fresno and will share that job with Chuck Morrell. The Fresno defense was …….
