Washington Huskies Football Offseason Preview

The Washington Huskies are a mess. They hired Jimmy Lake as head coach after the end of the 2019 season when Chris Petersen abruptly retired. Lake was promoted from defensive coordinator, and many people felt he had earned the promotion. However, when he took the job, he made a terrible hire as his offensive coordinator. John Donovan was not being sought as an offensive coordinator by other major college football programs. There was no market for him, but Lake made a big investment by choosing him to be his offensive coordinator. Lake is a defensive expert, so he needed a great offensive mind to take care of that side of the ball and provide stability to the program. Donovan turned out to be a complete bust, as most people expected, and that’s a big reason why the 2021 Huskies were so bad. Washington failed to make a bowl game, the offense regularly sputtering throughout the season and failing to offer much of any help to the defense. Washington was losing a lot of games, but it seemed that Lake was going to get another season on the job in 2022. That changed when he shoved one of his own players during a scuffle after a loss to Oregon. The optics of the situation were bad. The public relations fallout from the incident was considerable. Lake got pushed out.

Washington is starting over under new coach Kalen DeBoer, who did a superb job as Indiana’s offensive coordinator and then did well as Fresno State’s head coach. DeBoer has a lot of problems to fix, but many people think he will be up to the task in Seattle.

Key Personnel Lost

Cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon, tight end Cade Otton, and offensive lineman Luke Wattenberg were all taken in the NFL draft. Those losses are notable. Moreover, receiver Terrell Bynum and defensive back Jacobe Covington transferred out of the program and joined Pac-12 competitor USC. There were a lot of key player losses in the offseason, setting the stage for a 2022 season in which the Washington roster is going to look very different from what it was at the end of November last year.

Important Incoming Freshmen

Guard Parker Brailsford, receiver Denzel Boston, defensive end Lance Holtzclaw, cornerback Jaivion Green, and defensive tackle Jayvon Parker are the highly-rated recruits in this 2022 class who will try to make a mark on this season. Realistically, their time to shine will be in 2023, but the Huskies do need to find added value at various positions and will need some unexpected stars to emerge if they are going to perform above expectations in 2022.

Key Position Battles

Quarterback is not a concern since Michael Penix, whom DeBoer worked with at Indiana, has transferred from the Hoosiers to the Huskies. The offense was a mess last year, however, and Washington lacked the strength on the offensive line which the Huskies had depended on in previous years under Chris Petersen. Getting that offensive line straightened out is a major offseason priority.

Biggest Offseason Goal(s)

The Washington offense was so bad last season that any attempts to improve the team in 2022 must begin on that side of the ball. The defense wasn’t flawless, but the offense was a disaster. Building back a credible offense is the main goal for DeBoer in Year 1 on the job on Montlake.