As Spring practice came to a close, Washington added two transfer safeties in Justin Harrington and Cameron Broussard. We’ve now seen them suit up in the purple and gold practice gear as the team is about one full week into Fall camp. These two safeties are both listed at 6’-3”. The two continue that trend of length in the back end that we’ve seen Washington target, especially at safety. Washington does not have a safety listed under 6’-0”, and has four defensive backs listed at 6’-3” or greater. This size is no mistake, as we’ve heard this staff discuss their usage of height in the defensive backfield. After practice, we heard defensive coordinator Steve Belichick talk about this as well. The pieces Washington has in the secondary are shaping up to make it a versatile unit in the Big Ten.
New Guys at Safety
The first thing you see with Harrington at safety is that the Oklahoma transfer is every bit of his 6’-3” and 209-pound listing. He has a solid build with quick twitch ability for his size. Harrington worked on backpedal drills in front of us at practice, and he shows explosiveness in changing directions that will be impactful in the secondary. Last season in Norman, Harrington started two games before an injury sidelined him for the season. He played the “cheetah” position on the Sooners’ defense, which is a flex position between strong-side linebacker and nickelback. The new Husky recorded six tackles and a pick in two starts last year. He has the experience to become a starter on this Husky defense and has taken reps with projected first-team players.
Harrington has played a lot of college football, beginning his career at the JUCO level. At Bakersfield College, Harrington registered seven interceptions and 97 tackles over two seasons. He enrolled at Oklahoma in 2020. His first full season of action came in 2022 where he played in all 13 of the Sooners’ contests.
Broussard transferred to Washington from the FCS level from Sacramento State. The new Husky is a sure-tackling safety. He rated sixth-best in the Championship Subdivision last season with a 91.3 tackling rating according to Pro Football Focus. Broussard moves fluidly during drills and has also been taking reps with players we anticipate to be starters on the defense. There is no depth chart at this time, but Broussard and Harrington are already working their way towards competing for everyday roles.
Thoughts from Belichick
We asked Belichick about these two new players in the secondary. “Those guys are fitting in well with the veteran group,” Belichick said. At practice, we’ve made note of Broussard and Harrington getting practice reps with the presumed starting group. In a short time with the team, they’ve been able to handle the installation of the defense at a rapid pace.
“They’ve been really good, it’s good to have them out here. They bring more depth and more versatility to the defense.” That versatility is key within the secondary at Washington, especially at the nickelback position they call “STAR”. The STAR position is a hybrid nickelback/linebacker position that gets involved in several ways. That position lines up closer to the formation, gets involved in the run game, and has to cover space to match up with the slot receiver. Belichick described the position as one that requires, “Toughness, good tacklers, and the ability to cover.”
It’s still early in the Fall, and Belichick has been rotating several players in and out of that STAR position. Harrington is a player that has been competing for that role at STAR. Other guys including Jordan Shaw and Dyson McCutcheon rotate there as well, but no one has been limited to that one spot. Broussard is a true safety for Washington. He’s been playing the free safety spot, rotating with Kamren Fabiculanan thus far in the Fall.
Length Brings Versatility to Secondary
Belichick described size and length in the secondary as “A great bonus to have.” Harrington and Broussard have it, as do Ephesians Prysock, Fabiculanan, and several others in the Husky back-end. We asked Prysock about what a size advantage brings to the secondary.
“I feel like it brings a lot of versatility,” Prysock said. “We got some shorter, twitchy guys as well, and it brings a lot of different looks.” Along the same lines as Belichick, the aspect of versatility in this defense is what will make it stand out in the new conference. Washington has guys like Shaw, listed at 6’-1”, who possess explosiveness and quick instinct on the back end. Elijah Jackson at cornerback is also 6’-1” and can jump out of the stadium, making him a difficult player to throw against. Prysock at cornerback is 6’-4” and takes away a high-point advantage from receivers. When you add in the 6’-3” transfers Harrington and Broussard to that secondary, its range grows, and with it, the field shrinks for the opposition.
Photo from Nick Lemkau
