On Saturday, Washington will take the field inside Husky Stadium for its first scrimmage of the Spring practice season. This meant Thursday’s practice was not a full-contact session. Rather, the team took the field in shells, worked on install, and moved things along efficiently. Even so, the defense made a handful of quality plays. With different looks up front, the front seven created several pressures and forced tough throws into the deep portions of the field, where the secondary could make plays.
Day Eight UW Practice Notes
Defense
Washington’s defense forced two fumbles almost consecutively during an 11-on-11 portion of practice. After Dezmen Roebuck hauled in a deep pass over the middle, he took off running towards the far sideline. But Alex McLaughlin chased him down and punched the football out as Roebuck turned upfield along the sideline. The defense jumped on it, and Roebuck took a lap around the field for his mistake.
A few plays later, the defensive line swarmed freshman running back Ansu Sanoe as he took a handoff for no gain at the point of attack. Fellow true freshman TI Umu-Cais knocked the football loose this time, and Xe’ree Alexander picked it up to take it to the end zone, surrounded by the entirety of the defensive players. This time, Jedd Fisch directed every offensive player to take a lap around Husky Stadium for the back-to-back fumbles. Those in purple jerseys began their jog as their defensive counterparts celebrated. The players in white jerseys were sure to let the offense know of its mistakes, yelling at them as they jogged past the defensive sideline.
Other Defensive Plays
Overall, the defense had a quality day of practice. Though the team was not in full pads, the front seven created numerous pressures, forcing the quarterback to hold the football longer than intended. Unofficially, the Washington defense notched six quarterback hurries and three no-contact sacks on day eight of Spring practice. Among the standouts, redshirt sophomore Kayden Greene had a would-be sack on a cornerback blitz during a team period of practice. He also notched an interception and a pass breakup during one-on-ones against the wide receivers in a goal-line set.
Along the defensive front, Omar Khan made a couple of early plays during practice. He registered a stop, hitting a running back right at the line of scrimmage. The contact generated a loud “pop” even though the players weren’t in pads. Shortly after that play, Khan got into the backfield for a quarterback hurry.
Linebacker Jacob Manu registered a no-contact sack early in practice and then broke up a pass on one of the final plays of the evening. The former first-team All-Pac-12 defender has remained a vocal leader on this defense. He, alongside Alexander and Elinneus Davis, can be heard from the sidelines on nearly every play. Whether it be calling out plays, hyping up their teammates, or trash-talking the offense, those three have been tone-setters among the Husky front seven this Spring.
Main Photo: Nick Lemkau, Last Word On College Football
