Washington's Woes: Defensive Backs

The defensive backfield has been an Achilles heel for the Washington Huskies ever since the Holiday Bowl bombardment by Texas during the Neuheisel era.

Who will ever forget Chris Massey getting burned all night by the Longhorns? Who thought it would continue for the rest of the decade? Hard to believe, but things have continued to get worse since that fateful day.

The main problem has been recruiting, retention, and development. UW has not recruited enough players at the position, and is only now getting back to the point where they have enough athletes to even practice with.

Willingham, upon his arrival, tried to address the problems by bringing in junior-college transfers, but that backfired on him when only a few of those guys were able to get into the school.

Washington's biggest problem has been simply running out of guys to put in the backfield. Without much of a rotation, guys get tired, and tired guys get burned. Most of the guys they have had have not improved, either, which points a finger at coaching, development, and talent.

The last two recruiting classes, however, have fully addressed the need for numbers and talent. Development and experience need to start taking over for the Huskies to take it to the next level.  

Cornerback 

Washington went young this spring. Redshirt Quinton Richardson, who came in faster than most thought, has been moved from safety to corner, and is slotted to start opposite senior Mesphin Forrester, who also moved over from safety.

Senior Byron Davenport will challenge Forrester for a starting spot if he can stay healthy. The transfer from UCLA played well last year when healthy, but he suffered from nagging injuries most of the year.

Behind those three you have sophomore Matt Mosley and sophomore Vonzell McDowell, who both started a few games last year in their first year of action. Redshirt Marquise Persley also looks like a potential stud to build with in the future.

True frosh Justin Glenn, Anthony Gobern, and Adam Long arrive this summer, and all will get a shot at getting into the rotation if they are ready. Long is a guy the coaches will take a particularly long look at, no pun intended, because he may just be the fastest kid on the team when he gets here.

CB Forrester, Sr 

CB Richardson, RS 

CB Davenport, Sr 

CB McDowell, So 

CB Mosley, So 

CB Persely, RS 

CB Long, Fr 

CB Gobern, Fr 

CB Glenn, Fr  

Safety

While we have lots of questions at cornerback, the safety position looks pretty good going into summer. Senior Jason Wells returns after suffering an ACL injury early last year. The kid is a player and a leader, and when he would go out, the level of the defense fell a couple of notches.

Sophomore Nate Williams and sophomore Victor Aiyewa were the starters this past spring, and both reminded me of the Husky safeties of old, like Tim Peoples, Lawyer Milloy, etc. Both of these kids can run and lay some lumber.

Senior Darin Harris returns for his final campaign. He has played a lot of his career both as a starter and as a backup. He may not be the most talented safety we have ever had, but the kid gives a solid effort every time he hits the field.

On the depth chart, you have junior Tripper Johnson, who walked on after ending his baseball career. Tripper had a good spring and rose to second string on the depth chart.

The Huskies also potentially bring in three new, true, frosh safeties in Johri Fogerson, Greg Walker, and Vince Taylor. All three are very good athletes, and Fogerson will most likely get a good look at running back before moving over to defensive back.

Walker was a linebacker in high school, and Taylor could play wide receiver or defensive back. Vince has the potential to develop into a specimen.

S Wells, Sr 

S Williams, So 

S Aieywa, So 

S Johnson, Jr 

S Harris, Sr 

S Fogerson, Fr 

S Taylor, Fr 

S Walker, Fr  

Consensus 

Ed Donatell's background is as a defensive-backs coach, and he will change the look of this unit this season with the help of Coach Williams. As a group, I think play will improve dramatically, due to better teaching, schemes, and play calling.

Coach Baer looked brain dead most of the time; so don't expect the same performance from Donatell, who is an excellent coach. Enjoy Ed the one year he is at the University of Washington. Chances are he will rejoin Jim Mora when he takes over as coach of the Seahawks next season.

Overall, I love our potential at safety, but our cornerbacks frighten me. Our two top-corners are converted safeties, which means we should be able to attack the run better, but will these kids be able to provide adequate pass coverage in a passing league like the Pac-10?

I thought they played well this spring, but that was against our young and inexperienced wide-receiver corps. The Oregon game will test this group right out of the gate. We will know what we have by halftime.

The Future  The future looks pretty good, since UW now sports a young and talented group with lots of depth. Look for the next recruiting class to include three or four more defensive backs to keep building depth. Experience is what will make this young group better, and they are going to get a lot of it this season while playing the nation's toughest schedule.