SEATTLE – Friday was the latest opportunity for any one of the five UW quarterbacks to make an impression on the coaching staff.
After the Huskies sixth spring practice head coach Chris Petersen reiterated that the competition under center will continue into at least the early portion of fall camp. Whether it’s a three-man, or five-man battle to replace four-year starter Jake Browning in 2019, the emphasis for Petersen is consistency over a prolonged period of time.
“It doesn’t matter if you have three guys. This is one of the principles of playing quarterback,” Petersen said speaking with the media after practice.
“And so, certainly when you’re trying to get a handful of guys’ reps, I mean you have to get every rep mentally if you don’t get it physically. That’s part of our coaching style for every position. So you can build skill mentally, for sure. All this tape, every rep out there when you get it you have to capitalize on your chance.”
Jacob Eason, the only true junior in the QB room, completed his first three attempts leading the first-team offense against the Huskies second-team defense during the first 11-on-11 period. He completed 7 of 10 throws Friday spread out over three different scrimmage sessions.
Redshirt sophomore Jake Haener, who split second-team reps with both redshirt freshmen QB’s, Colson Yankoff and Jacob Sirmon, finished the morning completing 14 of 15 pass attempts.
Between the five quarterbacks, at least a dozen different receivers caught at least one reception with redshirt freshman Trey Lowe unofficially recording the most with five catches. Another second-year WR that Petersen said Friday has progressed this spring is Austin Osborne.
Osborne, a former four-star recruit from Mission Viejo, California, was one of three receivers UW signed as part of its 2018 recruiting class. Along with Lowe and fellow four-star Marquis Spiker, the trio of redshirt freshmen have gotten increased reps this spring as a result of the limited depth due to injuries.
“I think he’s progressing. I think Austin is really progressing,” Petersen said. “I know Austin is going to be a good player for us. He’s smart. He did some really good things in high school and played at a high level. He’s one of the guys I really want to see take the next step where everybody starts noticing.”
Osborne recorded three catches during the scrimmage portions of Friday’s practice, including an acrobatic sideline pass from Haener with redshirt freshman cornerback Kyler Gordon in tight coverage.
On the other side of the ball UW defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake is tasked with replacing 10 starters this fall. As a result, several younger players have seen an increased role, including two true freshmen Cameron Williams and Josh Calvert.
Williams, one of four defensive backs the Huskies signed this past February, is the only early enrollee and he’s taken full advantage of the opportunity. Working mainly as a safety, Williams has gotten reps with the second and third-team defense this spring.
His head coach has taken notice.
“There’s been nobody that I’ve been more impressed with than Cam Williams. I mean he shows up every day,” Petersen said. “You go back and put the tape on. Even if it’s wrong, he does it full speed and it’s the right technique. It might be the wrong assignment, but there’s not a lot of that. So he’s done a really nice job of practicing with a purpose every day.”
