Kalen DeBoer came in and immediately made an impact to the Huskies on both sides of the ball. It took some time for them to find their footing, moreso on the defensive side than the offensive, but by the end of the season, this was a team that was playing at a Top 15 level in the country. They ended up going 10-2, certainly a success in Year 1 for DeBoer, and they let some close ones get away. The loss to Arizona State is inexcusable in a game they completely no-showed. But the win on the road against Oregon to kill their playoff hopes for good was a high point. And of course, a big apple cup win. The defense still had issues, but the offense was one of the best in the country.
The offense moved the ball really well, and a majority of the success fell on Michael Penix’s arm. He was able to redeem himself from the Indiana days and lead a Top 15 defense (12th by my numbers) in the country. It was a pass to open up the run game for this offense, as you can see how low they rated in standard down rush percentage. It worked out fine, but the run game certainly was put into good positions because of the offenses ability to move the ball through the air. And of course, the offensive line was stellar last season. They ranked 9th in my overall rankings, being really good at almost everything. A homerun running back would have been a huge help for this Washington offense.
The Washington defense was what ultimately held this team back from a dream season. They fell short against Arizona State, allowing 45 and UCLA, allowing 40. That doesn’t mean they played great against others either. They underperformed expected success rates against UCLA, ASU, Arizona, Oregon State and Oregon. They were okay against the run, able to limit teams from hitting home runs against them, but the secondary was really poor. They couldn’t slow down teams when they really needed too, but they relied on their offense outscoring others.
Offense
It’s good news when your quarterback was a sleeper pick for some Heisman ballots and he returns, as does 95% of your receiving production. That’s what we have here with Washington. Michael Penix is back and was graded as the 2nd best quarterback in the conference behind actual Heisman winner Caleb Williams. He came in with a 74.1% adjusted completion percentage and a ADOt of 10.1%. The biggest difference was Caleb’s ability on the ground, but Penix was just fine.
He also had and will have the benefit of throwing the ball to some of the best receivers in not only the conference but the country. Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan each had 110 targets and caught 144 combined balls for 2200 yards and 16 touchdowns. It was a master class of performance with McMillan being the slot threat and Odunze pestering teams deep. Odunze ranked 4th in the conference in yards per route ran and he ran a ton of routes. Failing to mention Ja’Lynn Polk until now would be selling him short as well. He caught 41 passes for 6 touchdowns and it’s a really nice trio. All the WRs are 6’1 or bigger and when paired with TE Devin Culp, there is mismatches all over the field for opposing defenses to get burned. There isn’t tons of experienced depth, so injuries will be a concern for this group as each of these guys is far too good to lose.
The running back room loses Wayne Taulapapa who was a really nice transfer for the staff to land coming into 2022 and he led the team by a longshot with 6.34 yards per rush. Sophomore running back Ccameron Davis stepped up quite a bit though, rushing for 522 yards and 13 touchdowns and will look to be the starter heading into the season. Richard Newton has been in the program for awhile and is an able contributor but look for Daniyel Ngatta and Dillon Johnson to be the first to give Davis a breather. Both are transfers with Johnson coming from Mississippi State and Ngata from Arizona State where he was a former star recruit. It’s a nice running back room for the Huskies.
If there is concern, it’s at the offensive line position. They have the left tackle spot locked down, arguably the most important, with all conference Troy Fautanu. But after that, there is quite a bit of inexperience. Julius Buelow, Matteo Mele and Nate Kalepo are all slated to start for the first time for a full season. The glass half full is these guys are all seniors and have been in the program for 4 or 5 years, but they didn’t start until now for a reason. There is some talent down the roster but they lack experience, so this group needs to stay healthy.
Defense
The defense was the big concern in year 1, but they maybe had a decent excuse. Only 2 starters returned in 2022, which created youth and inexperience. That youth and inexperience is now depth and experience for the 2023 unit. There are 8 starters that are back which makes it one of the most experienced returning defenses in the country, and they replace one of the starter voids with at ransfer that has a full season of starts under his belt.
Up front, they have back all conference edge Bralen Trice. He led the team with 13 tackles for loss and 10 sacks and will look to have an even more impactful season. Tuli Letuligasenoa and Faatui Tuitele (say that 5 times fast) are both returning on the interior and combine for 42 starts between them. They need to step up and improve. Tuli was the only one of the two that graded out as passable last season. If Faatui can’t hack it, Ulumoo Ale has tons of experience and Jacob Bandes is an able body and former 5 star recruit as well. Look for Zio Tupuola-Fetui to lock down the last edge starting spot, and while he is a new starter, he did play 384 snaps last year so he is certainly in the rotation.
At linebacker, Tuputala returns but they do lose Cam Bright who was 3rd on the team in tackles last season. Carson Bruener may be a name to keep an eye on. He was the 2nd highest graded LB per PFF last year, though he only played 202 total snaps. He was a sure tackler and that’s something that Washington could use. Edefuan Ulofoshio has a great story. Previously a walk-on from Alaska, he has tons of experience as a 6th year senior. He’s coming off a knee injury and a arm injury the past two years, he earned All-American honors in 2020. Keep an eye on him.
And if the front 7 does their job, the back almost has to improve. 4 starters are back and they replace one of the departing cornerbacks with Jabbar Muhammad, a corner out of Oklahoma State. This unit as a whole struggled mightily in 2022 but there is tons of experience here. The combined 5 starters have played in 147 games in their careers so you’d expect that they will play better as a unit given their continuity. After those guys, the starting experience is bare, so they need to stay healthy and it would be good if some young guys made it a rotating 2 deep, because the depth is concerning.
Summary
The offense should be as good as it was in 2022 as long as the offensive line can be average. They may fall off a tiny bit. Defensively, with 8 starters back, there is very likely going to be improvement in all levels.
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