UW dismisses one lineman, adds another

SEATTLE – Coach Chris Petersen announced at his pre-camp press conference on Sunday that sophomore Marcus Farria, who totaled 2.5 sacks in six games as a freshman in 2013, has been dismissed from the UW program for a “violation of team standards.”

Washington begins fall camp this morning.

The Huskies also added defensive lineman Vita Vea, a 6-foot-5, 330-pound freshman from Milpitas, California, who was highly recruited in the 2013 class but didn’t end up signing anywhere due to reported eligibility issues.

“We’ve been recruiting him the last year,” Petersen said, “and we were finally able to get him in here.”

Farria is the third defensive lineman to leave the program since spring practices ended. Josh Shirley, a fifth-year senior, chose to transfer, and Jaimie Bryant, a freshman from Tumwater, was forced to retire from football after doctors discovered a serious back injury shortly after the conclusion of spring practices.

Of Farria, a speedy pass-rusher who likely could have helped the Huskies this season, senior defensive tackle Danny Shelton said: “We’re going to have those guys who don’t want to buy in, that are going to be stubborn, and it’s going to take them a while to buy in.”

Petersen said he’s mostly been impressed with the buy-in component.

“I think they’ve taken a good step in terms of buying in to some of the things we believe in,” he said. “They’ve turned up the dial in terms of their work ethic and those types of things from what we saw early when we got here.”

Shaq attack?

Much anticipation exists regarding the potential use of junior linebacker Shaq Thompson as a running back. He took practice reps at the position during spring, and Petersen continues to suggest that Thompson will factor into UW’s offensive gameplan in some way.

Thompson doesn’t seem to care all that much one way or the other.

“I’m not really too picky on it right now,” said Thompson, a standout running back at Grant High School in Sacramento. “If Coach Petersen calls my name, then I’ll come. Other than that, defense first.”

Notes

Petersen said the Huskies are in relatively good health for the start of camp, meaning players such as WR Kasen Williams (leg) and OL Micah Hatchie (shoulder) and Dexter Charles (shoulder) should be ready to go. “We’re also going to be smart with it,” Petersen said. “If (Williams’) ankle gets sore, we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do.” … Junior WR Jaydon Mickens said it’s possible he could take a few practice reps as a defensive back, as mentioned to him by DBs coach Jimmy Lake.