Paus leads in Husky QB derby
The three-way quarterback competition at the University of Washington appears to be all but over if Wednesday’s practice session is any indication.
Junior Casey Paus spent the vast majority of his time with the first-team offense, making it appear that he has earned the start against Fresno State on Sept. 5.
Washington will have a final, locked-down scrimmage Saturday, but coaches are close to awarding the job to Paus.
“We’re kind of at the point where we’re moving on a little bit, giving Casey more reps and letting the other two battle,” offensive coordinator John Pettas said. “We’re still going to use the other guys.”
Pettas said Paus will get “40-50” percent of the practice repetitions, with sophomore Isaiah Stanback and redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell splitting the remainder.
Coach Keith Gilbertson wasn’t ready to make an announcement. And he indicated that he might choose not to. He was vague when asked about Paus’ apparent ascendancy.
“Yea, you know, maybe – I’m not prepared to say it’s for sure,” Gilbertson said. “We’re getting to the place where it’s probably best to say, ‘You’re going down the tunnel first, and you’re next, and you’re next.’”
Paus, who came off the bench and guided the Huskies to a win over Oregon last year, made a decisive move during a lengthy scrimmage last Sunday, leading the offense on a 99-yard touchdown drive on his initial possession.
While he lacks Stanback’s speed, and Bonnell’s versatility and upside, Paus knows the offense best and makes the fewest mistakes.
Pettas said he had informed the troika this week that he’d established a pecking order. They split action with the first-team evenly over the previous two weeks.
“Right now Casey appears to be winning it with his consistency,” Pettas said. “We’re not ready to completely say, yea, but at this point that’s what we told the guys a little bit.”
Position change
Jordan Reffett, a 6 foot 6, 290-pound redshirt freshman from Moses Lake, has moved from defensive tackle to offensive guard.
“I think that’s his natural spot,” Gilbertson said.
The move appears to indicate that true freshman Jordan White-Frisbee is the fifth defensive tackle and could play. Donny Mateaki, if healthy, and Manase Hopoi, are the starters, with Dan Milsten and Wilson Afoa backing them up.
Injury update
The tight end position has been hit hard by injuries. Starter Joe Toledo has been nursing his bad back; Ben Bandel has seen almost no action due to a chronic knee problem; Jon Lyon is still struggling with a bruised thigh; and Dash Crutchley sat out with a hamstring.