UW football notebook: Scrimmage standouts, Prentice’s departure and Marcus Peters’ return
April football isn’t everything.
But it’s better than nothing.
The Huskies’ eighth spring practice Friday doubled as a scheduled scrimmage, in which Washington ran through roughly 85 plays inside the Dempsey Indoor Center. They did so in front of 30 recruits, including four-star quarterback signee Austin Mack and four-star 2024 O’Dea running back Jason Brown.
And while media was not permitted to watch the scrimmage session, coach Kalen DeBoer was pleased with the proceedings.
“From my perspective as the head coach, you want give and take. I thought we got that,” DeBoer said of the scrimmage, which the offense reportedly won on the final play. “The defense started out well, and then the offense got in their groove a little bit. It was good both ways. I’m really, really happy.”
UW’s Spring Preview on April 22 will follow a similar structure, in which Washington will scrimmage with a specialized point system … rather than drafting teams and hosting a traditional game.
“To me, we have to have the offensive line with the ones playing together and utilize that opportunity to continue to get better [rather than drafting and splitting up those units],” he said. “We honestly probably would have enough depth on our team this year to go with a draft style and have a purple-gold [game].
“I know that’s not the fan favorite piece [to do a practice scrimmage instead of a normal game], but I just feel it’s such a huge step in our development and evaluation. Schematically, individually, we want the ones playing with the ones, the twos playing with the twos and mix some guys strategically. That’s what the Spring Preview will be again this year.”
Prentice leaves the game
DeBoer commented on the departure of offensive lineman and former four-star 2021 O’Dea signee Owen Prentice, who left the team this week.
“Owen’s decided not to play football anymore,” DeBoer said. “He’s a phenomenal young person, leaving the game on great terms. This was not an easy decision for him. It was a process he went through. He was a great football player obviously coming out of high school. He was doing some good things here. But you look at the line and what your future is and what’s important to you. He does great in school and all that kind of stuff, and it was a change of heart and what he wants his future to be.
“So I’m supportive of him. I love who he is as a person and he’s leaving on great terms with us, for sure.”
Even with Prentice’s departure — plus the offseason exits of starting guards Jaxson Kirkland and Henry Bainivalu — DeBoer is encouraged by the depth on UW’s offensive line. Alongside returning starters at left tackle (Troy Fautanu) and right tackle (Roger Rosengarten), sixth-year center Matteo Mele seems to have secured the center spot. Junior Nate Kalepo is also an expected starter, whether at right guard (where he has lined up this spring) or left guard (where he primarily played last fall).
Fellow junior Julius Buelow has been the consistent starter at left guard in UW’s eight spring practices, though Geirean Hatchett could also conceivably compete for the role. And DeBoer is pleased with UW’s developing depth at center.
“[Redshirt freshman second-stringer] Parker Brailsford’s doing a really good job. Not the biggest guy, but does a good job,” he said.
“It’s been fun seeing [early enrollee freshman] Landen Hatchett come in. He does a good job for being a guy who just stepped on the field a little over a week ago. We knew he’s a great football player, but he’s in it. He loves the physicality part. It’s impressive seeing how far along he is at such a young age.”
Peters returns to UW
Marcus Peters — a free-agent cornerback who has played eight NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2015-17), Rams (2018-19) and Ravens (2019-22) — attended a UW practice for the first time Friday since being dismissed by the program in November 2014. The Oakland native — who recorded 129 tackles, 11 interceptions, 9.5 tackles for loss and two touchdowns in 34 career games — was later selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft.
“I bet y’all would have never guessed I would have showed up at [UW], but we back,” Peters said in a Twitter video. “Shout out to coach DeBoer, man, for having your boy slide. It feels good to have your boy back at the house, the dawg pound baby.”
Added DeBoer on Twitter: “Always great to have our former Dawgs come back to campus! Thank you @marcuspeters for joining us today and appreciate you bringing your wonderful family as well!”
Can Cuevas crack the lineup?
Though sixth-year senior tight ends and pseudo-starters Devin Culp and Jack Westover both return, Cal Poly transfer Josh Cuevas might also force his way onto the field this fall.
With a pleasantly surprising skill set.
“Cuevas had some hits in Wednesday’s little mini scrimmage on swipe blocks that, I’ll be honest, I probably didn’t see coming — knocking guys off their feet twice in one drive,” DeBoer said of the 6-foot-3, 236-pound sophomore, who recorded 57 catches for 622 yards and six touchdowns in 2022. “I saw him as this guy who was a receiver and really smooth that way, but there’s a physical piece to him that kind of lights up that whole room right now. He’s setting the tone for what we’re looking for when it comes to being physical.”
Added UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb on Wednesday: “He had two crushing blocks today, absolutely smashed two d-ends in a row on back-to-back plays. So he’s showing he’s not just a pass catcher, which is something we’re really excited about. Because I think he’s super athletic. He can do a lot of things in the pass game. But we wanted to see what he could do in the run fits, and today was a great intro to that.”
Still, considering the limited opportunities at tight end — where two to three players will likely rotate — Cuevas will have to compete with junior Quentin Moore for consistent reps.
“Compared to the running back room a year ago, it’s hard to have three guys in a rotation all the time,” DeBoer said. “You settle in on two to three. The third guy maybe doesn’t get quite as many reps. But those guys are all competing.
“There’s opportunities and times when you need them all on the field at the same time, goal line and short yardage. And that’s an area where we can get better, especially early in the season last year. So they’re all making each other better.”