UW fall camp observations: Freshman WR Dezmen Roebuck keeps impressing

SEATTLE – Jimmie Dougherty spent Friday reminding his players about the ground rules.

Even as they ramp up closer to full pads, the UW offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach wanted to make sure they remembered why they were out on the east practice field behind Husky Stadium under the early morning sun.

“First day of pads, so guys are always excited about that,” Dougherty said. “What we told them, though, was just keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t change because you have shoulder pads on.”

The Huskies completed their third day of practice Friday, spending a majority of their time continuing with positional drills and conditioning. They wore helmets and shoulder pads for the first time this fall, and completed their first significant scrimmage sessions.

“Obviously, practice is going to be a little bit more physical,” Dougherty said. “But any time we come out here on the field, we want to play fast. We want to do things right. Execute. Be fundamentally solid. That kind of thing. And today was no different.”

Sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. threw a pair of 4-yard touchdowns during the 7-on-7 period. His first was to senior running back Jonah Coleman after escaping pressure to his right, and his second found true freshman wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck on a slant.

Roebuck, the 2024 Gatorade football player of the year in Arizona after an extremely productive high school career at Marana High, has earned continuous praise through the first three days of fall camp. Coach Jedd Fisch named Roebuck, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound wide receiver, as a notable freshman to watch after Wednesday’s camp-opening practice. Dougherty called Roebuck one of the early standouts of camp Friday.

Williams, who played with and against Roebuck throughout their time in youth football and the 7-on-7 circuit, said he’s not surprised how quickly the receiver has adapted to college football, despite the fact that Roebuck did not enroll early for spring practices.

“I already knew what type of player he was when he came in,” said Williams, who added that he was occasionally mistaken for Roebuck at youth football events because of their similar first names. “He’s already working. He’s doing really good.”

Williams also threw a 20-yard touchdown to sophomore receiver Audric Harris, who beat redshirt freshman nickel Rahshawn Clark during a brief 11-on-11 period early in practice for the first score of camp. Williams added a score on the ground in a late 11-on-11 scrimmage session, too, escaping a collapsing pocket to his right for a 7-yard touchdown run.

He added two more touchdowns during a late red-zone period, too. Williams connected with sophomore tight end Decker DeGraaf for a 6-yard score on a shallow crossing route, then hit sophomore receiver Rashid Williams on a 4-yard slant to end the practice.

But fifth-year quarterback Kai Horton might have had the best throw of the day. The Tulane transfer, firmly established as the team’s second-string quarterback, delicately dropped a pass right into the awaiting arms of senior receiver Omari Evans for a 4-yard touchdown during a late red-zone period after the Penn State transfer beat Clark on a corner route.

Williams and Horton weren’t the only ones finding the end zone. Coleman punctuated a 15-yard run by reaching the end zone after bouncing to the right. He then took a handoff to the end zone from 4 yards out during the red-zone period.

Redshirt freshman running back Jordan Washington also reached the end zone two plays after Coleman, scoring from 12 yards after picking his way through the offensive line up the middle. Dougherty was full of praise for the growth of the offensive line after Friday’s practice.

“We popped some big runs for nice touchdowns there,” he said. “Not a bunch of breakdowns and protections and things like that, so I thought they did a good job.”

Friday’s practice wasn’t all offense. Junior linebacker Xe’ree Alexander grabbed the first interception of the fall, picking off freshman quarterback Dash Beierly during a 7-on-7 period. Sophomore safety Vincent Holmes also got into the backfield during the red-zone period and earned a tackle for a loss when Williams slipped as Holmes arrived on the scene.