Washington Huskies safeties face higher expectations in fall camp

SEATTLE – Taylor Mays rarely offers compliments to his players without adding some critiques.

Asked about senior safety Alex McLaughlin’s first spring, when the consensus 2025 All-Big Ten honorable mention took only a handful of snaps with the top defense, and Mays explained he was originally unconvinced by the former FCS transfer’s physical stature and ability to cover in space.

When questioned about the origins of sophomore safety Rylon Dillard-Allen’s competitive spirit, Mays stated it likely comes from the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Arizona native being told he’s too small to be a college football player, something Mays reminds Dillard-Allen about every day.

So it doesn’t matter that his safeties came away with two turnovers on Thursday during UW’s first day in full pads. Mays can’t just give them the compliment without holding them to a higher standard.

“Being out here today, we did some things well,” Mays, the Seattle native now in his second season coaching UW’s safeties, said. “But then there’s just so much room for improvement coming off this first practice. But that’s the first practice in full pads, so I expect it to be better going forward.”

Washington completed its first full-contact practice on Thursday beneath a hazy summer sky at Husky Stadium. UW enjoyed its most extensive scrimmaging periods to date, including several full-contact 11-on-11 sessions.

For Mays, whose position group features two returning starters in McLaughlin and Dillard-Allen, fall camp offers more time to focus on fundamentals and familiarity with the playbook. That also means – for the time being – harnessing the aggression Mays likes to stoke in his players with his critiques.

The safeties coach said it can be a small margin between playing with passion and being reckless. It’s a line Mays, a consensus All-American at USC in the late 2000s who built his reputation as a hard-hitting safety at O’Dea High, knows too well.

“It was a little bit of a different style of football,” Mays said. “You might have been able to cross that line a little bit more. But with where we’re at right now, it’s not worth another guy on the team getting hurt and being out for the rest of the season. Those things are just not worth it. So, I can understand where some frustrations come in, but at the end of the day, we have to do what’s best for the team.

“You can still get better as an individual player. As an individual safety. While respecting what’s best for the team.”

Few players toe that line on the Washington roster like Dillard-Allen. The Phoenix native has been a more-than-willing hitter since arriving on Montlake before the 2025 season, and his aggressive approach helped him immediately ascend UW’s safety depth chart during his freshman season. Dillard-Allen made 40 tackles, including two for a loss while playing in all 13 games and making three starts in 2025.

Dillard-Allen departed Thursday’s practice early, but Mays said it was not because of any discipline-related issues. Instead, the safeties coach noted he and defensive coordinator Ryan Walters were focused on continuing to educate Dillard-Allen about how he can improve without putting himself and his teammates at risk. McLaughlin added Dillard-Allen has matured significantly during the offseason.

“The things that make RDA a great player are the same things that can get him in trouble,” Mays said. “You want him to be right at that line, but not cross that line.”

Dillard-Allen’s absence for the second half of UW’s practice offered an opportunity for other members of Mays’ position group to step into a larger role. None took bigger advantage of the increased snaps like freshman safety Gavin Day.

Playing the post-safety role vacated by Dillard-Allen and the box safety role primarily manned by McLaughlin, Day was involved in two turnovers during scrimmage periods. He recovered a fumble by freshman tight end Sam Vyhlidal after freshman cornerback Elijah Durr forced the ball out during an 11-on-11 period, then intercepted a pass by sophomore Treston “Kini” McMillan that was intended for junior wide receiver Justice Williams during a goal-line simulation period.

Mays said Day, a former 247Sports composite four-star prospect from Las Vegas, has taken major strides since arriving before spring practices. The 6-3, 195-pound safety is still learning about consistency at the college level.

Day occasionally oscillates between playing too fast and free like a high school safety and too tentative and slow because he’s thinking too much about the defensive scheme, Mays said. McLaughlin said both Day and fellow freshman safety Ksani Jiles are already showing signs of being comfortable in the defense.

“They’re great guys outside of this,” McLaughlin said. “They ask a ton of questions and they want to get better. So I think that’s the most special thing about them.”

Extra points

• Junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr. threw two touchdowns to fifth-year wideout Christian Moss during scrimmage periods. The first was a 13-yard touchdown with junior cornerback Elias Johnson in coverage. The second was also 13 yards as Moss came down with a jump ball after running a fade route along the left sideline. Moss also hauled in a 20-yard pass from Williams on a corner route during the scrimmage periods.

• Sophomore wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck wasn’t at practice Thursday for personal reasons, per a UW spokesperson. Sophomore wideout Chris Lawson got a heavy dose of snaps in the slot in Roebuck’s absence and enjoyed his best day of the fall. He hauled in a 35-yard pass from Williams on a deep post, rumbled through traffic for a 16-yard gain after a short catch in the left flat and scored from 44 yards after taking a jet sweep up the right seam.

• Sophomore linebacker Donovan Robinson Jr. also had a strong performance Thursday. He put big hits on sophomore running back Julian McMahan along the left sideline and freshman wide receiver Mason James on the right sideline, and caught walk-on running back Ryken Moon in the backfield for a loss. Robinson’s best play of the practice, however, came when he forced junior tight end Decker DeGraaf out of bounds while contesting a jump ball during the 11-on-11 goal line period.

• Freshman edge rusher JD Hill made a nice play to tackle sophomore running back D’Aryhian Clemons for a loss during a scrimmage period.

• Freshman defensive tackle Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais recovered a poor snap by senior center Kolt Dieterich on the goal line. Washington has been giving Dieterich, who exclusively played tackle during his past two seasons at Sam Houston State, a lot of repetitions at center this fall.

• Scouts from the Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars were in attendance at practice on Thursday.