The 2023 Washington Football Spring Preview provided the Huskies’ offensive and defensive squads an opportunity to give fans an official look at the progress they’ve made over the past month and a half of training.

While both groups took the field and cranked out some great plays, it’s worth noting that the defense came out firing from the get-go, preventing any scoring from taking place until at least halfway into the scrimmage. This strong defensive showing is a great sign, and may ease some doubts that had abounded due to last year’s young (and often injured) crew. We already know that UW’s offense is among the top-ranked in the country, so the fact that the defense held its own is very reassuring.

The offense donned purple uniforms, while the defense came out in white. Read on for some of the day’s key plays:

Junior edge Bralen Trice laid some good pressure right off the bat on quarterback Michael Penix Jr., forcing the fourth down at the 7-yard line and the subsequent punt.

Not too much later, quarterback Dylan Morris threw an interception to sophomore cornerback Jaivion Green, who carried the ball into the end zone to put the defense up, 9-0, using a modified scoring system.

The offense soon managed a 14-yard-pickup thanks to Rome Odunze. Penix then overthrew the ball to Jalen McMillan at the 27, and then overthrew again to senior wide receiver Giles Jackson.

A second interception at the hands of sophomore corner Elijah Jackson provided the defense seven more points; pretty soon, it was 16-0 in the defense’s favor.

Morris soon surrendered a third interception – the third of the day for the quarterbacks. That, in addition to another fourth down stop with sophomore edge Zach Durfee sacking Morris, put the defense up, 25-0.

During the next run with Penix at the helm and junior back Cam Davis in the backfield, the former picked up some crucial yardage. On third down with to five yards to go, Giles Jackson picked up four yards. On 4th and 1, Davis got the first down and broke into the 30-yard line.

Davis got down to the 20-yard line with the next handoff. However, Penix was picked off in the end zone by junior cornerback Thaddeus Dixon (although Penix was likely throwing the ball up for grabs on a free play as the defense jumped before the snap).

The first score of the day resulted from Davis squeaking the ball in from the 1-yard line, adding seven points to the board for the offense.

On a later play, redshirt freshman wideout Denzel Boston broke free on a seemingly promising play, but was tripped up by the defense.

Penix found Giles Jackson for a gain of around 25 yards. Jackson was eventually able to get down to the 22-yard line. Later on, he was able to find Ja’Lynn Polk, but the play did not make the cut. The defense remained in front, 31-7.

Sophomore wideout Germie Bernard was able to get the ball down inside of the red zone, setting Boston up to score on a six-yard jet sweep, providing the offense with seven more points for a total of 14.

Final stretch of play:

Penix threw to Odunze for a gain of 34 yards, and soon after sophomore tight end Josh Cuevas nearly punched the ball into the end zone, but fell just short. Davis pulled through once again and provided the final push for the offense’s third touchdown. At this point, the score was 33-21, with the defense still in front.

Boston cemented the offense’s fourth score of the afternoon, finding a breach and scoring a 37-yard touchdown down the field.

Transfer junior quarterback Alex Johnson completed a pass to sophomore receiver Owen Coutts for the sixth and game-winning touchdown, solidifying the score at 34-33 offense.

The defense finished the afternoon with seven total takeaways, three 3-and-outs and two stops.