The Washington Huskies defense was thrown to the fire at times during the 2022 season. Injuries to major contributors especially in the secondary. This led to some players getting major reps very early in their time on campus and some players playing out of position.
The positive side was the front seven is mostly unchanged from the previous season where the pass rush was a bright spot throughout the season.
The defense had one main task on Saturday against Boise State and that was to stop the running game. Both running backs, George Haloni and Ashton Jeanty, came in as major contributors from the previous season. Under center was a legitimate dual threat quarterback, Taylen Green. The goal going into the game was to try to limit the running game and make Green try to beat Washington with his arm.
The Washington defense held Boise State to just 19 points.
Defensive Line: The defensive line played a very good game on Saturday. The pocket was collapsing on most plays where Green dropped back to pass. All four rotational linemen made life tough on the quarterback. Jacob Bandes led the unit with two tackles on the day and had his best game as a Husky, he consistently pushed his man back into the pocket.
Grade: B+
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Edge: The most impressive play on the highlight reels was by an edge rusher on special teams. Maurice Heims nearly knocked the kick returner out of the game with a vicious shoulder along the sideline. While on defense the edge rushers failed to record a sack, they made a difference in the game.
Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui hurried Taylen Green most of the afternoon which led to poor throws. Green was hurried off of his rhythm most of the afternoon. They also helped hold the running game to 138 total yards on the day. Going forward the rushers need to get home on sacks, but the output today made an impact.
Grade: B
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Linebackers: Six linebackers saw action and all made plays. Edefuan Ulofoshio supplied the lone sack of the day and Carson Bruner nabbed the second interception of the year. All six linebackers who played generated tackles, the only issue came on the screen plays that burned Washington a few times throughout the day.
Grade: B+
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Defensive Backs: Every player in on the field was in their correct spots. The Husky position fits Mishael Powell well and he showed it was a physical pass breakup early in the game. Jabbar Mohamed looks like a legit cover corner Washington desperately needs as they inch closer to conference play and a ton of quality quarterbacks.
The emergence of Davon Banks is something to watch. At times last year Banks looked lost in coverage; those days are behind him. He led the team with four pass breakups and was physical alongside Mohamad. The safeties also made an impact with both Asa Turner and Dom Hampton bringing down ball carriers. Turner looked better than he did last year with less missed tackles.
Grade: B+
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When the opponent offense only musters 19 points and is shutout for most of the second half there is a lot of positives coming from the defense. While the end result was a resounding success the defense has some things to fix.
For the first game of the season against a team that might win double digit games this defensive effort is a resounding success.
