While Friday was dominated by Sam Huard and the offense, today was all about the defense. More specifically, edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui. After an All-American campaign in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, ZTF never got up to full strength in 2021 after an Achilles injury cut his year down to five games. Saturday was all about him, and he seems to be settling into his role as more of a pure pass rusher instead of an outside linebacker with more responsibilities against the run.

He finished the day with one sack, an incredibly athletic pass breakup that should have been an interception when he dropped into coverage, and it felt like he was in the backfield with every single snap he took. While Tupuola-Fetui was the individual standout of the day, the defensive line as a whole had the biggest impact on the day, with a lot of guys rotating through over the course of practice.

Maurice Heims recorded a sack towards the end of practice, there was pressure on all three quarterbacks throughout the team periods of practice, and Kuao Peihopa was throwing around offensive linemen during one on one drills.

The biggest play of the day came from freshman wide receiver Denzel Boston who scored a 71-yard touchdown after he got behind safety Cam Williams and caught a deep ball from Dylan Morris in stride. While tight end Jack Westover was arguably the most consistent target on the day, the best pass catcher on Saturday was tight end Devin Culp, whose size and athleticism continue to make him a major mismatch over the middle of the field.

Notes

In some not-so-shocking developments, the offense was working on a lot of things that have been foreign to Husky fans over the last few years. Quarterbacks were getting some work out of the pistol formation, and spent some time working on run-pass option reads early on in practice.

After practice, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb had some praise for the running backs and said he wants to create mismatches with guys who can catch the ball out of the backfield, naming Wayne Taulapapa, Sam Adams II, and Cameron Davis.

Grubb went on to say that Davis, who sat out spring ball due to injury has “really taken a step” in the right direction. “I talked to him about his preparation process and what it takes to be an elite running back, there’s a lot more competition now in that room, I think we have some guys there that are proven players that are ready to go… he’s a fantastic kid, he’s super smart, he’s tough and he had two [plays] yesterday that actually probably surprised me a little bit with his game-breakers, he’s got a little different gear than I thought.”

Wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard had high praise for transfer wide receiver Junior Alexander, who he said has made the biggest jump from spring camp into the fall. “In spring, he was swimming. He comes back this fall and seems like a guy who looks like he knows what he’s doing… he’s certainly made a huge leap in terms of understanding what we want from him at this position.

Shephard went on to talk about wide receiver Rome Odunze, and he had no shortage of praise for the sophomore from Las Vegas. “He is a savant in terms of his preparation. He does everything in his power to be prepared at a high level when he’s here, and when he’s not even in the building. His knowledge and understanding of what we’re doing in the playbook is tremendous, I really only am working technique with him. We’re trying to find ways to be more efficient when we’re getting in and out of cuts, it’s really only details of the position that we’re working on with him.”