Basically everything went wrong for Washington in 2021, from the offense with pages in the playbook dated “2000 B.C.,” to the run defense that had more holes in it than the movie “Holes.” Yes, that sounded funny in my head so now you have to read it and not laugh at it. Today, we’re going to talk about the latter, because the offense is returning most of the starters from 2021, who are all incredibly talented, but were limited by the awful scheme. The defense, and more specifically the inside linebacker play, is not as easy of a fix.

Former linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, Bob Gregory, hurt the position in more ways than one. He consistently had trouble on the recruiting trail, and when he was able to get talent in the building, he had a lot of trouble developing them. Sure you can point to outliers like Edefuan Ulofoshio and Ben Burr-Kirven, but for a coach that was on staff for seven years, his track record was incredibly poor.

Enter co-defensive coordinator William Inge. He’s rebuilt the depth at the position through transfers Cam Bright and Kris Moll, and has taken an extremely active role in coaching (which shouldn’t have to be written, but here we are) as his voice and energy on the sidelines are hard to miss at practice. As hard as rebuilding the depth and coaching up the talent in the room are, fixing the run defense which was one of the country’s worst in 2021 will be a tougher task, but it seems like his group is up for the task.

There’s been a noticeable difference at the position so far during fall camp. Run fits look better, players are flying to the ball, and with Inge’s coaching, missed tackles will not be nearly as big of a concern in 2022. “We’re in relentless pursuit of perfection,” he said after Friday’s practice. With a deep group of linebackers that he seems incredibly excited about, they should be able to achieve his lofty expectations.

The headliner of his group this year should be graduate transfer Cam Bright, who Inge said is “light years” ahead of where he was in terms of his knowledge of the defense. Bright was also named to Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks List” on The Athletic. In terms of the depth at the position, Inge also had some high praise for a few names that recruiting nerds have been waiting to see for a while.

“I’m very happy with what we’re getting from Daniel Heimuli,” he said about the former four-star linebacker from California. “He’s poised for a big year.”

“[Alphonzo] Tuputala has it in him. He can be great and do everything we need him to do,” he said. “His level of preparation is elite.”

The run defense should be a bigger question than the offense, but with an influx of talent and depth at inside linebacker, the Huskies seem primed for a big step forward against the run in 2022.