By Khalid Bennett, The Seattle Medium
Coming off one of the most memorable seasons in school history, the University of Washington Huskies are opening the season in a new conference and with a new head coach. Alabama coach Nick Saban retired, starting a domino effect of events that directly impacted the Washington program. Former Husky head coach Kalen DeBoer took over at Alabama, and Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch replaced DeBoer as the head coach at Washington.
The roster also underwent major changes, with several formidable players from last year’s team either getting drafted or opting to enter the transfer portal in the wake of the coaching changes. The few returning players, however, are entering this season with a great deal of experience and are no strangers to big games. Sixth-year senior Giles Jackson and South Hill’s Denzel Boston anchor a receiver group that lost three starters to the NFL in the offseason. Defensive backs Kam Fabiculanan and Elijah Jackson, along with Woodinville standout Carson Bruener, return to a defensive unit that will see many new faces up front.
The offense faces a similar situation with five new starters on the line and a new signal caller in Will Rodgers, a transfer from Mississippi State who is the second-leading passer in SEC history.
“We probably used three left tackles, two or three right tackles, two centers, and four guards. We’ll keep working with it until we find the right group,” said coach Fisch after the game about the offensive line.
Another transfer who came with Fisch from Arizona is junior running back Jonah Coleman, who made his Husky debut in this game. And what a debut it was. The Washington offense started off slow, but that didn’t stop Coleman from making highlight-reel plays. He busted a 25-yard run on his first carry and ripped off a 44-yard touchdown in the first quarter that would have given Washington the lead, but a holding penalty nullified the play, and the Huskies turned the ball over on downs.
“Fantastic running by Jonah. He’s very hard to tackle. We had some pretty gaping holes that Jonah was able to run through untouched for the first few yards, and when you get Jonah a head of steam, he’s a very hard guy to tackle with just one guy. He fits the scheme perfectly,” said Fisch about his running back.
The Huskies eventually found the end zone a couple of times in the second quarter, including a 5-yard touchdown run by Coleman. He ended the game with three touchdowns. Will Rodgers threw his first touchdown pass as a Husky with a 33-yard strike to tight end Decker DeGraaf. Rogers finished the game completing 20 of 26 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown.
“Close to 80% completions, no turnovers. Maybe he would want one throw back, but for the most part, he played pretty well,” Fisch said about his quarterback.
Coleman’s 127 yards on 16 carries are the most rushing yards in a debut game since Charlie Mitchell back in 1960. The defense was dominant, holding Weber State to just 253 total yards and 3 points.
“The idea of keeping a team to 3 points… really good. Can’t do much better than that,” Fisch commented on the play of the defense.
The secondary allowed only 98 yards passing by Weber State as the Huskies rolled to a 35-3 victory to start the Jedd Fisch era 1-0. They will be back at home next Saturday to take on Eastern Michigan.
Pictorial Highlights Of Washington vs Weber State
Staff Photos/Aaron Allen