Well, the Huskies managed to squeak into a bowl game by winning a lackluster Pac12 North with a 7-9 record.

Hopefully we can surprise a strong Army team...We'll see.

There were fairly high hopes coming into the season. We had a great looking RB combo of a still young Nap Kaufman and All-time leading rusher Myles Gaskin. We also signed a high profile QB transfer in David Baker.

Unfortunately, QB Baker had a pretty ugly season. His overall numbers aren't embarrassing, but if you break his game by game stats down, he feasted on weak teams and was horrible against quality teams. On top of that #1 RB Kaufman missed over half the season with an injury.

Gaskin stepped back into the #1 role nicely though. 794 yds rushing and 790 yds rec with 6 total TD. He broke a team record by making 97 catches. Kaufman is finally back to full strength for the bowl game. It will be nice to see the offense at full strength.

Freshman LT had a very nice season allowing 0 sacks and only 19 tackles. His 6 penalties should go down with experience.

Defensively, as a team, we didn't make it to the QB often. Rookies Ronald WIld and Eugene Garcia paced the team with 3 sacks each. 1st rd choice seemed solid against the run as well while playing all three positions.

Well, we did manage to win a bowl game for only the 3rd time in 11 seasons.

Our reward for winning a bowl game after a 7-9 record was to pick at #25...lol

We entered the off season with one major goal. We were very much hoping to find a long term starter at QB. David Baker had mixed results but finished strong. But he enters year 11 and his final season. Robert Vides is a capable backup, but that is about it.

Other needs: We failed to sign a starting TE last season, so WR Ed Dalton stepped out of position and did an OK job. So, a starting TE was a goal. We also are moving into Steve Entmen's final season. Two other DL are in year 10. We also lacked depth at LB/DB

First out transfers:
DE Noe Ware: A 10th year stud pass rusher, Ware will add depth across an aging line.

K Austin Seibert: After having one K for the 1st 9 seasons, we signed a 12th year K for the 2nd time in a row. No top flight kickers were coming out of HS. Hopefully next season.

LT Noah Utley: a 12th year depth guy, Utley was brought in after the signing period only for spring games.

Signings:
1. We are nervously excited to have signed QB Warren Moon. Potentially the top QB talent in the draft, his 90 volatility made him available at the 25 spot. Training camp will potentially expose vulnerabilities at accuracy and looking off defenders.
Alas, another 1st rd bust....-12 in camp. Moon will stay on the roster only because of the cap hit...(Maybe)

2. WR Spider Gaines (for you older guys, he was Moon's real life WR at the UW in the mid 70s). We have lacked speed at the WR position and also lacked depth. Gaines is a solid WR with 82 speed. We hope to see him and Moon work together for the next 11 seasons.
Gaines on the other hand had a fine camp...+5 puts him in the rotation right away and could be the #1 soon.

3. TE Cam Cleeland. Addressing the need for a starting TE. He is a solid receiver. Will hopefully improve his run blocking in camp.
Also went +5 in camp...A solid blocker, runs great routes, and can do a bit YAC

4. LB Dan Blue: A good cover guy and run defender, Blue has only mediocre speed (66). Should address our depth issue at LB
Unspectacular +2 but will be a solid depth guy for us.

5. LB Christopher Lum: Another strong run defender, Lum will move to DT in camp to gain weight.
Only went up to 270lb, but camp added +9 to his rating. A GREAT run defender that can't pass rush. His long term position will be dependent on numbers after cuts

6. CB Calvin Dryden: A typical late round flyer. 98 VOL for a CB with 70+ speed. Our lack of DB depth gives him a real shot to stick and at least help on ST.
-12 in camp means he will not be back in the fall

7. LB James Sylvester: decent speed for a LB. Hopefully he can learn some actual skills in camp.
-6 in camp...He learned nothing...See ya

A HUGE camp for us with a high VOL 1st rd pick in a prime position. I would really love to NOT have to draft another QB anytime soon.
Well, next year we try again

2028 in review:

Happy to have received our first ever bye in the bowl games. Unfortunately, it was less about being dominant, and more about parity in the league. I can't imagine 10-6 will get too many 1st round byes going forward.

In our first season without Myles Gaskin, Napolean Kaufman stepped up and had his finest season. 1123 yds, 8 TD rushing and an 83/897/4 receiving line and he was rewarded with a 2nd team All American award.

A couple freshmen also made fine contributions. WR Spider Gaines led the team with 960 yds and 6 TD (70 rec). TE Cam Cleeland added 45/310/3...numbers that should grow as he earns more playing time.

Other seasons of note include WR/RB/TE Ed Dalton. When rostered as only a WR1, we often had troubled getting him involved. In a utility role, he managed almost 1000 yds from scrimmage.

SS Michael Miller broke a team record with 6 FF. (This one year after setting a team mark with 4 FR).

The Huskies say goodbye to two career greats:
LG Kevin Fralick graduates. He leaves the all-time leader with 140 starts (157 games). Fralick was named 2nd team All-Am 3 times.
DE Steve Entmen also retires. His 159 games trail only Myles Gaskin. He leaves the all time leader in Sacks (105) and Hurries (324). *With code changes, numbers that will be hard to catch. Entmen was named 1st team All-Am in 2025.

The Huskies would also like to thank QB David Baker and K Austin Seibert. Baker had a slow start in the first of his two seasons. But he did manage a spectacular game in a huge first rd upset in 2027. Baker had a very strong 2028 where he was nominated (finished 4th) for the Davey O'Brien award.

Seibert played 1 season, but all he did was get named 1st team All-Am. 9/9 from 50+ and didn't miss a kick from week 5 on.

Going into next season, we have only 4 players to replace on signing day. Former starter Robert Vides enters the season as the default QB1 with training camp bust Warren Moon QB2. The incoming class is not exciting but we will see what we can find. We have guys lined up at DE ready to go. Former 1st rd pick Ronald Wild will step in to Entmen's spot. Look for the Huskies to try and replace LG Fralick early in the signing process.

2029 Season Preview

The Huskies are coming off of a fairly successful regular season that (in spite of only a 10-6 record) led to a 1st rd bye. Only to get steamrolled by eventual champ Michigan.

While we tried, the Dawgs failed to convince any of the very few quality transfers to head west.

We were pretty satisfied with signing day though:

Entered the draft with heavy OL needs. Also, we were getting old at DL and needed depth a DB. Still looking for a franchise QB, but we didn't see one coming out of the draft.

1st rd: While starters are in place, the Huskies needed another young DL long term. Enter LDE Reggie Rogers. Not an ELITE pass rusher, but solid across all the measurables. Rogers will come of the bench and play Special Teams this season, but figures to start at LDE when Ware and Perry graduate after the season. Rogers was a very safe pick, settling at 8 vol.
With 8 vol, I am a little peeved at still having to deal with a -2 out of camp. Won't be a stud, but should be a solid player

2nd rd: LG Bob Sapp has a little risk (32) but expectations are for him to step in for long time starter Kevin Fralick.
Camp: (5/-3) His blocking skills settle in a 75 potential...not horrible. I am more concerned with his current pass block still in the 20s. Might make him unplayable as a Freshmen. But when he gets to 75, good enough

3rd rd: RT Kevin Gogan also will step into the starting role. A great blocker, he lacks the speed to be an elite T, but has more talent than the incumbent...so why not?
(Camp: 6/1) Solid camp...his nearly max block skills are both almost realized. So he is a day one play

4th rd: 4th rd is always a crucial pick come training camp time. Usually a bit more risk to go along with the $$ guarantees that accompany the draft slot. The Huskies bring in the athletic and risky CB Marcus Peters (66). Great vs the run with 85 speed, a bust in camp would force us to move him to SS, but if he can have a good camp, will play just fine in the CB rotation.
Camp: (4/-4)… Was hoping for a boom, but at least not a huge bust. Will be playable as a reserve, more likely will settle as SS2

5th rd: WR David Bray. One thing on the wish list was to get one more skill player for our depth. 71 speed is not awesome, but none of my WR are burners. His 100 vol means he has a chance to be very good...Or he may not make the team...lol
Camp: (14/13)… Awesome. As a 5th rd pick, his attributes all came close to max. Will be very successful

6th rd: K Jeff Jeager. After All American Austin Seibert's one and done 12th year, we were lacking a kicker. (lost out on Eli Kabong transfer). Jeager has a solid 86 acc rating, but only 82 for leg strength. Will face some walk-on competition, but coaches are rooting for him.
Camp: (10/0)… Good enough to win the job most likely. 85 kick strength means no more 56-58yd FG most likely, but should be a solid guy for a long time.

7th rd: I was AFK and the player has already packed his bags.

Walk-ons: 12th year K Charles Frietas comes in with a stronger leg than the Freshmen. Training camp will decide. Coaches are hoping that Jeager can be trusted around the 52-54 range.


10th year QB Jimmy Miller is giving it a shot after a career as a backup at West Point. He lacks athleticism, but if he can avoid sacks, my convince Husky coaches to cut bait with last year's camp bust Warren Moon.
Moon lost 2 more points in his 2nd year camp... Might as well pack his bags for the CFL now.

Without a big time QB and with 2 freshmen starters on the OLine, it might be a tough season. But the cupboards aren't bare and we feel 8-9 wins is a real possibility. The concern is the rest of the conference seems to finally be making strides (and our 1st rd schedule). I can't pencil in 5-6 wins automatically anymore.

A tale of two season for the Huskies.

We knew we had some challenges entering the season and they came to light right away.

Two unathletic QB and two Freshmen starters on the OLine (neither of them 1st rd picks) led to 24 sacks and a 1-5 start. At that point, we also lost Napolean Kaufman to an injury for most of the rest of the season. We also lost #1 WR returner Spider Gaines and backup RB David Monson to season ending IR.

With things looking bleak, the Dawgs were fortunate to find some help in the transfer portal.

QB Drew Lock came from Arizona. From games 7-15 only was sacked 3 times. (6 sacks in game 16 was a bit of a surprise). He also completed nearly 70% with a 19/10 td/int ratio. The Huskies can feel like they are solid enough at QB not to have to reach for one on signing day.

We also signed RB Dexter Spencer from Notre Dame. He showed a good burst and found the end zone a couple times. A solid change of pace option.

Through all this we actually won some games finishing 7-9 with a couple of the losses being close calls. The future is not so bleak. Hopefully the OLine matures and we can add a little more talent to return to a bowl game.

Highlights:
Freshman DE Reggie Rogers tied for the lead nationally with 10 sacks. (in spite of not starting the first 4 games). He added 29 tackles, 5 hurries, 2 FF, 2 FR. A really solid effort.

Freshman WR David Bray provided a solid 56/629/5 line in his first year.

Freshmen K Jeff Jeager had a tough season. But we realized late in the season that injuries and roster moves affected the depth chart at long snapper and holder. Something we will try and correct next season.

WR/RB Ed Dalton stepped in for Kaufman and ran for 861 yds (4 TD). He also added 85 rec for 718yds and 6 TD.

2nd year TE Cam Cleeland improved to 55/577/1

Defensively, FS Darnell Savage had a career year with 88 tackles, 5 int and 1 FR

CB Joseph Pearce also shined with 79 tackles, 4 int, 20 PD, 1 FF and a team record 5 FR

The Huskies say goodbye to DE Noe Ware, who transferred over in year 10 and played 2 solid seasons.

Also DT Danny Shelton graduates after playing 136 games. (352 tackles, 41 sacks, 195 hurries, 1 int, 5 FR, 6 FF)

Those are the only graduates this year. Signing day will hopefully bring an upgrade to a few positions.

2030 Signing Day notes

We entered the signing period in an unusual position of picking in the top 15 after a 6-10 season. Fans were anticipating pulling an exciting name on day one, but the big splash player didn't present himself.

Truth is, we didn't start the day with major holes. Just a need to improve wherever we could. That said, coaches felt a little more comfortable taking talent over the need to be safe with volatility. This means training camp will be a little tense. But if they bust, we won't be left with major voids.

Rd 1...RT Lincoln Kennedy
Kennedy was the top OLine coming into the day. With the early picks, as usual, focused on DB/LB/RB type players, the Huskies once again invest draft capitol in trying to build a top OLine. 68 vol leaves the possibility of a bust, but worst case scenario makes him no worse than what we have. Will be thrilled to see a big fat +0 after camp.
Projection: with the addition of a RT transfer from Arizona, we have the luxury of letting him develop in practice more so than games. His play time will depend on his skill development.

Rd 2: SS Shane Pauhkoa
Another 70 vol player with some risk. He moves from his given CB position due to his zone defense skills and his ability against the run.
Projection: A strong camp could move him ahead of incumbent Michael Miller. At worst, SS2 and CB 4

Rd 3: LB Raymond Winkler
Coaches are still a little torn whether to leave him at LB or move him up to DE. He is a great tackler and has a 100 pot pass rush. But he sits at 65 speed. Adding weight may slow him down a bit. So we will camp him at LB and see what the rest of camp looks like.
Projection: A strong camp will leave him as the LB4 backing up all positions. He may also fill in now and then as DE if injuries occur.

Rd 4: FS Joseph Oliver
Another CB position switch. Oliver was a popular gamble on the board with 85 speed and 100 vol. Great at zone (for now) great tackler. His weak M2M skills leave him off of too much CB time. Should be a ST monster.
Projection: sits at FS2 for now. A boom camp would mean his coverage skills improved. That would be just fine with me.

Rd 5: DE Duane Ferguson
More defensive help here. 82 speed, 86 str, and 94 vol. If he booms, he becomes 1st round talent. I was lucky to find him here. (Could be due to his 21 tackling...lol)
Projection: Moves into the RDE2 position. If he booms, will be a stud. If not, hopefully he can fall down in the right spot and guys will trip over him

Rd 6: LB Daniel Wentzel
Quick and fast and great vs the run in HS. But has a very low strength number for college. Will see if he gets pushed around in preseason. Coaches toyed with moving him up to the line due to a poor pass defense skill set, but his strength won't allow that.
Projection: A good camp will allow him to supplant 10th year LB Hoffman.

Rd 7: WR Douglas Ashworth
A slow WR with decent catch ability. He is an accomplished run blocker. We will move him to FB, add some weight and see what happens.
Projection: Not likely to make the team. A good camp and weight gain could make him able to transfer

Transfers:
Year 10 RT Robert Addison (from Arizona)
will start at RT, there is a chance he chooses to walk away after year 10.

Year 11 P Richard Curtis (from LSU)
No notes here. Just have a great punter for the season.

The big signing was year 5 TE TJ Hockenson out of WSU. Yes, we had Cleeland step up last season, but could not pass up the opportunity to add the talent.

Other note. Former TE Harry Morgan moves up to OG in an attempt to stay at Montlake.

Camp Notes

Maybe I should force myself to relax about camp more often. Absolutely my best camp in this league so far:

Rd 1: RT Kennedy...+7/0. That is all I could ask for from a 68 vol, 94 rated lineman. He had no room to improve, so this is awesome.

Rd 2: SS Pauhkoa…+8/+5. His older brother was one of my biggest draft busts as an OL, so this was nice. Once his current stats develop, will become the SS1.

Rd 3: LB Winkler...+13/+5. Leaving him at LB was the right choice. Not top speed (65). And a little weak in zone defense. But most everything else maxed out.

Rd 4: FS Oliver...+11/+11. Best pick in a few seasons for me. 85 speed, 92 str/100tack/100zone. Will be hard not to start him. He may actually move back to CB. (More on that later)

Rd 5: DE Ferguson...+7/+8. added +10 to tackle, +14 to pass rush, +20 to run def. Already was 82 speed. He will be a stud. I have 3 DE I feel really good about.

Rd 6: LB Wentzel...+5/+1. Should have moved him up to DT. I may still. His coverage stats stayed low, but his run defense is still high. I will move play him at DT and see what happens for him to make the team.

Rd 7: FB Ashworth...0/-22. Can't win them all. Moved him from WR to FB and...he didn't take to it. No point even carrying him through preseason.

Other notables:
Year 9 swingman, Ed Dalton -2/-2. Looks to be losing a little and is in a contract year. I was hoping to wait to replace him another year, but will have to have the next guy move up.

Year 9 CB Joseph Pearce. -4/-4. He has been my #1 for a few seasons and has played well. His drop was all in speed. He will move down to #3 or #4 and I will hope he doesn't retire and leave me with dead cap money I wasn't expecting.

Year 10 RT (transfer) Addison. -3/-3. He isn't liking the NW after transferring up from Arizona. He will still start somewhere on the OL, (with #1 pick Kennedy being about ready now), but may quickly retire as well.

Overall a great camp.

Oliver & Ferguson were both on my board and I was pissed they didn't last till my pick.
Congrats on the great camp! And you got an OL too that's been eluding you for too long.

2030 in Review

A positive note that we managed another division title. Although the 9-7 record isn't anything to write home about. It was a big plus that we pulled off a first round upset over UCLA and then played well (except the 4 turnovers) against USC.

Individually, QB Drew Lock had an up and down year in his first full season after transferring from Arizona. 4195 yds is solid unless you note that he threw 716 passes. Most in team history by 100. This due in part to RB injuries. For only the 2nd time in school history, we threw more INT than TD (21/20).

RB Napolean Kaufman was very good when he played. 678/6 rushing and 93/703/6 receiving came in only 8 starts! (he played backup 4 times because he was LESS injured than the other guy). Kaufman also missed the playoffs. RB2 David Monson was a revelation in the bowl games running for over 100 yds both games.

After a very long discussion and some contemplation, the Huskies will sadly say goodbye early to WR Ed Dalton. Finishing his 9th year, but with declining skills, the Dawgs have chosen to use his scholarship elsewhere next year. Dalton has been kind of a Swiss Army knife throughout his career. He has backed up Gaskin at RB. He has even played some TE. Dalton finishes his Husky career with 532/6179/36 receiving. He added 1370/5 rushing. A good chance he plays one more year elsewhere.

LB Jioe Kelly once again topped 100 tackles (102). His third time hitting that milestone while only two others have done it once. After year 7, Kelly sits primed to eventually pass Harold Masters for the all time team lead.

Freshmen of the Year has to be SS/CB Shane Pauhkoa. An early injury forced him to play some CB3 and he ended up sticking there. 51 tackles is a solid number for a CB 1 or 2, to do it from the slot bodes well for the future. Pauhkoa also only allowed 36.5% completion to lead the team.

One big downside is the continued struggles of K Jeff Jaeger. We gave him a better holder/snapper combo this season, but it didn't help. Jaeger missed 7 FG and has added 7 missed XP in just two seasons. (Long time K Allen Mata missed 8 in nine seasons).

Entering the offseason, we only lose one starter (Dalton). Two if you include the Punter. We also lose a backup FB and OL. So no MAJOR holes to fill.

We do need to think about the next long term RB. Kaufman(7), Spencer(7) and Monson(8) will be fine next year, but we are getting close.

A QB would be nice, but the two 1st rd options will both be gone by the time I pick. Others won't be an improvement. (without a major training camp boom).

Other than that, I have the luxury of taking best athlete available in pretty much every round. So that makes things nice.

2031 Draft and Camp results:

After our best camp in history last season, coaches must have gotten cocky. They took gambles and shifted player positions around and...it did not pay off.

Rd 1: TE turned FB Jose Christian... The first project for the team. His low vol made him low risk in a position that needed an upgrade. Jose went an acceptable 12/1 in camp and will be the starting FB for the foreseeable future. Should add a little more speed when his weight settles a little more.

Rd 2: CB Leon Turcios... This was more of a go with the crowd pick. Blazing speed and mediocre other stats. Leon went 3/-5 in camp. We hoped his coverage skills would improve a little to combine with his 94 speed. Unfortunately not. Below par coverage skills will relegate him to CB3 or 4, but we want him on the field to counter the speed that typically kills us.

Rd 3: P Charles Fulmore... I know, very exciting. But after a 13/1 camp, he sits with 96-100 in the punting stats. So...I don't need to worry about P for a long time.

Rd 4: FB turned LT Robert Thaxton... 11/1 is OK considering what we asked. He has more weight to gain, but will be a serviceable lineman for us.

Rd 5: DT turned SS Gary Barker... Didn't know what to expect here. He went 3/-2 in camp, so he wasn't fond of the move. But he is up to 80 speed at 284 lbs. So when he loses more weight, things will improve. He actually is better at M2M than zone, so a switch to CB might happen if he can lose more weight.

Rd 6: WR Marvin Kellerman... Here come the cuts...lol. Drafted with 65 speed and 100 vol. Had he boomed, might have made an OK slot receiver. Buuuuutt, he instead went 0/-24 in camp. He sucks. I might play him as NT in preseason just to make myself feel better.

Rd 7: FB turned RG Michael Butler... Drafted with OK blocking skills, hoped for a surprise. Nope, 0/-11. Another dud. Luckily I wasn't counting on much from the draft.

If you count the Punter, I added 2 starters. I guess not bad. But no one gained skill at all, so, overall an ugly camp.