Bill Belichick Shows up to Spring Practice in Husky Gear, Turns Heads

The legendary NFL coach was a visitor and guest speaker on UW coaches' clinic weekend.

Dozens of high school coaches surrounded Saturday's University of Washington spring football practice. It was interesting to see all of their necks crane all at once when NFL royalty in the form of Bill Belichick walked past taking in the Montlake sights.

Belichick, the former New England Patriots coach and the father of UW defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, was a very visible presence as he alternately moved between Husky Stadium and Dempsey Indoor while taking in the UW's third spring workout as the invited guest of new coach Jedd Fisch on the coaches' clinic weekend.

Belichick , who won six Super Bowls in New England, wore all Husky gear as he and Fisch chatted for the longest time during practice. He pulled out a pad and casually took notes as he watched young players perform various drills.

He also held court in a Dempsey Indoor end zone with one of his former Patriots players, Danny Shelton, the one-time Husky defensive tackle. He even took a selfie with Shelton and former Indiana defensive tackle Philip Blidi, the latter in the transfer portal and on a UW visit.

Meantime, Fisch's staff sent the Huskies through their first padded workout and more scrimmage plays than in the two previous sessions and made everyone pick up the pace. Some observations from day three were as follows:

Edge rusher Zach Durfee showed off his prowess with consectuve tackles for loss in one set, dragging down running back Daniyel Ngatta each time. Defensive tackle Jayvon Parker had a forceful stop of Arizona transfer back Jonah Coleman, keeping him from reaching the line of scrimmage.

While Mississippi State transfer quarterback Will Rogers was solid in moving the Huskies down the field, and continues to look for sophomore wide receiver Denzel Boston, his freshmen QB back-ups each had a chance to show off their enticing skills.

Demaricus Davis was so deceptive in faking a handoff to freshman running back Adam Mohammed, he went around the left side of the line without anyone within 10 yards of him and showed off good speed in what would have been a 70-yard touchdown run had he finished it off.

Demond Williams, a fellow first-year quarterback, scrambled a lot in this practice and showed more speed at this UW position than anyone in a long time. He also threw a quick pass to the right to Mohammed, who stepped out of defender's hands and showed off his speed as he ran 70 yards to the end zone.

On the defensive side, Montana State defensive tackle transfer Sebastian Valdez pulled many of the first-unit snaps alongside Jayvon Parker and a visiting coach remarked how mobile the newcomer from the Big Sky looked up front.

Belichick was one of the first up the tunnel once practice ended. Besides serving as a guest speaker, he's expected to spend a few days watching the UW football team skies in action.

The Huskies now take two days off before returning for a fourth spring practice on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.

For the latest Husky football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington