Bill Belichick Returns for a Not So Sharp UW Practice

Jedd Fisch informed his team it wasn't one of its better days.

Giles Jackson runs against a backdrop of trees on the East field. / Skylar Lin Visuals

With an extra critical set of eyes on the University of Washington football team, the Huskies put plenty of work into Thursday's fall practice No. 7, but they didn't hit the mark of continued improvement in their coach's estimation.

After two-plus hours of drills and scrimmage plays, UW leader Jedd Fisch gathered his guys around him on the East field and bluntly informed everyone that collectively they didn't have one of their best days, that they missed too many assignments, that they didn't seem to get better this time, which is the goal.

His candid assessment came with Bill Belichick back for another UW visit, walking into practice alongside Fisch -- with the two of them wearing matching black polo shirts, black shorts and white visors.

Early on, Belichick, the retired six-time Super Bowl-winning coach, stepped right in and shared his wisdom with a couple of players, foremost holding a lengthy discussion with junior edge rusher Zach Durfee. Belichick and Fisch often stood together and assessed things.

Belichick also spent plenty of time with his son Steve, the Husky defensive coordinator, together watching plays unfold by standing directly behind the UW stop unit and sharing opinions.

At one point, Fisch and Belichick turned around several times to look in amazement at and comment about a pair of physically well-developed freshmen offensive tackles in 6-foot-8, 323-pound Justin "Moose" Hylkema and 6-foot-5, 307-pound Davit Boyajyan, who were standing side by side and alone on the sideline, waiting to be summoned for a drill.

Likely unaware Bill Belichick was arriving soon, sophomore edge rusher Isaiah Ward on Tuesday talked about the prospect of playing for Steve Belichick and then having two Belichicks at practice at times. "I was excited, man -- we have a Belichick on our hands," said Ward, was who equally thrilled to have Bill at practice, as well. "That was even better -- two legends in there. It was great. It had us all excited."

After seven practices, the Huskies have reached the point where the same players repeatedly take snaps with the No. 1 offense and defense, with the latter unit a little more prone to mix things up with different personnel, especially across the defensive front.

The most entertaining play of this Thursday session, which was held in temperatures reaching the mid-80s, came when quarterback Will Rogers dumped off a short pass to running back Jonah Coleman, who turned in a remarkable broken-field trek to the end zone covering 25 yards, with no fewer than three players hitting him and bouncing off.

The compact 5-foot-9, 229-pound back separately encountered junior cornerback Elijah Jackson, senior linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala and senior defensive tackle Sebastion Valdez, and each of them ended up on the ground as Coleman powerfully ran through each one and into the end zone, bringing all of the offensive players off the sideline to celebrate with him.

This play came after Fisch's music coordinators cranked up 1990s rock anthem "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses on the outdoor speakers, presumably to raise the energy levels for one of the last scrimmage segments of the day.

Coleman earlier made a sensational one-handed catch of a ball thrown by Rogers, with senior linebacker Carson Bruener hanging all over him trying to prevent the completion to no avail. Coleman came off the field and immediately went to the large video screen erected on the sideline to catch the replay of his grab and he seemed satisfied by what he saw.

While there have been no serious injuries in fall camp, the list of players with muscle pulls, strains and sprains continues to grow, The latest to show up gimpy and unavailable was 6-foot-4, 257-pound senior tight end Quentin Moore, pegged as the starter for the coming season, who was outfitted in a boot and relegated to exercise drills with a trainer. He won't be out long, his coach Jordan Paopao said.

If there was a player who continues to be a consistent performer in what he does, it's Husky place-kicker Grady Gross. With players on the defensive sideline yelling and waving their arms to provide a distraction, Gross was perfect on 42- and 27-yard field goals that were so straight that each boot caromed off a lift holding a camera crew behind the goal posts.

The Huskies return to practice on Friday at noon, looking to have a better day.

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