DeBoer Says 11-2 Huskies Can Be Even Better — 'That's the Scary Thing'
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Kalen DeBoer didn't want to look ahead to the 2023 football season and was determined that his University of Washington seniors on Thursday night enjoy a final victory lap at the Alamo Bowl, and then he couldn't help himself.
Following a 27-20 decision over Texas, the first-year Husky head coach was seated at a podium with some of his key players inside the bowels of the Alamodome when he finally gave in.
"You can't help but be fired up about what we have returning," DeBoer said. "I think there's so much more room and area for us to improve — that's the scary thing."
From an 11-2 team that scored wins over ranked opponents in Michigan State, Oregon, Oregon State and Texas, DeBoer likely will return 14 of 22 starters, though wide receiver Rome Odunze still hasn't officially made his intentions known.
DeBoer will lose the services of the following seniors, four on each side of the ball: All-Pac-12 offensive guard Jaxson Kirkland, offensive guard Henry Bainivalu, center Corey Luciano and running back Wayne Taulapapa, plus All-Pac-12 edge rusher Jeremiah Martin, linebacker Cam Bright, safety Alex Cook and cornerback Jordan Perryman.
Yet he returns both Alamo players of the game in quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who finished with a school-record 4,641 passing yards and 31 touchdown passes, and edge rusher Bralen Trice, whose 2 sacks against Texas gave him 10 for the season.
Also, one-time, second-team All-Pac-12 linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio, who appeared in five games as a reserve after recovering from knee surgery, was at full strength when the season ended, as shown by him blocking the first Longhorns punt. He's told his coaches he'll return as a sixth-year senior.
Against Texas, DeBoer's UW team impressively came to battle in the trenches on both sides against a worthy opponent, limiting the Longhorns to just 51 yards rushing while opening up holes for Taulapapa to run for 108 yards on 14 carries — his fourth 100-yard game of the season, and third consecutive, after previously gaining 120 yards against Stanford, 107 against Colorado and 126 at Washington State.
"Our physicality, I think, took the next step," DeBoer said approvingly.
As he continued on down this line, the coach was careful to remind everyone that nothing is given off past performances, that his next Husky team will have to earn everything all over again.
"Every year is its own year," he said. "In January, we have to reset everything. There will be new leaders, different vibes. Nothing we did this year carries over, no points, no yards; it all starts over."
With that, DeBoer wanted to savor his sensational beginning as the UW football coach, along with his players, yet he let a glimpse of that upcoming 2023 season slip in there one more time.
"I want to enjoy tonight, I want to enjoy this season, and we finished the way we wanted to," the coach said. "But man, I'm fired up about what lies ahead."
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