Safety Vince Nunley Poised to Restart His Husky Career

The sophomore's 2022 season ended in the opener a year ago.

Washington's starting safeties are locked in, with seniors Dominique Hampton and Asa Turner roaming the back end of the Husky defense. But in all likelihood, neither is going to play 100 percent of the team's snaps in 2023, nor should they. 

Redshirt freshman Tristan Dunn has been in the mix to take a fair amount of snaps in the secondary, but the coaching staff also likes him at the Husky position. The staff also appears to have high hopes for Vince Nunley, who has taken some reps with the starters during fall camp.

Nunley seemed to be in line for an increased role last year before an injury in the Kent State opener derailed his season. Now, Nunley appears to be back to full strength and could play his way into more snaps in the Husky secondary.

Coming out of high school, Nunley looked like a promising athlete with great range and ball skills, but only has one game of college football under his belt. He could see some time early in the season against Boise State and Tulsa but will need to prove himself before the staff feels comfortable giving him a larger role.

Nunley will have some competition, not just from fellow sophomore Makell Esteen, but from true freshmen Vincent Holmes and Diesel Gordon. The coaching staff seems pleased with the way both freshmen have progressed throughout fall camp though, in all likelihood, neither player likely will draw more than four games in order to preserve their redshirts.

Just like at most other positions on the defense, the Huskies have a lot of talent at safety but not a lot of experience. Nunley has an opportunity to separate himself from the group, but it won't be an easy feat.

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