UW Defensive Limitations Increase with Possible Perryman Loss

The Huskies will have to just hope for the best in stopping teams.

Ten football games into the Kalen DeBoer coaching era at the University of Washington have produced signature victories over Oregon and Michigan State, unbridled offense and optimism, plus a sense of program respect that all but disappeared a year ago.

Yet for all the progress made, the Huskies uneasily take the field each Saturday, holding their collective breath that they can win with a defense that was shorthanded to begin with this season.

Once spring football practice rolls around again, DeBoer's main objective won't be to find a new starting quarterback — though Michael Penix Jr. surely will be preparing for the NFL draft by then — but to significantly upgrade an entire UW defensive unit loosely held together by a string and a prayer.

DeBoer's first-year Husky coaching staff continues to speak in a positive manner about these guys, rather than berate them, just trying to get through this first season in Montlake. 

The edge rushers are elite players and the defensive line and linebackers are adequate but limited as turnover-causing playmakers, but the UW secondary struggles each weekend.  

The Huskies couldn't get through their first defensive series against the Ducks in Eugene before losing grad transfer cornerback Jordan Perryman for the rest of the game.

Perryman suffered a shoulder or an arm injury that looked serious, this coming on top of a leg ailment that knocked him out of the season opener against Kent State and sat him out for three full games and most of a fifth.

At his weekly Monday press briefing, DeBoer and his coaching staff likely will upgrade Perryman's situation and reveal whether he can finish the season or not. 

Perryman's original replacement, junior Julius Irvin, is injured and out for the season. The second cornerback fill-in here, redshirt freshman Davon Banks, didn't travel to Oregon and is presumably injured. The UW finished up with true freshman Jaivion Green and redshirt freshman Elijah Jackson taking turns in place of their downed teammates.

Mishael Powell gives chase as Oregon running back Noah Whittington breaks a 29-yard touchdown run in Eugene :: Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports

Top defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa continues to play in each game, but the junior sits for long periods, apparently banged-up, as well. Redshirt freshman Kuao Peihopa remains suspended, further thinning those ranks.

Seeking a playmaking linebacker, the Huskies gradually havereintroduced standout junior Edefuan Ulofoshio to serious Saturday duty. He's been back for two games after coming off a pair of injuries that required surgery and kept him out of action for more than a year.

He played nearly a half-dozen snaps against Oregon State and more than a dozen at Oregon. 

Ulofoshio even logged 6 tackles in his short stint at Autzen Stadium, notably causing Ducks running back Noah Whittington to slip and fall for a yard loss on a crucial fourth-and-1 situation at the Oregon 34 with 1:26 remaining, a play that swung the game to the Huskies.

The UW secondary has been either injured or limited in ability all season. No all-conference players line up back there. Loose pass coverage and poor open-field tackling remain lingering concerns.

Typical of what goes on back there, junior safety Asa Turner led the Huskies with 12 tackles against Oregon, but he missed at least another five. His counterpart, senior safety Alex Cook, knocked Ducks quarterback Bo Nix out of the game late with a fierce hit, but he's been exposed in coverage at times.

At the hybrid Husky spot, junior starter Dominique Hampton has split more and more time with his sophomore backup Kamren Fabiculanan, with their coaches going with whomever produces the most.

Only sophomore cornerback Mishael Powell, who missed four midseason outings with an injury, seemingly gets a lot of stuff done on the back line as a sure tackler and is rarely out of position.

In Jimmy Lake's final season in 2021, the Huskies started seven different safeties and now a year later they've opened with five different cornerbacks, unable to either keep people healthy or get a consistent performance out of them. That's a lot of auditioning going on without anyone firmly establishing himself. Only Cook has started every game in the secondary for the UW this season.

The Huskies have just 10 turnovers in 10 games, picking up a goal-line fumble recovery at Oregon. It should be double that or more for a team with ultimate ambitions.

DeBoer's coaches will spend the month of April trying to develop some of their younger defensive players and maybe some of their new recruits should they arrive early, and likely bring in another experienced portal transfer or two or three. 

For now, the Huskies will continue to let their unstoppable offense carry them to the finish. They'll need to get through two more regular-season outings on defense against Colorado and Washington State and a bowl game as best as they can. It's always hang-on time. Then it's on to something of a remake. 

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