Inside The Huskies

UW National Title Cornerback Says 'Time to Weed Out the Uncommitted'

Former Husky standout Dana Hall maintains you can't win with guys waffling.

Dan Raley

Outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui recently informed his social-media following that he would not be entering the upcoming NFL draft in April. At the same time, the junior from Pearl City, Hawaii, seemed to leave open the possibility he might be done with University of Washington football, suggesting he still had a big decision or decisions to make.

Then there was sophomore wide receiver Jalen McMillan, who reportedly stripped his social-media account of Husky references, intimating he might be shopping himself around, too.

Various Huskies, including ZTF, weighed in on the unfiltered fan backlash sent former defensive tackle Taki Taimani's way after he posted a New Year's Eve photo of him wearing a uniform of bitter rival Oregon and standing in the middle of Autzen Stadium.

"We still looking down on players having the same access to leaving as their coaches or (sic)?" Tupuola-Fetui protested somewhat dismissively in a Saturday tweet.

No, the creation of the transfer portal and the general softening of the rules governing player movement has given ZTF, McMillan, Taimani and every other collegian the right to relocate without penalty, and everyone recognizes that it exists and will be utilized. 

Nobody has to like it, though.

What program supporters question most is the overall UW commitment, which appears to be greatly lacking up and down the roster, a legitimate complaint considering the most recent band of players stumbled to a miserable 4-8 record, the worst in a dozen years, and a lot of them feel compelled to move on rather than fix it.

Thirty years ago, Dana Hall was a starting UW cornerback who shared in a 34-14 victory over Michigan and the 1991 national championship. He became an NFL first-round draft pick, the 18th player selected overall. He's seen enough potential splintering of a Husky team in transition to remain quiet. He's proposed a radical solution. 

"Everyone leaving, it’s all about them," Hall said in a Facebook comment. "They have zero commitment to the team. Coach [Kalen] DeBoer will be best served to continue to weed out every player that is not committed to the team. You can win short term with 'I' guys but can’t build with them because they will bolt as soon as it does not go their way. I have to be brutally honest right now — coach might be better served blowing up the building and get his own guys in and build from there. Get some guys committed to the name on the front of the jersey."

Hall played for memorable Don James-coached UW teams that went from 6-5 and no bowl in 1988, which was a fan-base disappointment, to 8-4, 10-2 and 12-0 in consecutive seasons, winning a Freedom Bowl and a pair of Rose Bowls, respectively. He's shown in the accompanying photo with All-American defensive tackle Steve Emtman and others signaling 11-0 with their hands after the Apple Cup. He later spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Since retiring as a player, he has served as a California junior-college and high school football coach. He's willing to pass along his team-building knowledge to anyone on the new staff who wants to hear it.

"Get some guys that actually love each other and are willing to go to battle during the good times and the bad times," the Husky secondary great said. "If any current coach or administrator wants to know how to create this culture, I’m available to help."

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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