UW Spring Practice Ends With Huard Having his Best Day

The redshirt freshman QB completed 13 of 20 passes and directed three scoring drives, two for touchdowns.

The sun came out and so did a couple of thousand football fans for what the University of Washington labeled the Spring Preview.

After two hours at Husky Stadium, this movie trailer of a workout could have been renamed the Sam Huard coming-out party.

The redshirt freshman quarterback and legacy player had arguably his best day wearing a UW jersey, leading his players to a couple of touchdowns and a field goal.

Most off all, the 6-foot-2, 194-pound redshirt freshman from Bellevue, Washington, stood ever confident in the pocket, completing 13 of 20 throws for 190 yards and a late 9-yard score to high school teammate Lonyatta Alexander Jr.

"You see the old connection with him and Junior Alexander, and that was fun to see," UW coach Kalen DeBoer said. "Even the ones not completed I thought he did a good job and didn't overanalyze."

DeBoer said he's had several productive conversations with Huard this spring in getting the young quarterback to a comfortable place.

"We just had an opportunity to go and play in front of the fans, it was a beautiful day and it was just being able to go out and play free and have fun," Huard said. " I just felt good and relaxed out there and let my guys around me make plays."

In the three-man competition, Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr., who went out on the field first, wasn't bad either, completing 12 of 20 passes for 209 yards and final-play 50-yard scoring pass to Rome Odunze. 

Penix tossed two interceptions, waiting too long to deliver a ball to Odunze and getting picked by senior safety Alex Cook, and having cornerback Mishael Powell steal an overthrown ball.

Having a noticeable off day was returning UW starter Dylan Morris. While directing his group to a pair of field goals, he off target much of the session, completing just 3 of 12 attempts for 54 yards. 

With four months to digest all of this before opening against Kent State, DeBoer gave no indication of who stands where in the quarterback competition.

"We're not in a position yet where we want to name a starter," the coach said. "We want that to continue on through the summer. They're very supportive of each other. They all understand it's a great competition."

Sam Huard posed for a photo with some young fans after the scrimmage / Dan Raley

While the offense was good at times, though under some self-induced restraints because Pac-12 Networks was broadcasting everything to the other 11 conference cities, the UW defense had its moments.

On top of Cook's interception, edge rusher Jeremiah Martin and new defensive tackle Ulumoo Ale broke through to touch-sack Penix for a 9-yard loss.

On a first-and-goal at the 1, Penix flipped a ball to Odunze on a surprising end-around so close to the end zone and linebacker Daniel Heimuli blew up the play.

DeBoer was pleased with his defensive unit's overall progress this spring.

"Early on, I like felt our run defense was maybe a little bit not where we wanted it," the coach said. "But the last two or three weeks, I really believe we've gotten a lot better. Our pass rush has been super consistent all spring long. It's been hard to handle the edge guys. You saw that today."

The UW offensive linemen got together after the scrimmage for a position-group image.  / Dan Raley

DeBoer will now try to get the 10 guys healthy who watched as spectators, including two-time All-Pac-12 offensive tackle Jaxson Kirkland.

He'll no doubt deal with some players who immediately head for the transfer portal because their spring advancement didn't go as planned.

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