UW Fresh Start (No. 28): Vince Nunley Seeks First Game Action Since 2019

The Husky safety has been idle since the pandemic began and became a collegian.

Dan Raley | Mar 9, 2022

Defensive back Vince Nunley should be well rested and overeager to show the new University of Washington coaching staff what he can do, though he's no stranger to the incoming staff.

A football casualty of the pandemic, the Bay Area-produced safety hasn't played in an organized football game since Nov. 30, 2019.

That was 27 months ago.

That was the day that Chris Petersen informed the UW administration he would be stepping down as the Husky coach.

That was a Saturday night in which Nunley's Encinal High Jets put themselves in position to win the CIF North Central Division 5 championship game but bitterly lost to Del Norte 14-13 when they had a 25-yard field goal blocked with 16 seconds remaining.

Nunley next transferred to Freedom High School in Oakley, east of Oakland, for his senior football season only to have it wiped out by the spread of COVID-19.

Last fall, Nunley arrived at the UW as a true freshman and redshirted in order to learn his college football trade and build a bigger and stronger physique.

"He's another guy we're looking for as that tough, physical guy," then Husky coach Jimmy Lake said. "We think he's going to be able to come here and put on some weight naturally and use that length and also those ball skills to change the game."

Nunley chose the Huskies over Utah, Kansas and ... Kalen DeBoer-coached Fresno State.

Nice to see you again, Vince.

Vince Nunley (28) scratches his head following the Oregon game.

Vince Nunley, at left, shares a moment with Dyson McCutcheon, former DBs coach Will Harris, Davon Banks and Zakhari Spears.

Vince Nunley gets loose before a game.

Vince Nunley makes his college choice known.

A month until spring practice, we're offering intel and observations gathered on the UW football personnel in a series of stories on every scholarship player from No. 0 to 99. We'll review each Husky's previous starting experience, if applicable, and determine what comes next under DeBoer.

As is the case with any coaching change, it's a new football beginning for everyone, including the Huskies' No. 28 on defense.

During his first season in Seattle, Nunley's game-day UW highlight is posing for a pregame photo with California freshman cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns III, an East Bay friend and high school opponent.

Nunley played well for an 11-2 Encinal team in his last meaningful football experience in 2019. He had 25 tackles and 6 interceptions. In the ninth game of that season, Nunley intercepted two passes against Center High, returning the first one 60 yards for a touchdown, in a 13-12 victory.

He was one of the playmakers for a defense that posted six shutouts and permitted just 8.6 points per game. He was a first-team All-Metro selection by the San Francisco Chronicle.

More than two years later, Nunley should be ready to hit and cover someone again when it counts, and just enjoy the electricity of a real game.

UW Starter or Not: Nunley should be competitive with six returning UW teammates who started games at the safety positions last fall. He's probably still not starting material just yet, but he should be ready for his first game action since 2019. He has all of those attributes that Lake previously listed and should be better equipped to handle the physical end of the game with a year of weight training. DeBoer's staff knows him from recruiting, which will help his cause.

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Published Mar 9, 2022

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.