Will Thomson, Latu or Newton Escape Husky Football Purgatory?

With the UW season on the back side now, will any of these once-promising players ever get on the field? We examine their situations.

The University of Washington football team has four games under its belt, which in a COVID-19 world means it's almost over.

Oregon is the only sure thing left on the schedule.

A week later, do the Huskies play for the Pac-12 North Division title or a comparable South crossover foe?

Or if everyone gets really creative, do they resurrect the Apple Cup against Washington State?

What about a bowl game?

Yes, this is truly a strange and unpredictable season, where nothing makes sense and everyone hopes for the best and blindly pushes ahead.

With college football lineups and rosters a continual mystery to the outside world, three UW players who were expected to shoulder big responsibilities — and haven't — rate some discussion here. They've disappeared. Will they resurface?

Kevin Thomson

Thomson is the grad transfer from Sacramento State, the insurance policy brought in by the Huskies so they wouldn't risk everything without an experienced college quarterback on the roster.

The reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year, according to well-placed sources, won the UW starting job as an effective dual-threat QB and then promptly got injured and didn't suit for the opener against Oregon State. 

That provided opportunity for redshirt freshman Dylan Morris, who has done well as a four-game starter, and some mop-up duty for sophomore Jacob Sirmon against Arizona. 

Thomson was recognized by the program on Saturday in its departing-senior ceremony. How nice. 

The question that persists is this: Will the seventh-year collegian (four at Sacramento State, two at UNLV and one at UW) come and go in Jimmy Lake's program without ever getting on the field?

DAWGS for LIFE 💯@josiah_bronson @brandonmckinn20
@e_mold3n @KRTaylor_ @KevinThomsonX #PurpleReign x #BowDown pic.twitter.com/cBrybf5SqS

— Washington Football (@UW_Football) December 5, 2020

With true freshman Ethan Garbers redshirting and 5-star recruit Sam Huard due on campus in 2021, and Morris well established with three or even four years of eligibility remaining (COVID rules), and Sirmon fitting in somewhere, the chances of Thomson coming back for an eighth NCAA season seem remote.

Or do they?

Laiatu Latu

Whatever happened to Double-L?

Latu was pegged as a starter at outside linebacker entering the season and he was listed that way for each of the first three Husky games. His name was removed completely from the pre-game depth chart only this past weekend. 

The Sacramento, California, product has never stepped on the field or put on a uniform. Nobody talks about him. They should.

With all of the Huskies' run-defense problems, the 6-foot-4, 265-pounder could help shore up that position area whenever he's available again. He was the only true freshman lineman on either side of the ball who played last year, appearing in 12 games. He had a safety in one game, shared in a sack in another, had plenty of tackles against teams such as Oregon and BYU. 

Jimmy Lake said he wasn't going to address a player's whereabouts unless someone suffered a serious injury. It's abundantly clear the UW coach is not going to identify anyone who's suffering from COVID-19.

Latu seemingly will need a long recovery period from what ails him.

Richard Newton

He might be the biggest head-scratcher on this team. One minute, he's snapping off a 54-yard touchdown run against Arizona — the Huskies' longest of the season — the next he's not moving 54 inches off the sideline.

Newton entered the season coming off an 11-touchdown, 498-yard rushing showing as a redshirt freshman, landed on the Doak Walker watch list as one of the nation's best at his position. The school even trotted him out for a virtual media session, which is reserved only for focus players. 

After getting more carries than any of his teammates in the first two games, Newton has been in uniform but hasn't sniffed the field for the past two. 

What did this guy do to draw running-back purgatory? The fall from grace for this sophomore from Lancaster, California, has not been explained at all. His absence is hard to ignore. His promise as a player no doubt still remains high.

How and when will Newton fix this mess?

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