Inside The Huskies

DeBoer Sizes Up 5 Signees, Says New Coaches Are Coming in a Hurry

The new Husky coach shared what he liked best about the incoming recruits.

Dan Raley

Kalen DeBoer sat down on Wednesday afternoon and sized up five University of Washington football signees in what was going to be a small recruiting class all along, no matter who was coach.

For this new leader, this moment served as a brief respite.

Having hired a pair of assistant coaches, DeBoer said the final eight members of his staff will be revealed almost all at once and fairly soon. 

"It'll be happening fast in the next couple of days," he said. "They need to work through a few things."

The Husky coach also cautioned that there would be more UW players leaving for the transfer portal, but he wasn't ready to identify anyone.

"Some guys are in the process," DeBoer said. "I don't want to go down that road yet."

Such is the life of a two-week coach where people are coming and going almost every day now.

The incoming, which DeBoer described as "top tier," are wide receivers Germie Bernard from Nevada, offensive lineman Parker Brailsford and edge rusher Lance Holtzclaw from Arizona, and wide receiver Denzel Boston and tight end Ryan Otton from in state. 

He had no connection with any of them until he took over and then had to scramble to meet them, watch film and speak with their coaches. He was under no obligation to take anyone simply because that person had made an oral commitment to the former staff.

Two previous commits in quarterback Jackson Stratton from Southern California and offensive lineman Vega Ioane, a local product, left on their own accord or were nudged to move on, with Stratton signing with Colorado State. Defensive back TJ Hall, a Husky decommit before the new staff took over, signed with Iowa. 

DeBoer said he likely will aim for 15 newcomers through the two signing periods and the transfer portal. He wasn't able to discuss Michael Penix Jr., the Indiana quarterback who has announced on his own that he will transfer to the UW.

The coach said he's most comfortable carrying four scholarship quarterback and spoke about the two who have started that he inherited in sophomore Dylan Morris and redshirt freshman Sam Huard.

"I think we have two very capable guys who have been well known in this program in Sam and Dylan," DeBoer said. "Those are two top-quality guys. You can tell they're hungry."

Of the newcomers who signed, the coach expressed his eagerness to introduce Bernard to his up-tempo offense, saying, "He's just a very dynamic player. He's very special with his high-end energy I think he's going to bring because he's just so comfortable and familiar with the program already. It's just really exciting."

DeBoer said the length of some of the newcomers such as Boston impressed him, as well as the receiver's desire to remain home and play. "He just really wanted to stay local," the coach said, "and when I saw the film I wanted him to stay local, too."

The coach noted the football family genes in Otton, the younger brother of departing UW tight end Cade Otton. He said the young tight end will play at 250 to 260 pounds and should set himself apart from his brother, saying, "I think you'll see him make a name for himself."

DeBoer mentioned how Brailsford just won a state championship this past weekend and is an intelligent player with a lot of athleticism as a lineman, describing him as "Twitchy."

Holtzclaw, who goes by the nickname "Showtime," wasn't going to sign during the early period, but the new coach was able to meet with him and change his mind. "The middle of last week, we finally got to know him," DeBoer said. "We just stayed the course."

Looking over his roster, DeBoer said the Huskies are short on linebacker numbers, though not on talent. He also indicated he needs to restock the cornerback position because sophomores Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon are NFL-bound, though neither has made a public declaration. 

Help is on the way for the secondary, though. DeBoer couldn't comment on this, but first-team All-Big Sky cornerback Jordan Perryman from UC-Davis announced on social media that he was transferring to the UW to play his final season of college football. 

A 6-foot, 180-pounder from Hanford, California, Perryman also was selected third-team FCS All-American after accumulating 45 tackles, 10 break-ups and an interception. He visited the UW campus this past weekend. 

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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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