Defense Shines in Washington’s Mock Game

The defense seemed to have the upper hand in Washington’s three-quarter Mock Game under the lights on Saturday evening. In the final open practice of Fall Camp, fans filled the stands inside Husky Stadium and saw several plays made by Ryan Walters’ group. The flow of the scrimmage was very much situational, as the ball was often re-spotted after plays to set up different conditions. As such, all of the stats we recorded are unofficial but shed light on some players who had quality performances. 

Washington Mock Game Takeaways

Alex McLaughlin Draws Recognition

Northern Arizona transfer Alex McLaughlin has a way of finding himself near the football on nearly every play. “He’s cerebral,” head coach Jedd Fisch said after the Mock Game. “He’s able to be in the right place at the right time.” McLaughlin did just that on Saturday. The hard-hitting safety unofficially recorded a would-be sack, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup on the evening. 

He showed his quickness and sure-tackling abilities on the tackle for loss, chasing down the speedy true freshman Quaid Carr on an outside run. McLaughlin engaged in the tackle and was able to pull the runner backwards towards the sideline for a short loss. The Husky safety nearly had himself an interception off a deflected pass later on in the game. “He comes downhill and he’ll hit ya,” Fisch said afterwards. “So that’s kind of what impresses me the most.”

Other Defensive Performances To Know

Just two plays into the scrimmage, the defense made its first play. True freshman and summer enrollee Dylan Robinson undercut an out route and intercepted the throw from Demond Williams Jr. He returned it about 37 yards near the goal line, where the play was blown dead. Robinson is another lengthy cornerback in the Husky defensive back room, listed at 6’-3”. He’s had opportunities with both the first and second team defense this Fall since arriving at Washington.

Zach Durfee was another player who found the stats column frequently on Saturday evening. He unofficially recorded three would-be sacks. Durfee brings a different kind of athleticism to the edge of the Washington defensive line, exploding and twisting past blockers, finding his way into the backfield often. Back at full health, Durfee will be a significant contributor to the front seven this season. 

Some other unofficial defensive stats to know from Saturday night include a pass breakup and a diving interception by Tacario Davis. The 6’-4” cornerback came out of the game with a minor injury after the diving play. But Fisch confirmed there’s no concern for anything major; it was seemingly precautionary. Anterio Thompson had a pass breakup along the line of scrimmage, and Hayden Moore showed up again on the EDGE with a pair of quarterback hurries.

Preparing For The Moment

Fisch said that the Mock Game was an opportunity for him to evaluate how well his younger players responded to the moment. “First time under the lights to see what some of the freshmen looked like, see if it [the moment] was too big,” he said. Freshman John Mills started the game at left guard with the first team offense. “He did a pretty good job from what it looked like on the sideline,” Fisch said. Freshman wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck hauled in a couple of catches for about 17 yards each. Fellow freshman wideout Raiden Vines-Bright was the starting slot receiver with the first team offense as well. He also had a catch for about 15 yards during the game. 

Late in the contest, Rylon Dillard-Allen intercepted Kai Horton and took it 38 yards the other way for a touchdown. The former four-star recruit also had a pick-six in the Spring Game earlier this year. Dillard-Allen has earned many first-team repetitions throughout the Spring and Fall on the Husky defense, and he continued to capitalize on Saturday night. 

Fisch recounted these performances and came to a conclusion after the game. “It didn’t look like it [the moment] was too big for those guys.”