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On Tuesday, the first University of Washington. spring football practice came with a listed start time of 3:30 p.m. in Dempsey Indoor, but 18 players already were stretching nearly an hour earlier.
Think these guys weren't a little eager to get going?
In waves, nearly 100 players showed up for a padless practice that lasted two and a half hours and was notable for how much bigger and fit Jedd Fisch's Huskies appeared in a year's time.
An initial observation: Arizona transfer Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei, at a well-defined 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds, was the most physically impressive player out there. He wore No. 11, Alphonzo Tuputala's old number, only 50 pounds heavier than the graduated linebacker.
The defensive lineman, whose position is intentionally kept vague because of his versatility, demonstrated Bralen Trice-like quickness with his spin moves and exceptionally strong hands in shedding those who got in his way in drills.
Uiagalelei likely will line up wherever he wants on the defensive line, whether it be as an edge rusher or inside coming out of a stance.
"Both," Fisch said when asked if the newcomer is an inside or outside defender. "Obviously, we're really excited he came here. We recruited him early on and had him for [three] years at Arizona. He's in a great spot now."
Another takeaway: Sophomore Zach Henning will receive the first opportunity to claim maybe the only real vacant job on the No. 1 offensive line -- right guard.
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, he looked much more buff after apparently going for a winter weight room makeover.
With touted 6-foot-5, 330-pound freshman Champ Taulealea and equally highly regarded 6-foot-6, 320-pound freshman John Mills opening spring drills as the No. 2 offensive guards, Henning no doubt realized he had to do something to stay out in front.
"He's a guy that loves it, a guy who wants to become a starter, a guy that's tough, competitive," Fisch said of Henning. "I think he was young last year and he's grown into his body a little bit."
Yet another takeover: New linebackers coach Brian Odom, previously at North Texas, USC and Oklahoma, is a yeller who often will be heard over everyone else no matter how noisy practice gets.
He begin the scheduled part of practice with the entire defense gathered around him while he went off on what seemed like a five-minute tangent.
Welcome to Husky football, bigger, possibly much better and definitely louder.
Competition apparently will know no bounds, certainly not ones created by matching bloodlines.
Brothers Landen and Geirean Hatchett appear to be the 1-2 centers to begin with, with the younger Hatchett holding onto the starting job he was given for the Sun Bowl and his sibling acting as the back-up after coming home as an Oklahoma transfer.
Fisch himself showed up for practice at 3:07, between arriving groups of players, clapping his hands from the outset.
Demonstrating himself to be a player's coach, he called wide receiver Kevin Green Jr. out of a stretching line and gave him a heartfelt shoulder hug, likely signaling his return from a lost season.
Green, who followed his coach from Arizona to the UW, went down in fall camp last year with a season-ending knee injury and is back healthy, looking for playing time.
New punter Dusty Zimmer, his Australian accent clearly recognizable in sideline conversations, was in sweats and didn't take part in practice. He apparently hasn't been cleared to play yet.
One notable group that appeared at the beginning and the end of practice, all dressed in black T-shirts and shorts, were edge rusher Zach Durfee, linebackers Jacob Manu and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, and defensive tackle Jayvon Parker.
Coming off surgery, they presumably spent most of their time in the weight room or training room, or both, still in recovery, aiming for a fall return. Durfee, Manu and Parker are potential starters, with Rainey-Sale considered the No. 1 freshman in his class.
And one last observation: Penn State wide receiver Omari Evans can play.
At the end of the opening practice, he caught three passes, almost in a row. He ran under a 30-yard toss from Tulane transfer Kai Horton and caught 25- and 15-yard touchdown passes from Shea Kuykendall, formerly of Northern Colorado. He beat redshirt freshman Elias Johnson on all three plays, high-pointing the last ball in the end zone.
Evans, sending his offensive teammates into a sideline frenzy each time, almost pulled a Giles Jackson Sun Bowl impersonation without having Demond Williams Jr. on the field. Now that was impressive.
To get the latest UW football and basketball news,
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TODAY'S BEST
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