Standouts & Improvements For Washington After Week 1

Jedd Fisch met with the media on Monday ahead of Washington’s week two matchup with UC Davis. After reviewing the film from the win over Colorado State, Fisch shared some of the things the Huskies did well in their season-opening win. He also addressed areas where he will be looking for improvement early in the season.

Standouts & Improvements for UW

Offensive Line Performance

Pro Football Focus graded Washington’s offensive line with an 88.5 run blocking grade in its win over Colorado State. It was the best run blocking line in college football for week one, according to the site. The group also generated 3.3 line yards per play. It was able to create push at the point of attack, allowing its running game to thrive with 283 rushing yards on the evening. 

“The offensive line set a good foundation all the way across the board,” Fisch said this week. Of the group, right tackle Drew Azzopardi was the top performer. “I thought he had a very good game; he graded out exceptionally high,” Fisch said. “He finished blocks, he was taking guys and walking them back… he plays with a nastiness.” Over the offseason, Fisch said that the coaching staff challenged him to improve his fundamentals and agility. “We gave him the challenge to become more flexible. We made him do yoga every week…And we worked really hard on his technique,” Fisch said. “[Our staff] felt that his return after [his] first year as a full-time starter that he was going to be able to make a big-time jump, and I believe he has.”

Fisch was also impressed with how his center performed, not just on the field as a blocker, but in his evaluation of the opposition. “We had about 14 checks in that game, and Landen [Hatchett]  managed all of them with Demond [Williams]. So he was able to get us from one play to another play without issue.” Part of the responsibility at center is making checks based on how the defense presents itself, communicating that with the quarterback pre-snap, and with the coaching staff between drives. “He let me know between every series what was happening up front…He was able to communicate that to us at a high level, and he was right in what he said.” During Monday’s press conference, Fisch said that he awarded his entire offensive line a game ball for the performance it had against Colorado State.

Secondary Standouts & Improvements

Makell Esteen and Alex McLaughlin led the team in tackles with 17 combined. Esteen had an interception that led to three points. Jedd Fisch said Esteen was awarded a game ball for his performance on Saturday. McLaughlin recorded a pass breakup, a tackle for loss, and notched four stops according to Pro Football Focus. “Alex had a good game,” Fisch said on Monday. “He was very active, he can run and hit. He likes to throw his body around, which is great… For a first game showing up in a Big Ten uniform, he handled it and responded really well.”

But there were a handful of plays where Colorado State found holes in the secondary, specifically on late downs and in near the red area. “We were excellent on third down, they were three for 13 on third down,” Fisch said on Monday. “I would say that one of the issues was that they were three for five on fourth down.” The Rams converted on fourth and two on their first scoring drive. In the fourth quarter, Colorado State converted a fourth and 10 from its own 39. “If we stop them there, right now we’re first and 10 on the plus 39 going in, up 10,” Fisch said on Monday. Washington also allowed a fourth-and-12 conversion later in the fourth quarter. “We’d like to get off the field in a couple of those situations, the fourth and longs would be one of them.” 

Rams’ tight end Jaxxon Warren found holes in the center of the Husky defense for gains of 25 and 27 yards on successive plays. “They had [Warren] running down the seam one time with a formation they set into the boundary that gave us, for that moment in time, gave us an issue. Which we quickly solved and practiced last night a few times.” 

Punt Return Game

Denzel Boston fielded all four of Colorado State’s punts on Saturday. Washington’s starting wide receiver is who Fisch believes to be best equipped at this point in time for the job. Similarly, in the kick return game, starting running backs Jonah Coleman and Adam Mohammed handled all four kickoffs. “If other people beat them out then they won’t do it,” Fisch said. “You know, we’re going to play the best players at every position. Denzel right now is our best punt returner. So he’s out there. And then when we have somebody else that can be as good or equal to him then probably that guy will go out there more. And in the same way [as] kickoff returns.”

During his coaching stint with the Baltimore Ravens, Fisch said their return men were Ed Reed and Deion Sanders, a couple of starting defensive backs. Fisch was the wide receivers coach for the Denver Broncos in 2008, and starting wide receiver Eddie Royal returned punts that year. “Those are big important plays. We got a lot of yardage in the kickoff return game last week that really helped us. Those are things that we don’t want to give up right now.”

In terms of what separates Boston as the starting punt returner, Fisch pointed to a few different characteristics. “The ability to track the ball is a huge huge part of being a punt returner. The ability to get vertical fast, and not too much wiggle.” Another thing the veteran Washington receiver does well as a punt returner is evaluate the situation at hand. “Be a good judge back there, don’t take unnecessary hits, know when to fair catch, know when the appropriate time is to just let the ball go. And having a good understanding of that makes you a high-quality punt returner.” At this point, Boston is that guy. Until someone else proves that they can be just as consistent or better, it will continue to be Boston.