Nobody guessed the O line would rebound as strongly as they did in 2022. Not even the few who agreed Huff should have been retained. The difference between the performance of 2021 and 2022 shows how important the OC is, and how a HC with no experience can really screw up that side of the ball. I'm glad Huff was retained, and I dang sure hope he continues to thrive in this offensive scheme.
2021 on offense was all about a lousy OC trying very hard to please a new head coach who was in way over his head at the UW. Full Stop. Jimmy Lake was a disaster and the OC that he hired was an even bigger disaster (if that is even possible). I would add that the QB and WR play that season was very poor overall, which allows defenses to completely load up against the running game. That powerhouse of a team, Montana (extreme sarcasm), played exactly that style of defense almost perfectly in the opener and every other team in 2021 did the same thing. The UW passing game was never anywhere close to being good enough to really open things up for the running game in 2021. Defenses stacked the box all season long in 2021 and got away with it.
I firmly believe that trying to "learn" anything meaningful about the Huskies in 2021 from the disaster on the field that season is a futile effort. The entire team played poorly, starting in that horror show of a first game and continuing all the way through to the horror show that was the Apple Cup. The offense was awful all season long and the defense was somewhat better but still not anywhere close to as good as it had been under Coach Pete.
The coaching stuff was upgraded by 300% after Lake was fired and DeBoer was hired. Adams leaving for UNike was a great additional development in my view since it allowed DeBoer and Grubb to go out and get one of the very best WR coaches in the nation. Right now the coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball is one of the very best that there is in college football. In 2021 it was a mediocre staff with a very poor OC and a very poor head coach. That is the recipe for a disaster of a season, which is what it was.
The scheme Lake/Donovan were running was straight out of 1994 college football. It was atrocious, glad they didn’t throw Huff out with that garbage.
Speaking of that garbage, when will the 3,000 word article pop on the lead up to the John Donovan hire. Still remember the day he was hired and commenting that it ended Lake’s job that day. Possibly the worst coordinator hire in this history of the P5.
Seriously. Still waiting for the 30 for 30 on Lake and his inexplicable decision-making (read: hiring Donovan) that led to an unmitigated disaster. Hell, even his recruiting, which he always excelled at as an assistant, was dreadful.
@Christian This is a great piece. Thank you. I'd love to see some in depth coverage of Huff's recruiting approach. What is it that he has that allows him to recruit the line so well?
Regarding John Donovan's scheme, I knew there was a problem. The linemen consistently blocked their guy, but there was always a traffic jam at the point of attack. I don't understand football well enough to explain that, but it's what I saw. My eyes flew open when I saw all the space Grubb's scheme produced for running backs. Night and day.
Huff seems to have a ton of "regular guy" charm to go with his coaching skill. And after watching the spring scrimmage tape, I think he already has good depth and talent on board. But this Paki Finau recruit is extra good on his high school tape. He looks like the second coming of Troy Fautanu. Not too tall, can sink his hips and really drive. Great football posture.
Nobody guessed the O line would rebound as strongly as they did in 2022. Not even the few who agreed Huff should have been retained. The difference between the performance of 2021 and 2022 shows how important the OC is, and how a HC with no experience can really screw up that side of the ball. I'm glad Huff was retained, and I dang sure hope he continues to thrive in this offensive scheme.
2021 on offense was all about a lousy OC trying very hard to please a new head coach who was in way over his head at the UW. Full Stop. Jimmy Lake was a disaster and the OC that he hired was an even bigger disaster (if that is even possible). I would add that the QB and WR play that season was very poor overall, which allows defenses to completely load up against the running game. That powerhouse of a team, Montana (extreme sarcasm), played exactly that style of defense almost perfectly in the opener and every other team in 2021 did the same thing. The UW passing game was never anywhere close to being good enough to really open things up for the running game in 2021. Defenses stacked the box all season long in 2021 and got away with it.
I firmly believe that trying to "learn" anything meaningful about the Huskies in 2021 from the disaster on the field that season is a futile effort. The entire team played poorly, starting in that horror show of a first game and continuing all the way through to the horror show that was the Apple Cup. The offense was awful all season long and the defense was somewhat better but still not anywhere close to as good as it had been under Coach Pete.
The coaching stuff was upgraded by 300% after Lake was fired and DeBoer was hired. Adams leaving for UNike was a great additional development in my view since it allowed DeBoer and Grubb to go out and get one of the very best WR coaches in the nation. Right now the coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball is one of the very best that there is in college football. In 2021 it was a mediocre staff with a very poor OC and a very poor head coach. That is the recipe for a disaster of a season, which is what it was.
Well said.
So glad to see it. I met him and his wife at a husky function in the desert a couple years ago and he is a super nice guy.
The scheme Lake/Donovan were running was straight out of 1994 college football. It was atrocious, glad they didn’t throw Huff out with that garbage.
Speaking of that garbage, when will the 3,000 word article pop on the lead up to the John Donovan hire. Still remember the day he was hired and commenting that it ended Lake’s job that day. Possibly the worst coordinator hire in this history of the P5.
Seriously. Still waiting for the 30 for 30 on Lake and his inexplicable decision-making (read: hiring Donovan) that led to an unmitigated disaster. Hell, even his recruiting, which he always excelled at as an assistant, was dreadful.
Here's the eight word headline for that 3,000-word article:
Jimmy Lake: He didn't know what he didn't know
@Christian This is a great piece. Thank you. I'd love to see some in depth coverage of Huff's recruiting approach. What is it that he has that allows him to recruit the line so well?
Regarding John Donovan's scheme, I knew there was a problem. The linemen consistently blocked their guy, but there was always a traffic jam at the point of attack. I don't understand football well enough to explain that, but it's what I saw. My eyes flew open when I saw all the space Grubb's scheme produced for running backs. Night and day.
Huff seems to have a ton of "regular guy" charm to go with his coaching skill. And after watching the spring scrimmage tape, I think he already has good depth and talent on board. But this Paki Finau recruit is extra good on his high school tape. He looks like the second coming of Troy Fautanu. Not too tall, can sink his hips and really drive. Great football posture.
Lake was right. It was the best line in the conference. Unfortunately you're only as good as good leadership and that proved to be bad.
Never wanted to get rid of Huff. Knew it was more the scheme than anything.
Wow! Great read. I’m glad Huff is excelling and thanks for the article showing his stuff. Keep them coming!
Just another fantastic article. Thank you Christian.