Washington training camp, Day 3: Red zone and Roebuck
The Huskies want to be better at scoring touchdowns when they're close to scoring touchdowns.
SEATTLE — Limited as the Washington Huskies’ ceiling might have been last season, it’s still true that an 8-4 record was achievable, if only they’d been just a bit better in the red zone.
Jedd Fisch reminded his team of this after their first practice of camp: a pair of fourth-and-goal failures, one from the 2-yard line (Rutgers) and another from the 1 (Washington State), punctuated the Huskies’ two most confounding defeats. The Huskies finished the year ranked 97th in FBS in red-zone touchdown percentage, and it’s probably also relevant to note that their season effectively ended on a do-or-die two-pointer in El Paso.
I thought about this at Washington’s Friday practice, its third of training camp and first with shoulder pads, because the first offense-vs.-defense action of camp took place in the red zone. Practice ended with an 11-on-11 session inside the 10-yard line on the south end of the east practice field, highlighted by Demond Williams Jr.’s 3-yard strike to Rashid Williams, who caught it across the goal line between Tacario Davis and Makell Esteen. Denzel Boston, watching from the sideline, found his fellow receiver for hearty congratulations as players lined up to run gassers.
Last year’s red-zone performance, said Jimmie Dougherty, offensive coordinator and QBs coach, “wasn’t good enough. That’s the bottom line. We’ve got to be better.”
After a Waze-guided sojourn through Federal Way and Fife, I’ve got plenty more from Dougherty on red-zone improvement — and why the Huskies emphasize it so early in camp — in today’s thoughts and observations from practice.
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