Huskies Corners Crave More Interceptions in 2025
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Washington Huskies senior cornerback Tacario Davis participates in a drill on a UW practice field on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Credit: Aaron Coe, Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. - If a middle linebacker leads a football team in the interceptions category, that’s generally not a good thing.
Truth be told, Washington Huskies cornerbacks picked off only one pass in all of 2024, while the school finished 97th in the FBS with eight interceptions in 13 games. Linebacker Carson Bruener led the team with three picks last season, and cornerback Thaddeus Dixon took the only interception by a cornerback into the transfer portal.
There’s not currently a Washington player on the 2025 roster who has ever intercepted at Montlake, but UW secondary coach John Richardson expects that to change this fall.
“We didn’t get our hands on enough interceptions last year — really subpar,” said Richardson after the Huskies’ 10th spring practice on Tuesday. “So that’s been a focus. Coach [Ryan] Walters has done a great job of bringing that mentality here as well. But hopefully, as you guys have seen in practice, we’re getting our hands on a lot of footballs — PBUs, interceptions and things like that.”
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Washington Huskies defensive backs coach John Richardson prepares to blow his whistle on a UW practice field on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Credit: Aaron Coe, Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]
The Huskies hope to make great plays in addition to the good ones. Pass break-ups are nice and all, but interceptions and pick-sixes are even better. Washington defensive backs have spent substantive time in spring practice working on catching the ball when they can touch it. And when they catch it, the team thinks touchdown and attempts to block a path for it. A pair of cornerbacks who began their careers playing for head coach Jedd Fisch at Arizona look to lead the way.
“My main goal is to make the great plays instead of the good plays,” said senior cornerback Tacario Davis, who transferred to UW in January after nearly coming along with Fisch and fellow cornerback Ephesians Prysock in 2024. “The interceptions, and staying on my feet and taking it back to the crib, you know what I’m saying? The good plays are PBUs, and everyone gets PBUs. But the great ones get interceptions.”
Forcing and recovering fumbles has also been an emphasis from Walters. The first-year defensive coordinator is teaching players to recover any loose football, anywhere, whether or not it’s a live ball. An assistant coach made it clear what is expected on Tuesday when he yelled, “Punch that (expletive) out!” when an offensive player carried the ball loosely during a scrimmage play for a 20-yard gain with a defender trailing.
Davis and Pryscock, both 6-4 and close to 200 pounds, are the presumptive starters at the outside cornerback positions, though both have been limited with injuries. The duo appeared to run full speed in drills, but have not participated in scrimmage sessions recently. Davis, who said “I’m good” when asked about his health and declined to elaborate, relishes the opportunity to play opposite his former Arizona teammate.
“It’s like playing football with my twin,” said Davis, whose nickname is Bobo due to a bowl cut haircut from when he was a child. “We’ve been playing football together for two years, going on our third. It’s like looking in the mirror. I look across the field, and it’s like ‘Dang, somebody who’s built like me and can run, with a play style just like me.”
Davis considered moving on to the NFL after his junior season but returned to college to refine his skills — and because he believes he has the ability to become an All-American.
While Davis and Prysock observe during scrimmage, some other corners have taken advantage of extra reps as Richardson establishes depth and looks for his best option to play in the slot. The next two most commonly playing outside during scrimmages and in the slot when the starters are in for drills are Rahshawn Clark and Leroy Bryant, who are both 6-foot corners. Bryant, a 185-pound sophomore out of Angelo Rodriguez High School in Fairfield, Calif., has been a ballhawk so far this spring, picking off several passes. Clark, who is 195 pounds and prepped nearby at Garfield, has looked impressive in coverage and against the run.
“One thing we’re looking for here in recruiting is making sure that we get DBs who can play multiple spots,” Richardson said. “So when you see guys bounce around in different positions, you know, that’s by design. That way, we can build versatile DBs at all times.”
Bryant, one of the few holdovers from former UW coach Kalen DeBoer’s last recruiting haul, has made an early impression this spring.
“He’s always had good acceleration, and being able to accelerate out of his breaks,” Richardson said. “One thing he’s doing this spring is finding the football a lot more. One thing we’re looking for is guys to make plays on the ball, and he took that challenge and is showing up quite a bit.”
With Caleb Presley’s move to the portal, the development of Bryant and Clark will be crucial for the cornerback rotation. It’ll also be interesting to see where four-star recruit Dylan Robinson fits in for 2025 when he arrives in the summer.
The Huskies practice next at 3:30 on Thursday, with spring ball scheduled to end with the May 2 “Dawgs After Dark” Spring game. Practice sessions are open to fans, and the full practice schedule can be found here.
Burton Ends Practice a Hero
Jace Burton, a 5-10 walk-on receiver, ended practice with a diving catch in the end zone, leading to virtually every offensive player in a UW uniform running over to celebrate the play that ended practice. Burton, whose father, Nigel Burton, was a team captain for the 1998 Huskies, capped a two-minute drill with the 15-yarder from backup quarterback Kai Horton.
The Huskies mixed short scrimmage sessions throughout practice on Tuesday. With likely starting receivers Denzel Boston and Omari Evans remaining out of scrimmages, starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. leaned on junior receiver Kevin Green Jr. for a couple of touchdown passes and also hit slot receiver Audric Harris for a long gain.
WR Evans in Uniform
Evans, a transfer from Penn State who looked impressive during the first week of practice, was back in uniform on Tuesday. The senior, who was out with an unspecified injury, participated in drills and fielded punts but stayed sidelined during scrimmage sessions.
True Freshman Guard in Starting Mix?
John Mills, a 6-6, 320-pound true freshman, spent extensive time with the first unit offensive line on Tuesday. Mills has worked at left guard and left tackle at times during spring. For parts of Tuesday’s practice, Mills played left guard and senior Geirean Hatchett shifted over to right guard. Paki Finau, who’s been playing a lot of first-team left guard, spent more time with the second team. It’s too early to know if Mills will crack the starting lineup when Colorado State visits for the season opener on Aug. 30, but clearly he has made an impression on offensive line coach Michael Switzer so far.
Michael Levelle Watkins to Enter Portal
Redshirt freshman Michael Levelle Watkins announced on social media that he intends the enter the transfer portal, writing, “I think this decision is best for my career and mental health.” He was not getting many reps with the second team in recent practices, in part due to the strong showings from Mills and fellow true freshman Champ Taulealea.
