Huskies WR Raiden Vines-Bright Shines at ‘Dawgs After Dark’ Spring Game
SEATTLE, Wash. - Jedd Fisch’s second edition of the Washington Huskies football team is more battle-tested than last year, but it was one of the least experienced players who put on a show at the second annual Dawgs After Dark spring football game on Friday night at Husky Stadium.
Raiden Vines-Bright, a true freshman receiver who missed about half of the 14 spring practices with a hamstring injury, made a spectacular touchdown catch and a host of other receptions and runs to help Gold beat Purple 20-12 in front of a solid crowd on a beautiful evening at Husky Stadium. Like the other true freshman who enrolled early for spring football, Vines-Bright would normally still be in high school, getting ready for prom around this time of year. He finished the night with (unofficially) eight catches for 130 yards and the TD.
“A freshman who’s coming out to play in that kind of atmosphere tells us a lot,” offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty said. “The moment wasn’t too big for him, even though it’s a spring game, he turned it up a notch, you know, when the lights came on.”
Fisch was also impressed.
“Tonight, we saw why we recruited him,” Fisch said. “We saw that talent throughout the whole process of his senior and junior year [of high school]. We knew Raiden for a while now, but it was great to see him come into his own tonight.”
Vines-Bright’s showing highlighted the Gold team’s performance, but it was the atmosphere that won the evening for Fisch. A crowd of 25,565 (based on tickets scanned) showed up for the spring game, which hasn’t always so well attended.
“How awesome was that for a spring game?” Fisch said. “Probably the best attended one I’ve been involved with in the last five year or more. … This spring has been a blast for all of us.”
The game featured exhilarating Corgi races at halftime, and an extra point kicked by Jonah Coleman, which he followed up with a backflip. Coleman may not challenge kicker Grady Gross for his role, but Coleman dazzled in many other ways. The senior running back, who looked more elusive than last season after dropping a few pounds, carried the ball five times for 56 yards, and also ran down the field to keep safety CJ Christian from scoring on a pick-six that would have ended the half. Instead, Purple settled for Gross’ 46-yard field goal and no backflip.
“Jonah is a blast, man,” Fisch said. “I’ve seen him do probably everything at different times the last four years, back flips, which I know he wanted to show off tonight.”
Coleman, who gave way to other backs in the second half, might have provided some punch to the offenses that struggled at times on Friday had this been a regular-season game. While Vines-Bright shined, the receiving corps missed injured starters Denzel Boston and Omari Evans, who are both recovering from injuries. And, as is often the case, the defense seemed to be ahead of the offense this spring.
Starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. had a mixed night. The sophomore completed 5-of-8 passes for 41 yards, but was “sacked” twice. Quarterbacks are not allowed to be hit during spring, so whistles were quickly blown before Williams could show off his electric running ability.
Deven Bryant continued his strong spring. The sophomore linebacker seems to have worked his way onto the first-team defense, and he was credited with a sack and also stuffed receiver Chris Lawson on a reverse.
Rahshawn Clark had the hit of the night, leveling walk-on receiver Jace Burton on the sideline to force an incomplete pass, and has been raved about by coaches all spring.
Elias Johnson, Rylon Dillard-Allen, and Alex McLaughlin each picked off passes on Friday. Some of that came from the pass rush of linemen such as Bryce Butler, a 6-5, 315-pound tackle who missed much of last season with injury. Butler caused issues for the Purple offense, especially early in the game, and was in the face of freshman quarterback Dash Beierly when he threw an interception to Dillard-Allen.
“I think the most important thing is the guys are playing clean, they’re playing fast,” first-year defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said. “And the emphasis has been making plays on the ball.”
The Huskies made it through the spring game with no new injuries, Fisch said, and all players who missed all or part of spring scrimmages are expected to be fully healthy for fall camp.
Along with Boston and Evans, receivers Rashid Williams and Kevin Green Jr. missed the spring game as they recovered from minor injuries. Defensive linemen Jayvon Parker, Zach Durfee, and Russell Davis II, as well as linebackers Jacob Manu and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale did not play Friday but should be good to go by July when the team reports for camp.
