Jonah Coleman Shines On Offense, Special Teams in Huskies’ Mock Game

SEATTLE, Wash. — Two weeks away from the real thing, the Washington Huskies held a mock game on Saturday at Husky Stadium.

Star running back Jonah Coleman ran well behind a rebuilt offensive line, and provided the highlight of the evening — a 101-yard kickoff return.

In an effort to keep players healthy, many plays were blown dead at initial contact. So, that meant Coleman will wait until the Aug. 30 opener against Colorado State to show off his bruising running style. The No. 1 offense, mostly playing against the second-team defense, had a slow start, highlighted by an interception from true-freshman cornerback Dylan Robinson, who might have returned it for a touchdown had it been a real game.

Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. looked sharper as the scrimmage went along, though, throwing several touchdowns on the evening.

“I think we got a lot to work on,” Washington head coach Jedd Fisch said. “but I’m excited about where we are heading into these next two weeks.”

Because quarterbacks are off limits to any contact, there were a couple of times it looked like Zach Durfee would have put some hurt on backup quarterback Kai Horton. Those plays were allowed to continue, though, so we’ll never know.

In the vein of “ball don’t lie,” Horton threw an interception to a diving Tacario Davis in the end zone after a would-have-been Durfee sack.

The game featured three quarters, with a halftime between the second and third. Coaches often set up situations, so drives continued or ended as they saw fit.

There were perhaps as many as a thousand fans in the stands on what turned out to be a pretty decent night weather-wise. 

Players and coaches greeted fans on the field for photos and autographs after the practice concluded, so players were not made available to the media for interviews. 

Next week, the team will go into game-planning mode as it prepares for the upcoming 12-game slate. 

Team appears healthy

Though there was some live tackling, it didn’t appear that anyone suffered any injuries during the game. Davis came out after the diving interception in the end zone, but “should be fine,” Fisch said.

Among players who did not suit up for the game were true freshmen receivers Chris Lawson and Marcus Harris, defensive tackles Logan Sagapolu and Jayvon Parker, linebackers Jacob Manu and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, defensive end Deshawn Lynch, tight end Charlie Crowell and walk-on receiver Luke Luchini. I also did not see redshirt freshman Jordan Washington in there. Washington, who has been the third running back behind Coleman and Adam Mohammed, seemed fine during Friday’s practice. I didn’t see Jayvon Parker in the game, and Fisch confirmed that the defensive tackle would likely be a game-time decision for the opener. His twin brother, Armon Parker, had a big stuff of running back Adam Mohammed.

“I think we did a good job on the health side of things, so now we’re ready to roll,” Fisch said. Should just keep getting guys more and more healthy.”

True freshman John Mill starts

It’s two weeks until the season opener. There’s time for roles to change, but not a lot. Mills getting the start at left guard when redshirt freshman Paki Finau and Zachary Henning appeared to be fully healthy is a sign that he may well have the inside track to start against Colorado State. Finau did rotate in for several first-team series, so he’s still in the mix. 

“I think John Mills and Paki Finau are still in a good competition,” Fisch said. “John Mill started tonight, first time out there, and did a pretty good job from what it looked like on the sideline.”

Receiver rotation settling in

Denzel Boston, who was cleared Thursday to practice in full, started with the No. 1 offense and received a limited number of snaps. He also returned a punt. Rashid Wiliams once again most often lined up on the other side. True freshman Raiden-Vines Bright played a lot with the ones, and Audric Harris rotated in as well.

Penn State-transfer Omari Evans spent most of the evening with the second team, often playing on the outside. True freshman Dezmen Roebuck made several nice catches, mostly with the second team. Kevin Green Jr. got in there as well, making a tough one-handed catch.

“It was a good opportunity, under the lights, to see what some of the freshmen look like — see if it’s too big. [Rylon Dillard-Allen] had an interception. Raiden had a bunch of catches, Roebuck had a bunch of catches. So, it didn’t look like it was too big.”