Day 12: Notes, observations and highlights from Huskies spring practice

The Huskies’ final week of spring practices began with a two-hour workout on a pleasant Monday morning here on Montlake. They didn’t do a whole lot worthy of note -- they were in shoulder pads and shorts -- but here are a few notes, anyway.

WHAT DID JAKE BROWNING DO TODAY?

More than we’ve seen him do all spring. Browning legitimately played a series at quarterback with the No. 1 offense during the day’s final 11-on-11 period, completing a few passes to tailback Myles Gaskin and one to tight end Drew Sample before Vita Vea crashed through a couple offensive linemen and wrecked a third-down play to end the series.

Browning also threw some passes to receivers on air, and seemed to participate as close to “normal” as he has at any point this spring (that we’ve seen, anyway).

--- Add junior receiver Chico McClatcher to the list of players limited by injury. He spent practice doing strength-and-conditioning drills on the side, along with injured teammates WR K.J. Young and LB Kyler Manu. Others who remain out: DL Greg Gaines, LB Connor O’Brien, LB DJ Beavers, DB Brandon Lewis and TE Michael Neal. RB Lavon Coleman and QB Tony Rodriguez were absent again.

--- The quarterbacks practiced pooch punting today. Browning is still the best at it, though K.J. Carta-Samuels, Daniel Bridge-Gadd and Blake Gregory each managed to boot a few inside the 10-yard line, eventually.

--- Bridge-Gadd scored a touchdown on an 8-yard run up the middle on the final play of practice, working with the No. 3 offense against the No. 3 defense (though there were obviously some second-teamers mixed in, too, because you can’t really field a true “third” team during the spring). Browning’s series ended on Vea’s impressive pass rush, and Carta-Samuels, working with the second team, managed to pick up one first down -- on a short rush by RB Kamari Pleasant, which followed a nice route by WR Brayden Lenius -- before the series stalled. The final play, a fourth-down pass, was broken up by DB Trevor Walker. That was after DB Ezekiel Turner stuffed RB Sean McGrew on third-and-short.

--- The first team-offensive line looked the same: Trey Adams, Andrew Kirkland, Coleman Shelton, Nick Harris and Kaleb McGary, though Kirkland slid to left tackle and Henry Roberts took some snaps at left guard with the first team during an 11-on-11 period. The second-team offensive line looked the same, too: Jared Hilbers, Roberts, Matt James, Jesse Sosebee, Devin Burleson.

--- The first-team defense included a nickel look of Jordan Miller, Jojo McIntosh, Taylor Rapp, Myles Bryant and Byron Murphy, with Azeem Victor and Keishawn Bierria at inside linebacker, Tevis Bartlett and Myles Rice at outside linebacker and Vita Vea and Jaylen Johnson up front. The second-team defense -- at least at first -- had Austin Joyner, Walker, Turner, Isaiah Gilchrist and Jomon Dotson in the defensive backfield, with Amandre Williams, Sean Constantine, Ben Burr-Kirven and Jusstis Warren at linebacker, and Shane Bowman and Jared Pulu up front (Levi Onwuzurike got some time with that group, too).

--- The Huskies practice again on Wednesday, then have a closed practice Friday before Saturday’s spring preview event at Husky Stadium.

This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Day 12: Notes, observations and highlights from Huskies spring practice."