Huskies notes: UW adds Fresno State’s Julius ‘Juice’ Brown as cornerbacks coach
The Washington Huskies football coaching staff continues to take shape ahead of the 2022 season.
UW added another new name to its staff Wednesday, announcing Julius “Juice” Brown — who formerly worked alongside new head coach Kalen DeBoer at Fresno State — will join the program to coach cornerbacks.
“I am excited to welcome Julius, his wife Cassidy, and their family to our program,” DeBoer said in a statement. “Having worked with Coach ‘Juice’ the past two years, it’s clear that his impact in our program will be widespread. His ability to connect and build strong relationships with prospects and current team members is proven and critical to building and developing a strong position group, defense and team.”
Brown spent the past two seasons at Fresno State with DeBoer as a recruiting coordinator and coaching the “Husky” position, which is a linebacker-safety hybrid.
Prior to arriving at Fresno State in 2020, Brown coached at five more Division I programs, primarily coaching defensive backs, during a span of 14 seasons.
After coaching one season at Capital High School (Idaho) in 2005, he joined Boise State for the next six seasons from 2006-11, in the first of two stints at the school he played at for four seasons from 2000-03.
He also coached one season at both Troy (2012) and Arkansas State (2013) before returning to Boise State for two more seasons from 2014-15. He later coached at Utah State (2016-18) and Texas Tech (2019).
At UW, Brown joins a secondary that produced the top pass defense in the FBS during the 2021 season. The Huskies topped both the Pac-12 and national rankings in passing yards allowed per game (143.3), passing yards allowed per completion (8.87) and passing touchdowns allowed (six). Both of the program’s starting corners — sophomores Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon — were named to the All-Pac-12 first team on Tuesday.
“My family and I are blessed and excited to be here,” Brown said in a statement. “I want to thank Coach DeBoer and Jen Cohen for the opportunity to lead these young men at such a historic university. It’s truly a five-star program. You have elite facilities; you get to recruit elite players. You have a vibrant city, with a passionate fan base, and lastly you have the Greatest Setting in College Football. Go Dawgs!”
EXTRA POINTS
▪ Huskies fifth-year junior left tackle Jaxson Kirkland posted this message Wednesday afternoon on his Instagram account:
Kirkland has a sixth season of eligibility remaining, but could enter the 2022 NFL Draft, and is projected as an early-round pick.
A two-time All-Pac-12 first-team selection, Kirkland started each of the 10 games he played in this season for the Huskies. He has started 39 games at UW during his career, including 25 his first two seasons at right guard and 14 the past two seasons at left tackle.
▪ Outside linebacker Cooper McDonald, after two seasons at UW, reportedly entered the transfer portal Wednesday.
McDonald, a sophomore from Northwest (Justin, Texas), appeared in each of the Huskies’ 16 games the past two seasons, including starting 10 games this fall.
He averaged 36.3 defensive snaps per game this season, per Pro Football Focus, and finished with 26 total tackles, including 5 1/2 for losses and 1 1/2 sacks.
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 12:27 PM with the headline "Huskies notes: UW adds Fresno State’s Julius ‘Juice’ Brown as cornerbacks coach."
