UW quarterback competition heating up. All three bring different strengths, skillsets
One big question will be on every UW football fan’s mind between now and the start of the season: Who’s going to be the starting quarterback for the Huskies this fall?
The quarterback competition is in full swing between transfer Michael Penix Jr. and returners Dylan Morris and Sam Huard. Earlier in the week, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said the three QB’s will have an equal chance to win the job.
Each of the three quarterbacks brings a different background and skillset to the picture.
Penix spent the past four seasons at Indiana, starting 17 games for the Hoosiers, completing 59.4 percent of his passes for 4,197 yards, 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also rushed for six touchdowns. He played for new UW head coach Kalen DeBoer in 2019, when DeBoer was the Hoosiers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He’s flashed high-level ability when he’s been healthy, but he’s been injury prone his entire college career, never playing more than six games in a season.
Penix was at his best in his lone season with DeBoer in 2019, completing 68.8 percent of his passes for 1,394 yards and 10 touchdowns in six games before a shoulder injury shut him down. His familiarity with DeBoer ultimately made UW the most attractive transfer landing spot.
“It just felt like home,” Penix said after Friday’s practice at Husky Stadium. “Obviously, knowing coach DeBoer already, being with me at Indiana in 2019, I just felt like we had a good connection. I loved the offense that he brought over there for us and we continued to run that offense. I feel like that was something I wanted to be a part of.”
Huard, who broke the state’s high school career passing record at Kennedy Catholic (Burien, Wash.), played in four games as a true freshman last fall, preserving his redshirt season, and made his first career start in UW’s season finale in the Apple Cup. It didn’t go well — Huard completed 17 of 31 passes with one touchdown and four interceptions in a 40-13 loss that ended in WSU fans rushing the field and Cougars’ quarterback Jayden de Laura planting a WSU flag on the Husky Stadium field — but the prevailing sentiment is that Huard’s start was doomed from the get-go, with UW’s coaching staff in disarray and the team playing poorly on the field all season. That loss has stuck with Huard throughout the offseason.
“A lot of motivation for this upcoming season,” he said. “It was definitely tough. … Last year was a tough year, but we’re using that as motivation and we’re going to use that to push ourselves, push each other and not let that happen again. Football is challenging and there’s games like that.”
There’s still optimism surrounding the left-hander’s potential, which made Huard a five-star recruit in high school and the state’s all-time leading career yards passer. The son of former UW quarterback Damon and nephew of former UW quarterback Brock, Huard spent his entire high school career carving defenses apart. While he doesn’t have elite arm strength or height, his touch, accuracy and pocket presence set him apart from his peers.
Huard said the new offense from DeBoer and Grubb looks a lot more like what he ran at Kennedy Catholic under head coach Sheldon Cross.
“I just feel like this is a system I was used to in high school, just being able to find green grass, find areas, area reads, area progressions,” Huard said. “Just being able to work through it and find open spots on the field and just let these receivers really work. Based on what the defense is doing, they can adjust and really just get these receivers and us a lot of freedom to just be on the same page and connect with each other. I’m super excited with this offense and just where it’s headed.”
Morris, a former four-year starter at Graham-Kapowsin High School, had a season of ups and downs last year. Like Huard, he wasn’t benefited by UW’s offensive scheme a season ago and became the scapegoat for a fanbase that grew increasingly frustrated with the program as the year trudged on. Morris, a redshirt sophomore, started 15 games for UW the past two seasons — including 11 last fall — completing 60.7 percent of his passes for 3,355 yards and 18 touchdowns to 15 interceptions.
“You’re going to get a new system for everyone on our team, it’s going to be a new start,” Morris said. “Last year, take it for what it was and learn from it, but it’s going to be a completely new team this year. You can see the differences in the offense already, just from watching games last year and the comparisons to what we had last year. It’s night and day. I think it’s fair to erase all that.”
About those differences: Morris said he’s getting the ball out of his hand quicker in the new offense and getting the ball to playmakers in open space more consistently, something that Huard also echoed.
“It’s a controlling offense that makes the defense get into some more of their base stuff because we’re constantly moving,” Morris said. “They have to really trust their eyes. As a defense, they have to kind of get into some of their base calls, which is an advantage for us, because we can constantly move and get guys into a position to get them easy plays. As a quarterback, it’s nice to just look out and get an easy throw, six yards, six yards and then you can bang something vertical right over them.”
It feels like Penix is the early favorite, given his experience, big-play ability and familiarity with DeBoer. But Morris also has plenty of starting experience and may just need a fresh offense to shine, and Huard’s skillset and upside is hard to ignore.
“Coach DeBoer and coach Grubb, they’ve been together with the offense for a while now,” Penix said. “Whenever he brought it to us at Indiana, I just felt like the spread offense, getting the ball out of my hand, I felt comfortable. Every throw I made, I felt 100 percent comfortable with. I know they’re going to try their best to get us in the best situation.
“Not saying that anyone else didn’t, but I just felt like this was the best opportunity, coming up here for a visit, meeting some of the guys. They’re great guys, we’ve got a lot of great athletes here, as well. I feel like I’m surrounded by a lot of positivity and feel like it’s definitely going to pay off.”
On Monday, Grubb detailed the open nature of the competition.
“You’ve got to try to create the most equal environment you can and see who really rises to the top,” Grubb said. “And that doesn’t mean just reps — that means opportunities in scheme, opportunities in field position. So there’s a lot of thought that goes into it.”
While Penix’s familiarity with DeBoer gives him a leg up, Grubb said Morris and Huard have picked up the offense quickly.
“Even just terminology, verbiage, the easy things like that, Mike had a pretty good handle on right out of the gate,” Grubb said on Monday. “But, my hat’s off to D-Mo and Sam. They have quickly made up that ground over the winter and are very familiar already.
“There’s a lot of miles in between reading it in a book and being able to do it out on the field, but I’ve been impressed with how hard those guys have worked so far.”
Huard said a transparent, open competition and opportunity to prove himself is all he wanted from the new coaching staff.
“That’s all I can ask for, right, is just a competition,” Huard said. “Just equal and fair competition and that’s what they’re giving us. At any big time college football place, there’s going to be great competition and that’s only going to make you better. So I’m excited about Mike being here, excited about being able to compete with Dylan. I know that we’re going to push each other and get the best out of each other.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 12:15 PM with the headline "UW quarterback competition heating up. All three bring different strengths, skillsets."
