UW Huskies spring preview: Former Kennedy Catholic teammates Huard and Alexander shine; Odunze ends day with TD
Saturday afternoon wasn’t the first time Sam Huard and Lonyatta Alexander Jr. connected on long passes at Husky Stadium.
Five years ago, when the two were freshmen at Kennedy Catholic High School, they made their career debuts on this field in a game against Seattle Prep in the Emerald City Kickoff Classic.
Huard threw for 391 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Alexander was his top target with 13 catches for 209 yards, and the Lancers ended the afternoon with a 30-20 win.
Reunited with the Huskies this season after Huard spent his freshman season with UW last fall, and Alexander at Arizona State, the former Kennedy Catholic duo was back in action here Saturday for the program’s spring preview.
“When Sam came up to me the first drive, he was like, ‘This is kind of something familiar,’ ” Alexander said with a smile following the scrimmage.
“We went out there and he told me that we’ve got to make some plays, and I made a couple plays here today, and it just felt good catching balls from him again.”
The results the former high school teammates produced felt familiar, too. Four of the passes Alexander caught — he unofficially finished with five catches for 90 yards to lead the UW offense for the day — were thrown by Huard.
“You see the old connection with him and Junior Alexander, that’s kind of fun to see,” UW coach Kalen DeBoer said. “That was great.”
The final two Alexander hauled in were particularly reminiscent of the connection the pair had as a record-setting passer and one of the state’s top wide receivers in their four seasons at Kennedy Catholic.
“It felt like we were back in high school again, just playing pitch and catch,” Alexander said. “When he threw it up, I knew I had to come down with it. So, it was a pretty awesome experience.”
On the second-to-last drive of the afternoon, Huard launched a long pass down the sideline which Alexander hauled in with one hand to pick up 37 yards and set the Huskies’ offense up just outside of the red zone.
It was the longest pass Huard — who unofficially finished 13-of-20 passing for 160 yards — threw during the scrimmage, the longest pass Alexander caught, and one of the offense’s most impressive completions of the afternoon.
“I knew that if I put my hand out to go catch it, I was going to come down with it,” Alexander said. “I felt the confidence. I felt the game kind of slowing down as the ball was in the air, and as soon as I felt the ball touch my hand, I kind of just squeezed just a little bit, just to hold onto it and to come down with it.”
Three plays later, Huard found Alexander again, this time for a 9-yard touchdown — UW’s first passing score of the day — and the two celebrated together in the end zone, like so many times before.
“It felt great,” Huard said of having Alexander back home. “Especially there at the end on that last drive. We knew we needed a touchdown there, and Junior had a one-on-one a couple times and made two big plays.
“It really energized this team, and this place I felt fed off that energy. It’s just great to have Junior back here. He was so reliable for me all day today.”
Alexander always has been catching passes from Huard, from that first game as high school freshmen to now.
Both of the catches Alexander made on the final drive the two played were in tight coverage.
“When the ball is in the air, I was always taught to be aggressive and go get it,” Alexander said. “And not to be a receiver, to be a taker. So, whenever I see that ball in the air, I’ve got to make sure to come down with it.”
Both departed Kennedy Catholic after delayed and shortened senior seasons last spring with some of the best career numbers in state history.
Huard broke the state’s career passing mark in his final game — he finished 847-of-1,356 passing for 13,226 yards and 153 touchdowns in 53 career games — while also finishing his career ranked third in both completions and touchdowns.
Alexander later wrapped up his high school career tied for third in state history in receiving touchdowns (63), tied for fifth in catches (236) and sixth in career receiving yards (4,032).
The reunited teammates are both competing for playing time as the Huskies head into the 2022 season in the fall.
Huard took reps at quarterback this spring along with Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr. and Graham-Kapowsin product Dylan Morris, who was UW’s regular starter last season.
Alexander joins a young, but talented receivers group that returns some of the program’s top pass catchers from last fall.
During Saturday’s spring preview, both displayed what they can add to this new Huskies offense.
“A lot of work is put in and then today we just had an opportunity to go play in front of the fans,” Huard said. “It was a beautiful day.
“And just to be able to go out there and just kind of play free and have fun, I just felt good and relaxed out there, let my guys around me make plays, and just tried to spread the ball around, and have fun and do my job.”
Alexander also soaked in the opportunity to be back in the Pacific Northwest, playing in front of a hometown crowd.
“It was amazing to just be out there and be home,” he said.
ODUNZE SCORES, OFFENSE WINS
The longest touchdown — and play — of the afternoon was also the final play of the day.
Penix found sophomore receiver Rome Odunze for a short completion, and Odunze then spun around one defender and avoided an attempted ankle tackle by another to cruise into the end zone for a 38-yard score.
“I saw that corner off, which means a good shot that Pen is just going to throw it out to me and give me an opportunity to make a play and I saw that,” Odunze said. “So just tried to get some vertical pressure so I could break out, get him pushing back, and then after that just had to make a couple people miss and get in the zone.”
After trailing most of the day, the offense won the scrimmage, 34-29.
As the Huskies continue to implement their new offense with a new coaching staff, Odunze believes the group is “headed in the right direction.”
“I think our progression so far is good, and just tells us where we’re projected to go, and I think that outcome will be something special,” he said.
QB COMPETITION ONGOING
Here are the unofficial passing numbers for each of the Huskies’ three quarterbacks during Saturday’s spring preview:
▪ Penix — 13-of-18, 204 yards, 2 INT
▪ Huard — 13-of-20, 160 yards, TD
▪ Morris — 3-of-12, 53 yards
Penix took the scrimmage’s first snaps at the position, and played six drives, while Huard played five and Morris four.
The three have been taking equal reps throughout the spring, and the competition is likely to continue, so don’t expect the Huskies to name a starter just yet.
“Honestly we aren’t in a position yet where we want to name a starter, and we want that to continue on through the summer,” DeBoer said. “I think they’re very supportive of each other.
“They all understand that it’s a great competition, they all respect the position that they’re in and each other and how they’re all handling it, and that’s what I love to see right now, they’re all battling.”
EXTRA POINTS
▪ The defense tallied two takeaways during the scrimmage — the first on a high pass from Penix that cornerback Mishael Powell hauled in on the fifth drive, and the second on a long pass from Penix that safety Alex Cook snagged on the 11th.
Cook, entering his sixth season with the program, has seen the Huskies make strides this spring in their new defensive system.
“We were pounding these installs from Week 1 to Week 3 and it was a little overwhelming,” Cook said. “It was a lot to learn. People weren’t playing as fast. Once the installs stopped, we kind of just took a deep breath, started getting these plays down.
“I think that’s when a lot of people started making plays and building confidence. And that’s when we started to build our identity on defense.”
▪ New Mexico sophomore transfer Aaron Dumas and redshirt freshman Jay’Veon Sunday were the two running backs who recorded carries for the offense.
Sunday led the way, unofficially with 38 yards on eight carries, while Dumas had 11 carries for 25 yards and a 1-yard touchdown.
▪ Eleven players caught passes during the scrimmage, led by Alexander, Odunze (unofficially four catches, 63 yards), Jalen McMillan (three catches, 56 yards), Ja’Lynn Polk (three catches, 55) yards and Giles Jackson (four catches, 40 yards).
▪ Peyton Henry handled the scrimmage’s opening kickoff, while Odunze and Jackson lined up as returners.
Kevin Ryan and Jack McCallister both took punting reps, while Odunze, Jackson and McMillan lined up to return.
Henry made both of his field goal attempts unofficially from 41 and 35 yards, while Addison Shrock connected from 24, 46 and 25 yards.
This story was originally published April 30, 2022 at 5:49 PM with the headline "UW Huskies spring preview: Former Kennedy Catholic teammates Huard and Alexander shine; Odunze ends day with TD."
