Spring practice report: Picking up the pace

Through a week of spring practice, one thing looks noticeably different about the Washington football team. The Huskies are faster. Much faster. Since beginning practice last Tuesday, the UW has focused on implementing head coach Steve Sarkisian’s new up-tempo, no-huddle offense. And after just a few practices — albeit without pads, per NCAA rules — the Huskies are already beginning to feel comfortable with it. “It’s fun,” quarterback Keith Price said. “It’s just rep after rep. You don’t really have time to worry about what happened last play. It’s all about the next play, and I think that’s how football is, and that’s how life is.” Price and the offense both moved at a quick pace during their first week of camp. The Huskies were getting plays off typically in about 20 seconds or less on Saturday, and Price looked good throwing the football and running the hurry-up. Wide receiver Kasen Williams said the adjustment has been difficult but that he and his teammates are staying motivated. “With the numbers we put up last year, we are playing with a chip on our shoulder,” Williams said. “We’re doing it so when the game comes and we see that defender’s [are] tired, we can take advantage of it every time.” The Huskies, of course, knew about the transition to the no-huddle well before their fans. That allowed Williams and Price to immediately begin getting ready for the transition. “We knew about it around two weeks ago,” Williams said. “We started preparing for it with a lot of the receivers and quarterbacks. We would go out and throw, just working on fast tempo and with not a lot of breaks between routes. Sarkisian, meanwhile, has seen both positives and negatives from the increased speed. It’s helped the offense create big plays, which the UW lacked last season, but the Huskies’ execution is understandably lacking after three practices. Mistakes can be compounded, Sarkisian added, by the rate at which the UW offense is moving. “We’re going as fast as we can go,” Sarkisian said. “It’s taxing on the guys physically, it’s taxing on them mentally, and it’s taxing on them emotionally. But it’s great to see the guys who are fighting through it and also the guys who we have to coach up a bit to get them comfortable.” When the UW offense practices the no-huddle, of course, the defense gets to practice against it, too. This has been a real focus for the UW coaching staff early in spring, especially considering the problems the Huskies had with no-huddle teams such as Arizona and Oregon. “You want it to feel chaotic, where that becomes the norm,” defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox said. “We face a lot of those teams that play up-tempo, and for at least eight of [next season’s opponents], it’s their bread and butter. We need to be able to operate with that going on, and the repetition will definitely help us.” The defense is moving forward without cornerback Desmond Trufant, who will have his Pro Day on the UW campus on Wednesday. Gregory Ducre may have an early advantage in the race for Trufant’s old starting spot, but the position is still far from settled. “It’s going to be very competitive,” Wilcox said. “You could really list all the corners right now and say we’d put them in there at one point. We are excited about Greg, but consistency has been his thing, so he’s got to continue to work on that.” Notes • Sarkisian announced Saturday that running back Dezden Petty will transfer. Petty had 29 carries as a backup last season. He’s the second UW player to transfer in the past few weeks, joining linebacker Corey Waller. Reach reporter Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @Drubens12

Spring practice report: Picking up the pace

Disruptor interrupts Psych 210, professor and students chase man on to Red Square

2025 Seattle and King County primary election endorsements

UW mechanical engineering students are now required to pay $250 quarterly fee to participate in department-affiliated RSOs

College Inn Pub reopens under new ownership