Defense impresses in first fall practice

Aug 4, 2014, 12:00 AM

The first fall camp of Chris Petersen’s Washington tenure got underway Monday morning on the Husky Stadium turf. The two-hour opening session featured mostly veterans, with the newcomers scheduled to practice later in the afternoon, at 4 p.m. Breaking up the youth and experience is something that Petersen has done before, during his time at Boise State. He said he usually has done the split practices for four days, though this year there will only be two of them. While the split practice isn’t something the Huskies plan to do during the season, they can see the value in it. “It’s a good learning process for the young guys,” cornerback Marcus Peters said. “They’re trying to get acclimated to the schedule, get some learning in by themselves, get the teaching time that the coaches can give to them for the whole practice, and then day three, it’s on, full speed from there.” As for the actual action on the field, the day was far better for the Huskies’ defense than their offense. The defense forced three turnovers from the offense to win the daily turnover battle, forcing the offense to run a gasser at the end of the session. Cornerback Travell Dixon, who is battling with Jermaine Kelly and a host of newcomers for the spot opposite Peters, collected the first turnover of the practice when he intercepted a Troy Williams pass that was intended for John Ross. Later, defensive lineman Drew Schultz pounced on a fumbled snap, and Peters finished off the offense by scooping up a loose ball after a backwards pass and scoring. Defensive end Hau’oli Kikaha was happy with the effort the defense showed. “It was pretty crisp I thought, from our perspective,” Kikaha said. “We’ve got to get used to doing the drills, the everyday drills, but other than that, it was a three-turnover day, so we’re good.” The practice also featured timely returns to health for a handful of Huskies who sat out spring camp. Offensive linemen Micah Hatchie and Dexter Charles were back at full speed after missing all of spring, as were receiver Kasen Williams and running backs Jesse Callier and Dwayne Washington. Only linebacker Scott Lawyer was still wearing a yellow, limited-contact jersey, which he had also donned during the spring. However, one Husky who did not return for the morning session was quarterback Cyler Miles, who will practice with the newcomers Monday and Tuesday. Petersen said in his press conference Sunday that Miles is basically coming in as a newcomer, and he wants to see what the junior quarterback can do on the field. Troy Williams and Jeff Lindquist worked with the veterans at practice. One other interesting note comes from the defensive backfield, where the Huskies used two different groups Monday. The first group featured Peters and Kelly at the corner spots with Brandon Beaver and Trevor Walker at safety, and the second group saw Dixon and Brian Clay at corner with Kevin King and Thomas Vincent playing safety. The depth chart will remain unclear for the time being, however, as the large group of newcomers in the secondary will practice later. Notes: -Deontae Cooper has switched from wearing number 32 to wearing the number six. Reach Sports Editor Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @drubens12

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