A new season approaches Washington Football with the promise of glory and the risk of failure. But the Washington Huskies have the benefit of Coach Lake, so look for the glory
Washington Football defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake is well known to the football players and fans of the University of Washington Huskies football team. Bu thanks to the time differential, the distance, and the relatively new arrival of the team to national notoriety, Jimmy Lake is not yet a household name nationwide.
Let’s keep our secret between us, okay?
But it won’t be easy. The Washington Huskies landed three defensive backs into the NFL in cornerbacks Kevin King, Sidney Jones IV, and safety Budda Baker. Not just in the draft, but all three heard their names called in the second round. It’s somewhat fitting that the defensive backfield that played so well together as a unit would all come off the NFL Draft board as a unit too.
Coach Lake wanted it that way.
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So who is Jimmy Lake? Good question. He’s the defensive back coach who will mean all the difference to the Washington Huskies success this year. You see, he needs to identify and coach up new players to take over for the three who found NFL careers. Many prognosticators are betting against him. I say they are wrong.
Lakeside Chat
Jimmy Lake is not a novice to football. In fact, he’s painfully paid his dues. He played safety at Eastern Washington, Intending to seek his fortunes in business, EW coaches convinced him to remain as an assistant. He was hired by EW head coach Paul Wulff to coach defensive backs in 2000. Four years later, he joined the Washington Football staff under Keith Gilbertson. He lasted one year, as Gilbertson and the entire coaching staff were fired in 2005.
Lake coached the Detroit Lions secondary under head coach Rod Marinelli. He later coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive backs under head coach Raheem Morris.
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Here he breaks down Buccaneer DB Ronde Barber’s play on video.
Each new role added experience and wisdom to his mannerisms. And that pattern of gaining knowledge added to his resume that helped him begin working with then Boise State head coach Chris Petersen in 2012.
Great Christian Caple Read
Christian Caple of the News Tribune has an excellent background article on Jimmy Lake, and he covers his history in a pleasant story.
That landed Lake and Petersen at Washington University. And the rest is history
More Fish In The Lake
The challenge with developing great defensive backs is the perception that a letdown will follow suit. But don’t look for that from a defensive backfield from Coach Lake. He is a firm believer of depth, playing the veteran, and always having a man in reserve who can step up at any moment.
Right now, that is where the Washington football team. But the team is one step ahead of the situation.
You see, the team knew the defensive backfield was THAT good and would likely lose players to the NFL Draft. So Coach Lake already has players stepping up. NFL.com’s Chad Reuters named the safety pair of Tyler Rapp and JoJo McIntosh to the top 150 players in the NCAA. That is quite the accolade for a pair of safeties debuting as a new tandem.
Corner the Cornerback Market
But the excitement does not stop there. The team will likely start cornerback Jordan Miller and Bryan Murphy this season. Miller is a 6-foot-1 183 pound junior cornerback who has risen through the ranks to land as the team’s projected starter for this season.
Next: Will Washington Football Recruit 2018 Defensive Tackles?
The 2017 Football season is approaching, and many point to the Washington football attrition to the NFL as reason enough to discount the Huskies this year. But the defensive backfield Lake is calm. The same coach who delivered three defensive backs to the NFL in 2017 already has the 2018 version in the pipeline.