As the Washington Football team faces another year of attrition as players line up for the NFL, DT Greg Gaines announces he will return to the Huskies for his final season
The Washington Football team just finished a 10-3 football season. While that may have fallen short of some pre-season expectations, it was a successful season. The sting of ending with another loss though will take time to overcome. To that objective, the Huskies are off to a great start in 2018.
The team received word that All-Pac-12 2nd team defensive tackle Greg Gaines will return for his senior year at Washington. This is great news for a defense that is taking some huge hits due to graduation and the NFL Draft. Attrition will take it’s toll on a defense which emerged as one of the best in the nation despite losing three starting defensive backs to last year’s NFL Draft. And this year looks to be more of the same, as key starters depart for their NFL professional careers. Players such as two time All-Pac-12 2nd team linebacker Keishawn Bierria and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Vita Vea are on their way.
Savvy strategy
The hope is that there is similar expertise waiting their time as a starter from the bench. And frequently that is exactly what happens. Coach Petersen is rather savvy at planning his team depth in layers. He does that well, which gives the Huskies depth from within the team ranks as starters depart for the pros.
That typically limits the number of team scholarships available annually to the high teens, which keeps a steady influx of new recruits to the team each year. As they arrive, they learn initially through practice and observing the play of starters, such as defensive tackle Vita Vea
Vita Vea to the NFL
Defensive tackle Vita Vea announced earlier this week he will be leaving school a year early. This should come as no surprise, as he fought on the fence at the end of last season. This year, the call is to great to ignore for the defensive tackle.
Vea is a huge contributor for the Huskies defense, and will certainly be missed. But the team is simply not prepared to absorb two defensive tackle defections this off-season. That means that the Gaines decision – to stay or to go – remained as one of the biggest impacts of this off-season.
Returning Gaines is Huskies gain
Getting Gaines back for another year is a huge win for defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski. With Gaines back, Kwiatkowski now has more to work with on the interior of the D- line. Before the news of Gaines return, the D-line depth felt shallow. And with the exit of Vea, the team has a huge void to fill.
So as Gaines returns, he immediately will aide the development of incoming freshman Sam Taimani and Temple transfer Josiah Bronson. And with that, the Huskies defensive line depth improves dramatically. Gaines not only produces on the field, but he helps translate scheme responsibilities to the other players at his role. Adding those guys in with returners Levi Onwuzurike and Jaylen Johnson returns the prowess and solid skillsets to the squad. The team fought hard to recruit Idaho-resident Tommy Togiai, but fell short. Still the team gains two interior linemen this year to one loss, and that is a plus.
Big bodied defenders needed
One big thing that the D-line really needs is big bodies that can generate pressure. We saw in the bowl games each of the last two years that those matchups on the interior are crucial in inter-conference showdowns. The 322 pound Gaines is a huge matchup. He eats up blockers in the run game and at times have an impact as a pass rusher.
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Gaines decision is a solid plus for the Huskies as they assemble the 2018 roster. And to that, there are still more decisions hanging in the balance. In fact, one such young man is trying to find his way closer to his Sacramento, California home. And much like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, he simply needs to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City. We’ll discuss him in the next article.