Washington football will see an improvement on offense under Kalen DeBoer.
Washington football has announced Kalen DeBoer as the 30th head coach in program history. DeBoer comes from an intense football background and has an overall record of 79-9. Now, he comes to Washington to get the Huskies back on track. That starts with the offense.
2019 – Indiana Hoosiers
DeBoer was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Indiana Hoosiers in 2019. The run game averaged 130.4 yards per game and 3.4 yards per attempt while the passing game averaged 302.3 yards per game and 8.31 yards per attempt.
The offense averaged a total of 432.8 yards per game and scored 51 total touchdowns that year.
The Hoosiers had two quarterbacks who played prominent snaps. Peyton Ramsey and Michael Penix Jr. both attempted at least 160 passes. Ramsey and Penix Jr. both also had a completion percentage over 68%. Ramsey threw for 13 touchdowns and five interceptions, while Penix Jr. threw for 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.
2020 – Fresno State Bulldogs
The 2020 Fresno State Bulldogs (3-3) offense averaged 479.3 total yards on offense per game. 356.3 of those yards came from the passing game. The offense averaged 6.2 yards per play and scored a total of 26 touchdowns. This was DeBoer’s first season back with the Bulldogs and his first as head coach.
2020 was also quarterback Jake Haener’s first season as the starter after sitting out the 2019 season due to transfer eligibility rules. Haener threw for 2,021 yards, 14 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
On the other hand, running back Ronnie Rivers rushed for 507 yards and seven touchdowns—more than half of the teams’ total rushing touchdowns on the year.
2021 – Fresno State Bulldogs
The Bulldogs improved tremendously (9-3) under DeBoer in the 2021 season.
Ronnie Rivers rushed for 788 yards and five touchdowns. While his stats improved in terms of yardage, they dropped in rushing touchdowns. This was due to Jake Haener’s prodigious step up as the starting quarterback
Haener finished with 3,810 yards, 32 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a 67.48% completion rate.
Rumor has it that Haener may be transferring back to Washington in order to continue playing under Coach DeBoer. He is confirmed to be in the transfer portal but is still publicly un-committed.
Just got a text from Jake Haener: "I haven't committed anywhere yet." Doesn't mean he won't end up at UW, but he hasn't settled on a destination yet.
— Mike Vorel (@mikevorel) December 2, 2021
What hiring Kalen DeBoer means for the Washington football offense
Former Husky head coach Jimmy Lake was a defensive guru, which proved fatal for Washington’s offense. Now, Washington football has brought in an offensive-minded coach in Kalen DeBoer to fix its woes.
Not only would there be an ultimate battle at quarterback between Haener (if the rumors are true) and Sam Huard, but DeBoer would add an attacking approach to the offense that utilizes its wide receivers.