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By Malamute, 3 June 2004 In 2004, Washington's offense is going to need some help from its defense, where far less questions are posed. However, its defense will need to improve on its numbers from last season, or it could be a long season for the UW. Before the 2003 season started, Washington’s defensive front four suffered a knock-out blow when veterans Junior Coffin and Josh Miller went out with career-ending injuries. This season, defensive tackles Terry Johnson and Jerome Stevens need replacing. Johnson has opted for a career in the NFL, and Stevens has graduated. Also, on the interior, the departing OLB Marquis Cooper and ILB Greg Carothers, along with Johnson and Stevens, leave a hole where strength up the middle is key to success. Cooper and Johnson faired well in Pac-10 stats last season, posting nice numbers in total-tackles and tackles-for-a-loss respectively. Defensively, the Huskies must stop the run and improve on pass defense. In the Pac-10, the Huskies finished seventh in total defense in 2003. At times, their redzone defense was evanescent, the worst in the conference. And the redzone number (83.3%) doesn't include the long runs and pass plays the Dawgs surrendered. For example, in their 54-7 loss to Cal last season, the Huskies gave up 3 big plays and a school record 729 yards. In Arizona's only Pac-10 win of the season, Mike Bell posted runs of 67, 69 and 37 yards against a purple-porous defense. Out of their control, the "D" will need collateral help from the gendarmes, book learners, and medics, or the season could end up with more losses than wins (more on that later). Our prescription for a better defense is shown in Table 1 below, along with abhorrent stats, some of which mimic poor cholesterol and high triglyceride readings, although no one called the Huskies the Cardiac Kids last year. Husky fans, don't let the forebodingness of that table weaken your spirit. The Dawgs return 7 starters on defense, and of the 11 potential starters, 5 are seniors, 3 are juniors and 3 are sophomores -- an experienced lot. To stop the run and harass the quarterback, Washington needs a War Daddy on the defensive line, a head chef who will grease the gridiron with opposing linemen -- who are bent on serving pancake blocks -- and with QBs who will want to change their majors to Ihop. War Daddy The four candidates are Donny Mateaki, Manase Hopoi, Dan Milsten, and Ty Eriks. -- Donny "Duke" Mateaki (DE, 6-foot-6, 270, redshirt sophomore)
Coming out of Iolani high in Honolulu, Mateaki was ranked sixth in his position by rivals.com. Duke was a member of the Tacoma New-Tribune Western 100 and given five stars by the insiders.com. Sharing sacks with Jerome Stevens and Greg Carothers, Mateaki racked up a solo sack in the game against Oregon State last season, helping Coach Keith Gilbertson to his first road win at the UW, 48-21. This season, Duke will be a redshirt sophomore, and most likely, will play defensive end, along with Mike Mapu, who will back him up. I like Mateaki's size, speed and nastiness on the playing field. -- Manase Hopoi (DT, 6-foot-4, 265)
During picture day a couple of years ago, I asked Hopoi why OL Rob Meadow had so much trouble blocking him in the spring game. He told me that Meadow hadn’t caught onto his tricks yet. Still, how do you block a guy with the anti-gravity of Spiderman (see Hopoi's photo above)? Although Hopoi is a senior, he is a partial qualifier, meaning that he can gain one more year of eligibility if he graduates this year. Last season, he started all 12 games for UW, finishing with 31 tackles, (11 for a loss), 4 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries. Because of his size, Hopoi will move to the inside most likely. If he’s to become a War Daddy, there is a kicker involved -- no, not Evan Knudson. Hopoi was arrested on March 7 for allegedly punching a security guard working the door during a student fundraiser at the Aristocrats nightclub. Apparently, he and his girlfriend were denied entry to the club. Currently, Hopoi is facing felony assault charges after originally being cited with a misdemeanor, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The King County Prosecutor's office received a reworked investigation report from the Seattle Police Department in late April. A decision as to whether charges will be filed is pending. Hopoi also nursed a strained knee during the spring. -- DT Dan Milsten (6-foot-5, 280, sophomore). Milsten will battle Casey Tyler (6-foot-6, 290) for the starting job. During the spring game, Tyler filled in for Milsten, who nursed a sprained ankle. In Hopoi's absence (he attended a funeral), Wilson Alfoa (6-foot-3, 275) played DT during the spring game. -- DE Ty Eriks (6-foot-2, 230, redshirt Junior). Eriks has moved from fullback to REB, where he'll battle Brandon Ala for the starting nod in the opener against Fresno State. Eriks was named to the Pac-10 second-team All-Academic Team in 2003. Impact Players -- The G-Men The surnames of all of Washington's incoming defensive impact players begin with the letter G. -- DE Greyson Gunheim. (freshman, 6-foot-6, 220). His name is an alliteration with "gun" in it, so the players reportedly called him "G" when he was up for the spring game. Why not? With 4.4 speed, Gunny has to be our freshman impact player for 2004, maybe in the Pac-10. I'll settle for a 4.6, but will not concede any of his reported size. His highlight film is full of promise. -- SS Dashon Goldson (6-foot-2, 208, redshirt sophomore) Journeying to Seattle from Coffeyville JC, Goldson carries a high ranking, being given 4 stars by rivals.com. Defensive coordinator Phil Snow is looking for a safety that will bring Husky fans to their feet after a meteoric collision with a wide receiver, and gravitationally speaking, Goldson has accreted enough opposing debris to qualify as a meteor. In simple words, he is a hitter. Buckle your seatbelts. Goldson underwent shoulder surgery in February, missed spring practice, but is expected to be 100% ready by fall. -- DE/LB Rashaad Goodrum (6-foot-4, 230) While enrolled at LA Valley College, Goodrum was heavily recruited, being of 4 or 5 star vintage depending on the recruiting service. Unfortunately, he is back on the recruiting block because of academic problems. He is taking a class this spring to bring his grades up to snuff; however, USC, as well as Washington, is now back on his radar screen. One bright note: Goodrum attended the Huskies' spring game. Realistically, however, what Pete Carroll wants, he usually gets. Gilby needs to keep his G-men intact, or the G in his last name might stand for "Gone." Defensive backs and linebackers The corner back and safety positions look solid. Not one Husky was named to the Pac-10 first-team defensive unit last season. In 2004, CB Derrick Johnson, second-team defense, has the best chance of any Husky to move up in rank. He led the Huskies with six interceptions last season and stood out in every game he played. Johnson, a senior, has a decent shot at being an NFL draft pick. Another senior, Sam Cunningham, will join him at the other corner. Matt Fontaine and Dre Simpson will back them up. With his 3.2 grade point average, FS Jimmy Newell was named to the first-team, Pac-10 all-academic team. As a senior, he'll start for the UW and be backed up by Goldson and Chris Hemphill. C.J. Wallace should start at strong safety and receive considerable help from Goldson, who can alternate between the safety positions. Incoming freshman Keauntea Bankhead, who I doubt will redshirt, adds talent to the safety position, and he's almost good to go academically. (Reference Chris Fetters' article, dawgman.com, "Bankhead close to realizing dream"). Washington's linebackers are small but fast. Starting at SAM, Scott White (6-foot-1, 225, sophomore) gives the Huskies some speed from the outside, as well as play-making ability. Along with Hopoi and Johnson, White is the Dawgs' third big gun on defense. He'll be backed up by Durrell Moss. Inside, the Huskies will rely on linebackers Joe Lobendahn (5-foot-10, 230, senior) and Evan Benjamin (6-foot-0, 210, junior). Lobendahn sat out spring practice with an injury but is expected to return this fall. Benjamin was named Pac-10 defensive player for the week of November 22 (Apple Cup), the only UW defensive player accorded that honor on the season. Answer to the teaser: Gendarmes: Charges against Hopoi need to be dropped. Table 1. Blood workup on Dawgs' defense for 2003 (Conference games)
Credit: I wish to thank Max Waugh for his outstanding photos. His post on dawgman’s message board said it would be okay to pull the photos off his website as long as the copyright and attribution clearly show, and Max, the bandwidth is on us. Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
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The Dawgs led the Pac-10 in opponents penalties in 2003.
Mateaki could be one reason why, so says the photo on the left. Is that
holding?
