UWDP Writer’s Draft

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Washington University Football Head Coach Don James during game action of UCLA vs University of Washington, October 29, 1983 at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images) | Getty Images

As the game Dawg Dynasty has continued to remain all the rage in the UW community (especially the UWDP writers), Luke had been contemplating a way to include the other writers in a head-to-head style draft. We didn’t want to make the draft exactly like Dawg Dynasty, but wanted to keep the same spirit of the game. To add a little competition, we will be asking our readers to vote on who won the draft!

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Here was the initial set up and rules we put in place:

  • The draft is a snake style draft and the draft order was decided at random.
  • We would draft a full team with the same roster style as Dawg Dynasty (QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, Flex, DL, LB, DB, and K) except for coach, because the writer drafting would be the coach.
  • Instead of era by year, we did it by an entire coach’s tenure. We included each head coach from Jim Owens to Jedd Fisch.
  • For each draft pick, we spun two wheels at the same time. One for the coach and one for the position. Based on those choices you select a player that matches that criteria and their entire career as a Husky, not just for that coach. For example, the first spin of the draft gave Rick Neuheisel and DB, so Andrew was able to choose any DB who was on the roster while Neuheisel was the coach.
  • There would be one additional position selection of a ‘free pick’. The person drafting could choose any position as long as it was available on their roster.
  • Once the selection is made, the coach and position are removed from the wheels to prevent repeats.
  • We were allowed two re-spins total; one for coach and the other for position.
  • This process would continue until each roster was full.
  • Once a player was drafted, they could no longer be taken even if there is overlap with another coach. As mentioned above, we are drafting players based on their entire Husky career. This came into play in the actual draft, where Andrew took Rome Odunze from Jimmy Lake’s tenure, but also gets the benefit of his Kalen DeB0er-led breakout.
    • Ex. Jaxson Kirkland played for both Jimmy Lake and Kalen DeBoer, you could spin either coach and OL and draft him and he would be permanently off the board.
  • Flex was its own selection on the position wheel and you could not move around selections to fit your roster. You could draft any of the offensive skill positions, but they could not fill any of the other roster spots open.
  • TLDR: We took turns spinning for a coach and a position, then drafted someone from that combo until we filled our roster.

With all that said, here are the draft picks.

RoundPickTeamPlayerPositionCoach11AndrewRoc AlexanderDBNEUHEISEL12MarkCarson BruenerLBDEBOER13LukeAustin Seferian-JenkinsTESARK21LukeNapoleon KaufmanRBLAMBRIGHT22MarkMark BruenerTEJAMES23AndrewJohn WalesKLAMBRIGHT31AndrewDave WilliamsWROWENS32MarkJermaine KearseWRSARK33LukeLincoln KennedyOLJAMES41LukeAl WorleyDBOWENS42MarkDamon HuardQBLAMBRIGHT43AndrewSteve EmtmanFREE PICK!JAMES51AndrewRome OdunzeFLEXLAKE52MarkDerrick JohnsonDBGILBERTSON (RE-SPIN FROM OWENS)53LukeReggie WilliamsWRGILBERTSON61LukeMichael KnudsonKWILLINGHAM62MarkRich AlexisRBNEUHEISEL63AndrewTroy FautanuOLDEBOER71AndrewJake BrowningQBPETERSEN72MarkDenzel BostonFLEXFISCH73LukeMichael PenixFREE PICK!DEBOER81LukeEdefuan UlofoshioLBLAKE82MarkPeyton HenryKLAKE83AndrewChris PolkRBWILLINGHAM91AndrewJosh PerkinsTESARK92MarkDaniel Te’o-NesheimDLWILLINGHAM93LukeHau’oli KikahaDL (RE-SPIN FROM RB)PETERSEN101LukeJonah ColemanRBFISCH102MarkKaleb McGaryOLPETERSEN103AndrewMarquis CooperLBGILBERTSON

Final RosterAndrewMarkLukeQBJake BrowningDamon HuardMichael Penix Jr.RBChris PolkRich AlexisJonah ColemanWRDave WilliamsJermaine KearseReggie WilliamsTEJosh PerkinsMark BruenerAustin Seferian-JenkinsOLTroy FautanuKaleb McGaryLincoln KennedyFlexRome OdunzeDenzel BostonNapoleon KaufmanDLSteve EmtmanDaniel Te’o-NesheimHau’oli KikahaLBMarquis CooperCarson BruenerEdefuan UlofoshioDBRoc AlexanderDerrick JohnsonAl WorleyKJohn WalesPeyton HenryMichael Knudson

Each writer will state their case as to why their team deserves your vote for the best roster of the three as well as their thought process for some of their picks.

Luke

Here were my thoughts going pick-by-pick

  • Sark and TE; ASJ was an absolute no brainer and there wasn’t a close second choice (as Andrew unfortunately found out later).
  • Lambright and Flex; this was a tough call for a very early pick. I couldn’t tailor my choice based on a WR or RB I had already chosen, so I went with the arguably the best player available. I heavily considered Corey Dillon and Jerome Pathon, but Napoleon’s total career dominance won out for me.
  • James and OL; easiest choice of the draft for me by far. No way I would turn down arguably the best OL to ever play in the Purple and Gold.
  • Owens and DB; this one took a little while to decide since Owens is the oldest coach from our list and he had 18 years of players to choose from. In the end, I couldn’t turn down the program’s all time leader in interceptions. His 14 interceptions in 1968 alone would make him 3rd all time.
  • Gilbertson and WR; I had to double check that Gilby did indeed overlap with Reggie and lucky for me, he did. Another very easy choice.
  • Willingham & K; I spent the most time out of all my picks on this one. I went with Knudson because he was perfect on PATs and I was hoping my offense wouldn’t need him to kick a lot of FGs.
  • DeBoer and Free Pick; Didn’t need to think for more than a nanosecond on this one. Penix all day.
  • Lake & LB; I initially thought of Bruener, but Mark had already taken him. I was more than happy to get Eddie who was consistently the emotional leader on defense.
  • At this point with both of my re-spins available I knew I could cherry pick my RB and DL. The problem? Both of the best options were in the Petersen era. It came down to the tradeoff I was willing to make. Did I want Myles Gaskin & Larry Tripplett or Jonah Coleman and Hau’oli Kikaha (many of you would likely say Vea, which was already hard enough to decide). I already had Napoleon so I knew I would still be strong at RB no matter what, so I went with the better DL option.

With the best QB, WR, OL, and receiving TE in school history along with a thunder and lightning combo of RBs, who is stopping this offense? We saw what Penix could do with Odunze, can you honestly tell me he wouldn’t at least be on the same level with Reggie Williams? You have Lincoln Kennedy giving you all day to throw, a massive target in ASJ, and a pair of reliable RBs that you can trust to pick up chunk yards no matter the down and distance. No disrespect to Husky greats in the back 7 on Andrew and Mark’s teams, but Penix and Reggie are gonna torch them. Kennedy will win more than he loses, but you can only do so much to contain Emtman and Te’o-Nesheim. In those times when that does happen, Penix has an ultra reliable TE he can throw jump balls to or he can throw an outlet pass to Kaufman and let him go to work.

I might get flack for picking Kikaha over Vea, but he is going to bring speed and pressure off the edge that will even give great OL like McGary and Fautanu trouble. We have a three-time all-conference player in Eddie and two-time All-American in Worley to pair in the back 7 to give him support. Worley is going to ballhawk anything near him. Knudson may not have had the best FG% in his time at UW, but he was perfect on PAT. With my offensive fire power that is all I need him to do.

Andrew does have a very good offense, but other than Emtman his defense is lacking. He threw me off on the very first pick of the draft (where he first tried to draft an illegal player, *cough*) and took Alexander over Hakim Akbar. Alexander was a great returner, but I don’t think many would argue he was a better DB than Akbar let alone Johnson and Worley. His options were pretty limited at the end when he had to pick LB, but unlike Bruener and Ulofoshio, Cooper was never an All-Conference selection. Penix would unleash an aerial assault to help lead my team to victory over him.

Mark’s team is sneaky good. There are only a couple of guys that jump out as the best at their position all-time at UW, but all of them are very good and likely underappreciated. His Achille’s heel though is his QB. Damon was great and he left UW as the career passing leader for a reason, but Penix and Browning are arguably two of the top three QBs in UW history. As good as Rich Alexis was on that Rose Bowl team, he isn’t the same level of work horse as Polk or electric as Kaufman. His team is balanced and steady, but I think my team’s star power would carry them to victory over him.

In an unbiased assessment, here is who I think won each position; QB: Luke, RB: Andrew, WR: Luke, TE: Mark, OL: Luke, Flex: Tie- Andrew/Luke, DL: Andrew, LB: Tie- Mark/Luke, DB: Luke, K: Mark. Totals; Andrew: 3 Luke: 6 Mark: 3

Andrew

When I drafted Emtman, Odunze, Fautanu, and Browning in four straight rounds, I thought there was no way any other team was going to catch me. I will admit that Luke put together a pretty titanic offensive roster, but I think I have a very balanced roster that is especially strong in college production. On defense, Emtman is a one-man wrecking crew who will change the game in a way that no other defender on any of these three teams will. The spinners didn’t give any of us a chance to draft the likes of Vita Vea or the Petersen-era DBs, so Emtman is head-and-shoulders above any other defender on these rosters. Cooper gives me an All-Conference LB and Alexander gives me a special teams ace on top of play-making ability in the secondary. Overall, I will take this defense over the competition.

On offense, I’m not going to pretend that Browning is as explosive or exciting as Penix, but their overall UW numbers are closer than you’d expect. Browning threw for a TD on 6.3% of his passes and an Int on 2.3% to Penix’s 6.0% and 1.7%. Penix edges him out in yards per attempt at 8.6 to 8.3. Browning never had a receiving corps like Odunze, McMillan, and Polk. The one year he had Ross and Pettis, he set the school record for TDs and blew Penix’s best QB rating out of the water. At RB, Chris Polk was a workhorse (3 1000 yard seasons, 2 1400 yard seasons) who put up better numbers than Coleman and comparable numbers to Kaufman on inferior teams. At WR, Odunze and Williams have similar resumes- one transcendent season and one great one. At worst, it’s a push. Add in Dave Williams and his 10 TD, 20 YPC season in 1965, when passing yards were much harder to come by, and it tips the scales in my favor. Am I going to pretend that Troy Fautanu and Josh Perkins are better than Lincoln Kennedy and Austin Sefarian-Jenkins? No. No I am not. But Emtman is going to give even Kennedy problems, and Fautanu anchored the OL that won the Joe Moore award in ‘23, so don’t sleep on my pass protection. In total, I will give Luke’s team a slight advantage on offense and mine an advantage on defense. Can someone remind me which one of those wins championships?

Mark

When you look at this team on paper, it’s difficult to see how it compares to Luke and Andrew’s squads. Some may question my draft strategy, and although I didn’t have standouts on either side of the ball, this team ended up unintentionally taking on a decidedly old school identity, built on efficiency and toughness rather than anything flashy. With this team, you might see Rich Alexis rip off 4, 5, 6 yards per carry (as he did in 2000, leading the PAC 10 at 6.3 yards per tote) behind the blocking abilities of Mark Bruener (who wasn’t bad as a receiver either, with his best season seeing him catch 30 passes for 414 yards and 3 TDs) and Morris Trophy winner and 2019 first round pick Kaleb McGary. If the defense cheats up and stacks the box, Damon Huard has 2 incredibly talented options at receiver, the always dependable Jermaine Kearse and the long red zone threat Denzel Boston. Tell me you wouldn’t want to watch Damon throw deep shots to those 2 guys! All apologies to Brock Huard, but when I compared stats of the Huard brothers, I went with Damon for 2 reasons. The first is that he led the PAC 10 in completion percentage in 1995, at 64.1%. The second is more personal; I interview him every year and I know about the sibling rivalry between them. If I picked Brock, I would never hear the end of it!

Defensively, the identity is decidedly aggressive, with Daniel Te’o-Nesheim (who still holds the 2nd spot in career sacks in Husky history) and Carson Bruener (a 4 year Dawg, who finished with 180 career tackles) anchoring the front of the defense. I pulled a move similar to what the 1989 Mariners did with the Griffeys, although the Brueners occupy different sides of the ball. Maybe Carson can shift in beside his dad on the goal line at the tight end spot? I’m sure Damon wouldn’t mind giving him the ball at least once! At defensive back, I had to do a little research because the Gilby Head Coach era is admittedly a bit of a blind spot for me, seeing as I was only about 4 years old while he had the job. I settled on Derrick Johnson, who had 6 interceptions (with a pick 6 thrown in for good measure) in 2003. Kicker Peyton Henry brings a steady presence, and a dependable kickoff, so I don’t have to worry about any field goal inside of 40 yards, nor do I have to worry about him shanking any extra points.

Overall, while I don’t have an edge on pure talent, I have found an identity that is old school, and using that, I may be able to upset Andrew or Luke’s squad!

You can vote on who has the best draft at the following link:

UWDP Writer's Draft | UW Dawg Pound

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