Kalen DeBoer discusses Washington QB competition

The Washington Huskies struggled to transition from Chris Petersen to Jimmy Lake. Now, Lake is out and Washington has hired Kalen DeBoer to replace him. DeBoer inherited a quarterback competition between the more experienced Dylan Morris and consensus five-star Sam Huard. Then, he added former Indiana starter Michael Penix Jr. to the mix, making it a three-way competition.

Kalen DeBoer broke down the quarterback competition in-depth during PAC-12 Media Days. He started with Penix, who he’s coached in the past. It’s worth noting that he tried to bring Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener with him before Haener opted to stay with the Bulldogs.

“Michael Penix comes to us from Indiana where I coached with him for one year,” Kalen DeBoer said. “Systematically he understands what we do. That was an easy transition for him during spring ball. You see him being able to coach guys up and being a little more confident in that. In those workouts that we had, those 15 practices.”

“As far as the other two that obviously were already on the roster, Dylan, again, I have only got the 15 practices to go off of and the film. But he’s taken a lot of snaps in a Husky uniform. It’s cool hearing the guys that are on the team and hearing them talk about how much they see Dylan’s improvement from last year already to where we’re at now. That’s only going to continue to happen and develop.”

“Then you got the up-and-comer. You got Sam Huard. Took a few snaps last year or last year. His ceiling, he’s probably the furthest away from his ceiling because he’s younger, hasn’t taken as many snaps that the other two have. Every day his growth is the one that probably will continue to be the most extreme each and every day,” Kalen DeBoer finished breaking down each quarterback, individually.

Kalen DeBoer did emphasize how much confidence he has in each quarterback. However, he also said that he has to do what’s best for Washington.

“It’s fun seeing those guys. They’re great high-character guys. They understand it’s a battle amongst all three of them. But first and foremost our team comes first. They all want to be the leader and the guy that takes the first snap on September 3rd. They’re doing a great job of doing it in a united way.”