Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer on Caleb Williams, Husky offense, and staying undefeated

Washington head coach Kalen Deboer spoke to the media earlier this week ahead of the No. 5 Huskies’ game against the No. 24 USC Trojans in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. DeBoer was asked about defending USC quarterback Caleb Williams, what’s causing some recent issues with the Washington offense, and how this Huskies team compares to some of DeBoer’s past undefeated teams.

DeBoer on Caleb Williams:

“Elite playmaker. Can make all the throws…Eyes downfield and buys time. Will not be afraid to make any throw on the run, deep down the field. So, we’ve got to do a really good job of just staying on the receivers and any skill player, especially when he’s escaped the pocket. And that will definitely happen. You got to make the play and get him down and line up and go play again. That’s what your mindset has to be is that he’s going to make some plays. You’re not the reigning Heisman quarterback without, you know, that ability and the playmaking that he has is exceptional.”

DeBoer on comparing Bo Nix and Caleb Williams as runners:

“I think a lot of the times, it’s maybe a little bit what the offensive system is. And I think, probably every system has the ability to get the ball out quick. I think with the run game, and the emphasis of that with Oregon and the way they try to get balls and spit it out in the perimeter, there isn’t as many chances for Bo to escape as much. You know, I think Caleb, he seems to have more opportunities where he can sit back there and, just more dropback concepts. And because of that, going through his progressions and reads, there’s more opportunities to create. But they’re both major threats, both as a passer and as a runner. Some of the best I’ve ever seen.”

DeBoer on what Washington needs to clean up from recent games:

“Opportunities. When you’re in the red zone, scoring touchdowns. We’ve had some takeaways or turnovers down in the red zone the last couple games. Those are the points that keep you from extending leads, getting the momentum. You’re not getting three points. You’re getting zero. And so those points add up and keep the game close. And I think just consistency. But the consistency is a lot of just one of those areas I just explained, you know, being in the red zone. So, [offensive coordinator Ryan] Grubb talked about consistency, just whether it be running the football, or just making the plays that are out there to be had. And defensively I think, you know, like [defensive coordinator William] Inge said, there are some 50/50 balls that we’ve done a good job of contesting and, those plays didn’t end up going our way as many times this last weekend.”

DeBoer on evaluating the Washington offense against Stanford:

“There’s such a rhythm to great offenses and we just couldn’t get in that rhythm consistently. Got the good field position on the first drive went down and scored. And then just, you know, whether it’d be a dropped ball throughout the course of the game here and there, just that rhythm that we were missing. And I think we did find that rhythm in the second half after the first drive. There’s a penalty that pushes us back and we take a sack. And really, it wasn’t anyone getting beat, we just got to be better with our guys being on the same page. And something actually really that’s not complicated. And so once we found that rhythm, I think in the rest of the third quarter going into the fourth, it really just came down to two turnovers in the redzone. But there was a lot of confidence. And I think that you still saw that our guys working through that, even in the last drive, and we found a way to get the ball in the endzone.”

DeBoer on the health of wide receiver Jalen McMillan:

McMillan was injured early in the year against Michigan State. He tried to come back against Oregon and recently against Stanford but didn’t last long in either game before exiting.

“It’s all just game by game. Because he’s really close. I mean he’s really close. And it’s day-to-day with him. Early in the week, really hopeful. But kind of by Tuesday, we were kind of a little, maybe a little bit nervous. And all of a sudden, by Wednesday, Thursday, really picked up a lot of steam. And so, been just trying to figure out exactly how to get him over the hump. He wants to be out there as bad as anyone. And he’s a big-time competitor. He knows how important he is to our football team. And so whatever we can do to get him out there as quick as possible and feel good about it. We’re all for it.”

DeBoer on this UW team reminding him of past undefeated teams:

DeBoer was the head coach at Sioux Falls, which had undefeated seasons in 2006, 2008 and 2009. His Washington team is currently 8-0.

“These games that we just went through, every undefeated season I’ve ever been a part of has these games. Games where you’re down 14-0 in the first quarter, and you somehow just grind it out and find a way to win. Games where we won 11-10 in some tough weather in a semifinal game to go to a championship. I mean, it wasn’t pretty. And there’s games in seasons when you’re putting up 30-40 points a game or more, and you have those come up. And so, to me, it’s about the fight in the guys, and working through those times of the season when it’s not perfect or you’re not completely healthy. I mean, it’s going to be something different at different times. And so I think all championship teams have those close games. You can probably look at the defending national champs, and a year ago, see that there was a game or two that they had to grind through to get the dub. That’s just college football. Every win is hard, especially when you get to conference play and teams later in the season really can kind of do a good job of trying to see what it is they need to try to do to slow you down. We’re doing the same for them in the teams that we play. So yeah, I think every season that I’ve been a part of, there’s very few where it’s just been this clean, easy ride throughout the course of the year,

DeBoer on what’s needed for Washington’s run game:

“Doing a better job of just being clean on our execution. You’d naturally think the O-line, but I think it’s everyone. It’s receivers making the blocks at the right time because the running back knows if I get through the first level, I gotta beat, the corner or I gotta beat the safety. Who is that guy? And so it’s execution of everything. Much like there was, you know, just some execution things we talked about week one and week two that were really close to hitting on and there were some good hits in the course of the game that we had. Unfortunately, one of them that got brought back, I feel like it was well blocked and could have got us off to a good start in the third quarter. And in the end, it hurt us on that drive and eliminated that opportunity. There are always you know, days when things are going really well, you’re hitting on all cylinders, and that big block is happening or that big catch and that big throw is happening. And then that kind of spurs you on in that rhythm and we’re missing out on a couple of those. But having a good week of practice and it was good to see [offensive tackle] Julius Buelow add to the mix. I think we again are building more depth at the offensive line position. That just helps with the flow of practice to having more able bodies that are out there and able to execute and get those running backs more looks at those plays too.”