A look at the 2006 Defensive backfield

It seems ever since we played Texas under Neuheisel in the Sun Bowl, and lost in a down to the wire high scoring shootout the Husky defensive backfield has been a pretty maligned entity around the Montlake campus. Injuries, lack of depth, transfers failing to get in, poor pass rush, and simply a lack of talent have all been factors, but this year there is the reasonable expectation that it has begun to swing the other direction.

At Safety C.J. Wallace is a potential AA candidate, and he showed a lot of that last year becoming the toughest hitter in the backfield. JC transfer Ashley Palmer will slide in next to him in the backfield replacing Dashon Goldson who made a succesful switch to CB in the Spring. Meshphin Forrester made a move this Spring leaping past Chris Hemphill to be the other starter till Palmer arrives on campus and proves he can take over the job. Darrin Harris, also gained a lot of experience last year. Jason Wells a talented transfer who comes in with 3 to play 4, rounds out the depth. Jake Merrill will start his career at Safety but could be a LB before it is all said and done. You could easily see Myers over here some day too, but he will start at RB. Three deep, experience, and health at the Safety position hasn't happened in a long time, it bodes well.

At Cornerback it all starts with Goldson who feels this position change could be his ticket to the pro's. We all have to admit that we expected more out of Goldson at Safety, but his coaches feel that he may be ideal at CB. At the very least you are getting the best players on the field at the same time with this move. Fountaine and Lewis are the experienced guys that will play opposite Dashon. Don't forget Shelton Sampson who has made the move to CB and rejoined the team, he is going to get a shot at playing time, and he also is a nice insurance policy if injuries start chipping at a shallow Husky TB position. Durrell Moss has bounced between a few positions and managed to play quite a bit after being one of the few guys who can make a move from FB to CB. Jordan Murchison is a guy who could compete this year, but if the depth holds out he could easily redhirt. Don't count out Frosh Matt Mosley, he is going to get looks at RB, and WR, but he may be best suited for CB.

How will these guys play together?

Well first of all I think it will be a much more physical group. Ashley, Wallace, and Goldson are all potential Sunday players. The key is who will be the 4th guy? I wouldn't mind it being Shelton Sampson, you are talking a lot of speed here. The depth and experience is going to allow the coaching staff to really mix it up compared to last year. They simply ran out of personel last year. The last minutes of the UCLA game was a great example of that.

Another advantage this group has is it will be playing behind what should be a pretty good defensive line. Pass rush always makes your DB's look a lot better. Having three safety sized players back there also allows you to stunt a lot more. I think the talent in the backfield will allow us to become a more aggressive and attacking team.

Anyway guys, in a blog you just chip in and comment on the topic and throw your own two cents into the ring. During the Summer we are going to try to cover all the positions on the team, the state of the program, and whatever pops up. This site isn't meant to take away from any other site, and it is certainly not for covering recruiting. We will discuss it, but this won't be a source for recruiting news.