“We’ve got a good team,” Jedd Fisch said after the Spring Game. “We’re big, we’re strong, and we’re fast.” Now that Spring is complete, Washington Football enters its Summer off-season for the next 14 weeks. But there’s a lot to break down from what we saw throughout the month of April. A couple of players had MVP-like moments, and young quarterbacks proved the moment was not too big.
Washington Spring Football Performances
Defensive MVP
“Rahshawn [Clark] had one of the best Springs on the team,” Fisch said after the Spring Game. Clark’s seven interceptions over the course of the month have been discussed at length. And the redshirt freshman capped it off with a pass breakup, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery under the lights in the Spring Game. “He might have been the MVP of the Spring, or in the conversation, top five.”
With Ephesians Prysock out for the majority of the month and Tacario Davis limited for a handful of practices, Clark had reps at both cornerback and nickelback. In doing so, Clark was able to showcase his versatility day in and day out over the course of April. Fisch noted after the Spring Game that he expects a fully healthy roster by the time Fall camp begins. That likely means Clark will be primarily taking reps at nickel. The competition at that spot includes Dyson McCutcheon and Leroy Bryant. But Clark played like the starter all Spring. “We’re going to see a lot of him this year,” Fisch said. If the season started tomorrow, we’d have Clark on the field as the starting nickelback.
Questions? Answered.
Omari Evans’ Spring was a little limited, as he missed a handful of practices throughout the month. But when he was available, Evans showed why he was a valued target for the Huskies in the transfer portal this Winter. The former Penn State receiver made a quick introduction for himself during the team’s first practice. Evans pulled down three consecutive, high-point, contested catches during the team period to end practice.
“It’s always funny when you recruit a guy, there are people that say good things, say bad things about them,” wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings said after practice in April. “There were some questions about [Evans’] hands, and he goes out there his first practice and has three phenomenal catches.” Any questions about his hands were dismissed quickly, and Evans continued to play sure-handed, crisp football out wide when he was available this past month. Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. is also optimistic about the new receiver, “His routes are really crisp, and I feel like we’ll be very successful with him.”
“He’s brought a mature presence to the group,” Cummings continued. Evans is a true senior who played three seasons at Penn State. There, he caught 30 passes for 564 yards and seven touchdowns. That included a touchdown reception in the Big Ten Championship Game and another in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal. Outside of Denzel Boston, the receiver room at Washington has limited experience. It returns just 13 receptions from last year’s team. And even in a limited sample set, Cummings said that Evans checks another box for the receiver room. “The speed that we’ve seen is exactly what we were looking for.”
Moment Not Too Big
Kini McMillan and Dash Beierly each took advantage of their opportunities in Washington’s third-string offense over the course of the Spring football season. The two former three-star recruits in the class of 2025 entered a quarterback room with a no-doubt starter and a veteran backup. All Spring, the Husky coaching staff maintained that the competition for the number two quarterback was open. But Tulane transfer Kai Horton appeared to be clearly holding on to that spot. Regardless, McMillan and Beierly showed promise in the future of the Husky quarterback room.
Kini McMillan
The former Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year in 2023 didn’t have a full senior year of high school due to injury. Now healthy, the 6’-0” and 205-pound freshman stepped into the quarterback room with confidence, and the moment wasn’t too big for him in the Spring Game. McMillan had the best passing performance in the Husky quarterback room on Friday night. Unofficially, he threw for about 86 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
“Kini McMillan, I thought, did a really good job coming in for the gold team,” offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty said after the game. “[He made] some throws in a game-like atmosphere.” McMillan’s passing score was a back-shoulder throw to Raiden Vines-Bright from 16 yards out. He placed it where only his receiver could catch it. Later on, McMillan again connected with Vines-Bright. This time, it was a 35-yard reception down the near sideline on 4th and two. The freshman quarterback threw an arching deep ball that landed perfectly over the top of the defender and into the hands of a streaking Vines-Bright. McMillan displayed confidence in his downfield throws with excellent placement.
Dash Beierly
Beierly connected with his former high school teammate Marcus Harris on the game’s final play. It was a 15-yard strike for a Purple team touchdown. Unofficially, Beierly tossed for 30 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the game. He also showed some elusiveness, escaping from the pocket a few times to gain positive yards. Beierly did have an interception in the game that he forced while under pressure. But over the course of the Spring, Beierly’s best performance came during the team’s second scrimmage.
The freshman unofficially threw for 99 yards and a touchdown in that contest. That outing included two touch passes to receiver Justice Williams. One went for 35 yards and a touchdown down the sideline. Beierly’s accuracy on that pass allowed Williams to take the football in stride and reach the end zone. Another touch-pass was a 30-yard sideline completion that was placed out of reach of the defender, where only Williams could come down with it. Beierly also had a 25-yard connection in that scrimmage.
Main Image from Nick Lemkau
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