The Washington Huskies have one of the most impressive offenses in not only the Pac-12, but in all of college football.
On the other hand, the Alabama defense might be the most complete defense in the history of college football. Let’s take a look and see how the Huskies running backs and offensive line might hold up against the Tide on December 31st.
Myles Gaskin (#9)
Position: Running Back
Class: Sophomore
Height: 5’10
Weight: 195
Hometown: Lynnwood, Washington
2016 Statistics: 227 carries, 1,339 rushing yards (5.9 YPC), 10 touchdowns
14 receptions, 97 yards receiving, one touchdown
Player Analysis: Myles Gaskin has seemingly flown under the radar since he arrived at the University of Washington last season. He was the first true freshman in Washington’s history to rush for over 1,000 yards in his first season — finishing with 1,302 rushing yards — and he has shown continued development during his second season with the team.
Gaskin is incredibly elusive, and that elusiveness has allowed him to create yardage on his own even when his offensive line breaks down:
https://vine.co/v/52Eiq0nZMeW
Gaskin has been a solid option out of the backfield as a receiver, but Washington rarely uses him in such a way — he only has 20 career receptions in 26 games played. As capable as he has been as a receiver out of the backfield, Gaskin has also shown a willingness to grind it out in pass protection. Being a smaller running back, the struggles are evident at times, but he has proven capable of doing some of the dirty work.
The other surprising part of how Washington uses Gaskin is in the redzone and on the goal line. One would think with his 195-pound frame that the team would prefer to use Coleman — who weighs 228-pounds — when trying to finish off drives and punch it in. That isn’t always the case because Gaskin has been effective in that role. He runs with a lot more power than his size would indicate, and it shows in those types of situations.
If you want to see Gaskin at his best, turn on the game against Oregon where he ran for 197 yards on only 16 carries.
Lavon Coleman (#22)
Position: Running Back
Class: Redshirt Junior
Height: 5’11
Weight: 228
Hometown: Lompoc, California
2016 Statistics: 107 carries, 836 rushing yards (7.8 YPC), seven touchdowns
Five receptions, 31 yards receiving
Player Analysis: Lavon Coleman has been a really effective compliment to starter Myles Gaskin this season. He only has 107 carries on the year, but he has turned that into 7.8 yards per carry — which leads the Pac-12 — along with seven touchdowns.
After only scoring two times over the course of his first eight games this season, Coleman has found the end zone five times in the last five games. He has shown a size/speed combination that can wear down opponents even when given a limited workload.
Here is Coleman showing impressive burst for a guy that is close to 230-pounds:
https://vine.co/v/50OL1Fa9rTD
Another thing to monitor with Coleman is the lack of runs that go for a loss or no-gain. Of his 107 carries this season, less than 10-percent have been held to a loss or even no-gain. That’s an extremely impressive statistic, but it’s also not surprising when you see him on tape.
Special-teams is also an area where Coleman can make a significant impact. He was given one of Washington’s Special Teams MVP Awards after an incredible season playing on all of Washington’s special-teams units. He has made touchdown-saving tackles on a fairly regular basis, and it’s an area that he obviously takes pride in.
Look for a continued uptick in usage from Coleman come December 31st. He has only averaged 8.2 carries per game — 21.4-percent of the total team carries — this season, but that number has recently increased to 13 carries per game over the course of Washington’s last three games.
Trey Adams (#72)
Position: Left Tackle
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6’8
Weight: 309
Hometown: Wenatchee, Washington
2016 Statistics: Started all 13 games at left tackle this season
Player Analysis: It’s evident that sophomore left tackle Trey Adams has a lot of talent. If he can improve as a pass protector, it’s possible that he could be one of the top tackles available for the 2018 NFL draft. He was selected as an All-Pac-12 first team member, which he absolutely deserved.
Even though he is a talented player, it’s also clear that Adams is a lot more advanced as a run blocker than he is as a pass protector. Here, Adams is shown doing an excellent job reaching and sealing off the defensive end while also working to gain and maintain inside hands:
https://vine.co/v/50OxHIZpFe1
His vertical pass-set looks stiff at times, and almost resembles a shuffle rather than a kick-slide. As a result, it remains to be seen if he can remain on the left side when he decides to enter the NFL. Even still, Adams does show adequate footwork in pass protection, and here you can see him doing a nice job of mirroring the defensive end:
https://vine.co/v/50OQ2nxwbIX
He has consistently been one of Washington’s best offensive linemen this season, and there is room for continued growth as a prospect. With Washington’s right tackle Kaleb McGary being one of the weak-links of the offensive line and probably needing help against Tim Williams, it’s possible that Adams will be left on an island against Alabama’s most underrated defender in Ryan Anderson on most downs.
Jake Eldrenkamp (#52)
Position: Left Guard
Class: Senior
Height: 6’5
Weight: 297
Hometown: Medina, Washington
2016 Statistics: Started 11 games at left guard this season
Player Analysis: Jake Eldrenkamp has been Washington’s best and most consistent offensive lineman this season. The former three-star from Medina, Washington is a little light at only 297-pounds, but he uses superb technique when moving guys off the line of scrimmage in the run game.
Like Adams, Eldrenkamp was given first team All-Pac-12 honors this season — making them the first Washington offensive linemen to receive that honor since 2001.
Eldrenkamp is also more polished as a run blocker than as a pass protector, but he has done a much better job this season of consistently keeping quarterback Jake Browning clean. His PFF (Pro Football Focus) grade of 81.1 against Colorado in the Pac-12 championship game was the highest of any offensive player in that game.
Coleman Shelton (#79)
Position: Center
Class: Junior
Height: 6’4
Weight: 293
Hometown: Pasadena, California
2016 Statistics: Started all 13 games at center this season
Player Analysis: Coleman Shelton was extremely under-recruited when he was coming out of Loyola High School in Pasadena, California in 2013. He was a no-star prospect with no other division-1 offers other than Washington and Colorado. Since then, Shelton has become Washington’s most versatile offensive linemen.
Shelton has earned starts at all five positions along the offensive line, but he has since settled into the starting role at center and done fairly well.
Overall this season, Shelton has graded positively as both a run blocker and pass protector. At 6’4 293-pounds, he is one of the smallest offensive linemen among those starting for Washington, but he has excellent movement skills and shows the ability to work up to the second-level to consistently make blocks.
Shelton is going to have his hands full when he is forced to take on Alabama nose tackle Da’Ron Payne, who is a 6’2 319-pound bull for the Crimson Tide’s defense.
Shane Brostek (#60)
Position: Right Guard
Class: Redshirt Senior
Height: 6’4
Weight: 289
Hometown: Kamuela, Hawai’i
2016 Statistics: Started nine games at right guard this season
Player Analysis: Shane Brostek is another guy who wasn’t highly ranked on a lot of major recruiting services, but that didn’t stop him from receiving offers from major Pac-12 programs such as Stanford, Oregon, UCLA and of course, Washington.
Brostek saw his first action as a starter last season where he started the first two games, but he has seen the most action of his career this season where he has started nine games at right guard. Compared to the left side of Washington’s offensive line, the right side is where Alabama can dominate.
Brostek tends to open his hips up too much in pass protection which causes an “open flood gates” effect.
Kaleb McGary (#58)
Position: Right Tackle
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6’7
Weight: 308
Hometown: Fife, Washington
2016 Statistics: Started all 13 games at right tackle this season
Player Analysis: Kaleb McGary isn’t a terrible right tackle by any means, but he has struggled compared to a lot of the other Washington linemen. This might be surprising when you consider that he has the most pedigree of any of the starters along the offensive line coming out of high school — he was a four-star recruit according to both Rivals and 247-Sports. He can be a real liability in pass protection at times, and as a result, speed-rushers off the right side have been a problem all season for the Huskies.
According to PFF, McGary has allowed a hit and 24 quarterback hurries in his 404 pass-blocking snaps this season. Out of 277 qualified offensive linemen, this ranks McGary 183rd in this area.
This play shows how McGary might struggle against Alabama’s Tim Williams. Williams is a lot more explosive off the edge than USC’s Uchenna Nwosu (#42), and Williams also has the ability to bend to get to the quarterback.
https://vine.co/v/50O9ZwwETix
Like with every other offensive lineman for Washington, McGary has proven to be a better run blocker. He is still one of the most exploitable run blockers on the team, but he has shown the ability to work to the second-level and get out ahead on screen plays.
Like previously mentioned, McGary will be going against Alabama’s most feared pass rusher in Tim Williams on most snaps, so don’t be surprised to see the coaching staff give McGary some help with a chipping tight end or running back.
How Do They Match Up Against Alabama?
The Washington offensive line is going to struggle to contain the Alabama pass-rush. The explosiveness, speed and bend that Alabama’s edge rushers play with is unlike anything that this Washington offensive line has seen this year. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Tim Williams and Jonathan Allen both get multiple sacks in this showdown.
In the run game, it’ll be interesting to watch the distribution of carries among the Huskies’ running backs. Gaskin has held up extremely well when you take his workload and size into consideration, but this Alabama defensive front-seven is a different beast. Also, don’t be surprised to see Lavon Coleman see a heavy workload — or at least more balanced than it has been at times this season.
It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Washington is able to consistently move the football come New Year’s Eve.
Clint Lamb is a columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “follow” him on Twitter @ClintRLamb.
