Kalen DeBoer said Monday the Washington ground game is still a work in progress.

In a 56-19 win over Boise State this past Saturday, UW did just about everything well on offense. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. went for 450 yards and five touchdowns without a turnover. UW converted on all five of its red zone trips.

But offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb felt there were some plays left out on the field.

“I think there was for sure four runs that we left explosive plays on the board, where we might have just missed the cut or the read, where they might have been pretty big hits — two of them really big,” Grubb said Monday.

With Cam Davis out injured, the eighth-ranked Huskies are trying to find out what they have at tailback.

Against the Broncos, Will Nixon carried the ball six times for 48 yards. Dillon Johnson, expected to be a big part of the rushing attack, managed just 12 yards on seven carries. Sam Adams II had a rush that lost 3 yards. Daniyel Ngata had a run that net 5 yards.

Freshman Tybo Rogers is “getting there,” per Grubb.

“We’re still trying to find our own there,” Grubb told reporters. “Definitely still kind of feeling the loss of CD, if I’m being really transparent.”

Washington is still trying to find out who the leader is in the room.

Of course, it’s important to note we’re talking about an offense that, despite a ground game that is still under construction, still managed 568 total yards and more than 9 yards a snap. The Huskies are going to throw the ball under DeBoer. Maybe not every week to the degree they did against Boise — 42 passes on 61 offensive snaps — but this isn’t a ground-and-pound group by any stretch.

And after just 84 yards (adjusted for sacks) last Saturday, DeBoer doesn’t think it’s time to worry about the group.

“Like Coach Grubb said, we just mishit a couple,” he said. “Might be identification with the o-line. Sometimes it’s just one block. Sometimes it’s just running through an arm tackle. We’re just not quite there yet as a whole group, everyone in sync. I don’t feel it’s anything we need to be alarmed about yet.”