Kirk Herbstreit shows love to Washington, Kalen DeBoer after Week 1 win
As far as Week 1 coaching performances go, Kalen DeBoer’s debut at Washington was one of the top displays in the country.
That’s according to ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, who revealed his top coaching jobs in Week 1 earlier this week on Twitter. DeBoer was the only Pac-12 coach among Herbstreit’s call-outs, joined by Florida’s Billy Napier (whose Gators beat Utah), Georgia’s Kirby Smart (whose Bulldogs smashed Oregon), Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, Duke’s Mike Elko, and Old Dominion’s Ricky Rahne.
Hmm here are my top performing coaches of Week 1! 🏈
1. Billy Napier @GatorsFB
2. Kirby Smart @GeorgiaFootball
3. Jim Knowles @OhioStateFB DC
4. Mike Elko @DukeFOOTBALL
5. Kalen DeBoer @UW_Football
6. Ricky Rahne @ODUFootball pic.twitter.com/8qavQYj0hn— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 6, 2022
Washington dropped Kent State in its opener last Saturday, 45-20. The offense — DeBoer’s area of expertise — was particularly effective. The Huskies put up 525 yards of total offense while averaging nearly 7 yards a play. They were strong on third and fourth downs, and scored touchdowns on four of six trips to the red zone.
“It was fun to get that first one under our belt, maybe even a little relief for some of the guys, just to get that first win and be 1-0,” DeBoer said earlier this week. “There’s always areas to fix and improve on. Everywhere I’ve been, I put it to the team this way — from Week 1 to Week 2, or Year 1 to Year 2, those are the biggest improvements that you make. So, we need to push ourselves to make sure we have a big improvement from Week 1 to Week 2, and it has nothing to do about the opponent we’re playing. It has all to do about us.”
DeBoer and the Huskies take the field again Saturday against Portland State, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.