In less than two weeks, we’ll get our first look at Steve Belichick’s “Washington Defense.” Though he calls the plays, he doesn’t take the credit. He credits the combination of players, coaches, and schemes that all work together to produce the results on this side of the ball. This season, we expect to see a lot of rotation in the secondary, a veteran group of linebackers, and different looks up front. With so much “new,” these are three players that you should know before the team kicks off against Weber State on August 31st.
Thaddeus Dixon
Defensive back appears to be one of the deepest position groups on this Washington roster. And at cornerback, one player has emerged as a likely starter that we didn’t necessarily assume during the Spring and Summer months. That player is Thaddeus Dixon. He wears the number nine and in his second year at Washington, he has been consistently lining up opposite Ephesians Prysock at cornerback at practice.
Dixon played in 361 snaps last season while recording one start in 14 games played. He was a junior college transfer prior to last season and isn’t lacking the experience to become an every-down cornerback. Rather, it’s the offseason strides he’s taken as a cornerback that has lofted him to the starting conversation. Fellow cornerback Elijah Jackson is one of the few returning starters on this team and many penciled him in as a presumed starter. But Dixon has risen to the competition.
The senior cornerback is a vocal player. At practice, you can hear him jawing with wide receivers and yelling from the sidelines when he isn’t in the formation. In coverage, he’s physical and isn’t afraid to play aggressively against wide-outs. Dixon is impactful in this way because he understands his assignments, as well as the formation around him. He’s a competitor, and he embraces the challenge of competing every day in the Huskies’ deepest position group. During Washington’s Mock Game last week, Dixon was a first-team cornerback on the defense and made a handful of tackles. Those reps with the first team have been consistent this Fall. It appears that the staff is preparing him for an everyday role as cornerback.
Khmori House
Jedd Fisch is no stranger to giving true freshmen significant snaps. He did just that at Arizona over the past three seasons. As far as projecting the true freshmen who could do that this Fall, linebacker Khmori House will have that opportunity on the defense. House has been one of the players who has taken the biggest step forward this offseason. If you flashback to the Spring, Washington linebackers coach Robert Bala had a lot of great things to say about House. “He’ll have the opportunity to get on the field a lot earlier in his career,” Bala said of House after the team’s final Spring practice in April.
Through the month of August, House has continued to improve his play as a versatile defender. We’ve seen him be used in several ways. He has lined up as an outside linebacker, he’s worked in coverage, and also as a rush end. House has even lined up close to the formation, breaking the heel line of the defensive line and used as an interior rusher. During the Mock Game, House got in the backfield a few times. If the quarterbacks had been “live”, those plays would have very likely resulted in sacks. House wears the number 28 in this Washington defense. Though he won’t be an every-down player this Fall, the true freshman has the tools to make a situational impact on the defense.
Cameron Broussard
Safety is a position group that we expect to see a lot of rotation this Fall. Belichick will run a base nickel package that will feature five defensive backs in the formation. As such, keeping players rotated and fresh is a priority. But at safety specifically, Cameron Broussard is a player that we expect to be one of the regulars in the rotation. In fact, he has the potential to be one of Washington’s leading tacklers this season. Safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri has used Broussard in a few different spots on this defense. That has included safety and the nickelback “STAR” position for different reps. Sunseri said the goal in doing that is to give him opportunities to experience the different coverages in different spots.
Broussard is 6’-3” which is exactly what this Washington defensive staff likes to have in its defensive backfield. On top of that, he has a keen awareness of the play going on in front of him. Broussard keeps his eyes in the backfield while guarding the back end. This makes him less susceptible to getting run out of the formation by a vertical route when the play is actually run. Instead, he sheds coverage and can quickly crash on the play to help make a stop.
He developed the pedigree of a sure-tackling safety at Sacramento State over three seasons. Last year, Broussard tallied 73 tackles, good for second on his team. That would have been fourth on Washington’s roster last season. On a per-game basis, Broussard had 6.5 tackles per contest, which would have been second for Washington in 2023. Though last year’s statistics are no longer relevant, they speak to the type of player he is at safety. Broussard arrived just a few months ago in the Spring transfer portal. But he is one of the players that we expect to have an immediate impact on the Washington defense.
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