Examining the Roster Part 2 - Returning Players

Today marks the first official day of Fall Camp, and with it the official roster has once again been updated - this time to reflect current measurements for all of the returning players. Last week we took a look at the first release of the Fall roster and focused on the incoming freshmen; in this edition we'll take a look at the returning players. Here's the official roster:

Official roster for 2013 (updated)

A couple of personnel notes from looking at the roster - Fr. OL Coleman Shelton is now listed, confirming the talk that the coaches decided not to greyshirt him. Not listed are TE/FB/HB Cooper Pelluer and S Evan Zeger; Sark confirmed that they have both been moved to medical retirement status (they retain their scholarships but don't count against the 85-man limit, and are done playing).

On to the updated weights - here are some guys who got bigger:

• OL James Atoe, 6'6", 349 lbs - Atoe was a big boy when he arrived on campus, reportedly in the 380 range. The staff has done a lot of work with him to reshape his body, but his listing for this year shows him as 14 lbs heavier than last year. Has he gained weight, or are we seeing a more accurate measurement? If he's gained weight, is it good weight? Cozz typically likes his linemen leaner and more athletic, so it'll be interesting to see how Atoe fares in the competition at RG - he got six starts last year and is considered one of the leading contenders to win the job this year.
• DE Connor Cree, 6'4", 260 lbs - Cree had a good Spring where he caught the attention of the coaching staff and was frequently singled out for praise. He's picked up 15 lbs since last year and has the physical dimensions to suggest he can fill a similar role to Andrew Hudson as a SDE that can also slide inside and play some 5-tech or 3-tech.
• OL Mike Criste, 6'5", 306 lbs - Criste has been steadily adding weight since he arrived, which is standard for most OL. He's expected to win the starting C position, and having a little extra good weight should help him against some of the large 1-techs he'll face off with this year; if nothing else, it probably helps him in practice against Danny Shelton.
• LB Travis Feeney, 6'4", 224 lbs - One of the question marks this offseason was whether Feeney would be able to continue building himself up to handle the rigors of playing closer to the LOS; with his shoulder surgery, would his progress be limited? Well, he's picked up 15 lbs since last year, so at the very least he's been working his lower half. I'm excited to see how he looks.
• TE/DE Evan Hudson, 6'5", 277 lbs - Hudson is generally considered the best blocker among the TE group, and he's picked up 15 lbs from last year which should help in the run game. However it sounds like he's now going to get a look at DE, while still retaining a role on offense.
  
• DT Lawrence Lagafuaina, 6'0", 334 lbs - Laga has always been a big guy, but he's picked up 17 lbs (officially) since last year, all while rehabbing from a knee injury. I'm concerned - hopefully this is more transformative weight gain, but even if that's the case, he's carrying a lot of weight on a stout frame and now on a reconstructed knee. He's the only other true NT body on the roster besides Shelton, so cross your fingers he stays healthy and can provide serviceable snaps to give Shelton a breather here and there.
• DL Sione Potoa'e, 6'2", 278 lbs - Potoa'e has been an interesting case since he arrived. He came in with tremendous hype, and with inflated size numbers (Scout.com had him listed at 6'3", 285 lbs). He was not quite as big as advertised, and has battled chronic knee issues. Always a very strong kid, he had some baby fat over the muscle as an underclassman. His weight has fluctuated from 276 in 2011 down to 271 last year and now up to 278. As a Sr., hopefully he's done his best to get into top-shape, and with any luck his knee issues will not flare this year so that he'll have a chance to go out on a high note.
• TE Josh Perkins, 6'3", 224 lbs - Perkins arrived at the UW as a tall WR at 6'3", 197 lbs, but was switched last year to TE - or more accurately, more of a hybrid TE/H-back role. It was mildly head-scratching given his size, but he's been putting on weight since then to 216 last year and now 224. He hasn't made much of a dent yet on the field, but he still has time to start carving out a role in the offense. Sark has praised his work this past Spring, and his progression is partly what has allowed the staff to experiment with giving Evan Hudson a look on the DL.
  
• TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, 6'6", 276 lbs - With ASJ's off-the-field issues dominating the conversation, there hasn't been a lot of talk about the potential impact of his decision to not play basketball this past year. As Brad has pointed out, this should allow him to focus on getting bigger and stronger, and he's indeed picked up 10 lbs from last year. With some kids, I might be worried about the nature of that weight given his suspension from the team, but with ASJ I expect that's all good weight that should help him in the run game (and hopefully not put too much stress on his periodic ankle/lower-leg issues).
• DT Danny Shelton, 6'1", 327 lbs - Shelton is a guy perfectly built for NT - if you've ever looked at him in person, he's got a remarkably big frame: his legs are like sequoia trees. He's put on another 10 lbs from last year, and unlike Laga, I feel pretty confident that a) this is good weight, and b) he can carry it with no reduction in his athleticism.
• CB Cleveland Wallace, 5'11", 171 lbs - Wallace has picked up 6 lbs from last year, but still remains on the small side, especially as compared to the bigger kids that are arriving as true frosh this year to compete at CB. He makes up for it by being very quick and showing good change of direction, but he'll need to continue to get stronger to hold up on the edge against bigger receivers and runners.
• FB Psalm Wooching, 6'3", 228 lbs - Wooching got a lot of hype when he arrived last year as being the FB of the future for the team, and there was some discussion he might not redshirt. But he did, and he's picked up 9 lbs so far on a frame that looks like it can carry more. He's a big, lean kid with an attitude that former RB coach Joel Thomas raved about, and he should get his shot this year to get some of the big back carries and wheel routes that Sark has in his playbook but hasn't been able to call much since arriving at the UW.

Here are some guys that got smaller:

• OL Shane Brostek, 6'4", 278 lbs - Brostek struggled with some issues that caused him to lose a lot of weight last year, so it's actually moderately encouraging that his official listing only shows a loss of 2 lbs from last year. Still, the hope is that enough guys step up that the staff will have the luxury of redshirting Brostek and let him continue to rebuild himself.
• OL Jake Eldrenkamp, 6'5", 287 lbs - Eldrenkamp dropped 8 lbs from his listing last year; hard to say if this is just a more accurate listing, or if he's been losing some sloppy weight. He's been talked about as a LT candidate, so getting leaner and quicker on his feet may be the goal for the staff.
• OL Erik Kohler, 6'4", 294 lbs - Kohler has talked this offseason about getting himself into better shape, and his official listing shows him 5 lbs lighter than last year. A healthy, stronger and more athletic Kohler would be a real boon for this OL. Unfortunately, it sounds like he's now dealing with a foot injury.
  
• RB Ryan McDaniel, 6'0", 204 lbs - McDaniel arrived last year rehabbing an injured knee and redshirted the year to continue that process. He checked in at 227 lbs last year and appeared to be a prime candidate to be that big thumper RB that Sark has been looking for, but in the course of his rehab he appears to have dropped a significant amount of weight. He still has a good-sized frame for a RB, so it'll be interesting to see if his size increases from here on out.
• S Taz Stevenson, 6'1", 201 lbs - Taz was among a number of safeties that were moved up to LB last year as new DC Justin Wilcox and LB coach Peter Sirmon tried to fill out a depleted corps as well as transform the unit to a longer, quicker group. Stevenson bulked up some in response, but now that he's been moved back to safety he's dropped 14 lbs from last year - presumably to get a littler quicker.
• OL Colin Tanigawa, 6'3", 275 lbs - Panda is recovering from his 2nd knee injury, and it's not a shocker to see that his weight has dipped 6 lbs from last year as he probably has been somewhat limited in what he could do in the weight room. Step #1 is getting his knee right, but step #2 will be regaining a bit more size as he's on the small side right now, even for the leaner OL that Cozz prefers.

So what do you think Dawg fans - is there anything on the updated roster that jumps out at you?

More from UW Dawg Pound:

• Q and A with 2015 Washington recruit, Marquese Chriss
• Better Worse Or Neutral: Running Backs
• Key Player to Watch - Defense
• Previewing Husky Fall Camp: Storylines to follow
• Key Player to Watch - Offense