Wednesday Dots: And the Survey Says

All day long I think of things

But nothing seems to satisfy

Think I’ll lose my mind

If I don’t find some Dots to pacify

• One of the enjoyable offseason traditions is The Athletic’s fan survey. Christian Caple published the results of the survey today and they show the kind of cautious optimism you would expect from a fanbase that was recently burned. The answer that surprised me the most was the dead heat between Sam Huard and Michael Penix as the QB fans want to see start the first game in the fall.

• Mike Vorel sat in on a winter workout for the football team. As you would expect, there are lots of the standard motivational platitudes. What I found most interesting was the incorporation of competition and variety, which are both great training tactics both for the mental and physical elements of development.

• The Husky men’s basketball team got off to a surprisingly strong start in Pac-12 play, but some of their success was owed to scheduling imbalance. With some tougher games postponed due to Covid, the Dawgs have reached the point of the season where it’s time to pay the piper. Percy Allen looks at the next 11 days, featuring two games against WSU and one each against Oregon, UCLA, and Oregon State. From a distance, the Dawgs are only likely favorites against the Beavers, so even a 2-3 stretch would be positive.

• Jon Wilner’s Pac-12 power rankings give another perspective on the basketball team. Wilner sees two wins in the last five, a 10-10 conference record, and another season for Mike Hopkins. We’ll see how the season ends, but it’s hard to imagine feeling good about next season with Hopkins still at the helm.

• Back on the gridiron, the Dawgs made the top four for talented UCLA DE transfer MItchell Agude. Agude is an experienced edge rusher who with the stats to demonstrate productivity at a high level. While it might not be the biggest position of need for the Dawgs, a straight swap of Laiatu Latu for Agude would be a fascinating shuffle.