Kalen DeBoer was notably upbeat as he sized up his University of Washington football team, which begins spring practice on Monday. After seeing the results of an 11-2 season, his players were more fit this year than last. Different position battles were sure to capture everyone’s attention. He has a lot of elite players on hand.

The second-year Husky coach had just one bit of negative news to offer: Julius Irvin, a senior defensive back and the son of an NFL legend, has been forced to medically retire because of an assortment of injuries, namely a shoulder issue.

“I can’t speak highly enough for what he did as far as his buy-in to the program,” DeBoer said on Friday.

The 6-foot-1, 179-pound Irvin finished with six starts over 30 games played at safety and cornerback over five seasons, enjoying much of his success over the first half of last season. He had a sixth season of eligibility available to him because of pandemic provisions.

A safety for much of his time in Seattle, Irvin amazingly took over at cornerback in mid-game against Kent State in last year’s opener once Jordan Perryman was injured and had to leave the action.

With the Huskies shorthanded at the corner, Irvin and his coaches had only talked about him switching positions before he was sent out on the field without a trial run.

The Anaheim, California, product next proceeded to start four games as a replacement for Perryman before he, too, was injured and ultimately lost for the season.

“He went out there sometimes, and he was cleared to go, but he was hurting and playing in pain,” DeBoer said.

The son of LeRoy Irvin, who was a legendary secondary figure for the Los Angeles Rams, the younger Irvin finished his Husky career with 21 tackles, 2 interceptions and 5 pass break-ups.