The news on Cory Nicol is definitely a bit of a shock.

He seemed to be in a good position to earn playing time this season, if not start, with the cornerback depth being what it is. He had been hampered by a groin injury of late, something I think he had struggled with previously in his career, but it's unclear if that had anything to do with it.

UW coach Tyrone Willingham did not elaborate on why Nicol quit the team, but did say this when asked if he was surprised.

"Always that late a stage in the process you are surprised. The first thing you want to do is make sure that the young man is all right physically and mentally that everything is okay and there are no family issues involved. So he seems to be of sound state of mind and we move forward.''

Nicol's departure means the starters there are Roy Lewis and true freshman Vonzell McDowell with Matt Mosley and walk-on Desmond Davis listed as the backups.

It could mean that true freshman Marquis Persley moves into the mix there, as well.

Willingham said it remains iffy if Byron Davenport can play, saying he didn't practice again on Saturday while battling a hamstring injury.

Lewis said he was surprised that Nicol quit, saying he thought he was happy with his place on the team and having a good camp.

"It's terribly unfortunate,'' Lewis said. "I felt Cory was happy and that he had a home here. He definitely came in and made some plays and proved that he could play. He was definitely in a spot to contribute to the team immediately. I don't know the reasoning behind it. Everything seemed really good, his morale seemed really good. I came to practice one day (Saturday) and he just wasn't there. We don't know the details of it, we just know he's no longer with us.''

For those wondering if Jordan Murchison is in the mix, I would doubt it. He is still on the roster, but his official status hasn't changed and he has a court date Thursday on one of his pending cases.

In other depth chart news, Jared Ballman is listed as the starting punter and Ryan Perkins the kicker, though Willingham said those are both still subject to change.

Also, Ben Ossai and Cody Habben are listed as either/or at left tackle; all three of the tight ends are listed as either/or as well; Nate Williams is listed as the backup free safety; Brandon Johnson is listed as the kickoff returner with Louis Rankin the backup; and Anthony Russo is the punt returner with Rankin again the backup.

Here's a link to the official depth chart from GoHuskies.com.

UPDATE 12:30 P.M. --- KJR is broadcasting live from the season kickoff luncheon and I heard a couple of interesting comments.

First, Nate Williams said he is the backup to Roy Lewis in both the nickel and dime defenses, indicating that he could play a big role in pass defense this season, and likely more so now with Nicol gone.

Also, E.J. Savannah said Nicol's departure was a real surprise.

"Real weird,'' he said. "Just like 'wow.' He was going to be playing and they were probably going to put him on scholarship and everything.''