The Washington Huskies have two top quarterbacks committed to the 2018 recruiting class. In short, they convert the Huskies offense into a twin barrelled shotgun for hunting a National Championship.
The Washington Huskies 2018 Recruiting Class is loaded with receivers. But that won’t be a problem at all for Washington Huskies head coach Chris Petersen, as he already has landed two of the finest quarterback recruits in the nation. So why the switch from a ground and pound to an aerial offense?
You take what the defense gives you.
The 2016 Washington Huskies offense had an incredibly talented receiver by the name of John Ross III. in 2016, Ross was outstanding. He brought down 81 passes for 1150 yards and 17 touchdowns, each of which electrified the UW fans and almost deflated the opposing defense. In summary, he was sophomore quarterback Jake Browning’s favorite target.
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Now Browning enters his third season, and is coming off shoulder surgery. Entering his junior year, Browning will face the temptation all NCAA football players encounter. The lure of the NFL Draft. Since Petersen has every reason to believe Browning will be projected well for an NFL career, he has learned from the 2017 NFL Draft. This time, he will be ready.
Jacob Sirmon
On one hand, the team received a commitment from five-star quarterback Jacob Sirmon on December 2015. In fact, Jacob Sirmon is a 6-foot-4.5 pro style quarterback prospect from Bothell, WA with a cannon for an arm.
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Adam Jude from the Seattle Times does a great job describing the way Sirmon is already working to learn the playbook and breaking down film with Petersen and offensive coordinator Johnathon Smith. But the true treasure of the article happens with the interview of Sirmon.
Sirmon is more that just another recruit. He “gets it”. Ignore the five-stars, ignore that ranking system altogether. Sirmon is humble and a blank slate. He is working hard to arrive as a leader for the team. He wants to be the leader of Coach Petersen’s team, not just a good quarterback:
"It’s a great blessing to have to live so close to UW so I can get in there frequently enough to really talk and bond with Coach Pete and Coach Smith,” said Sirmon, whose father, David, is an associate professor in UW’s Foster School of Business. “I feel that’ll give me a great head start once I graduate and start attending (UW).”"
Jude’s article is definitely worth a read, or even a reread. Sirmon is not arriving with an expectation of entitlement. He is arriving with the knowledge he has unique abilities, and as such, he has unique responsibilities to lead the team.
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But there is more to discuss at quarterback.
Colson Yankoff
On the other hand, the team doubled down on the quarterback position, securing the commitment of Colson Yankoff, a four-star quarterback from Coure D’Elane, ID, in March 2017. Yankoff stands 6-foot-3.5, and is as capable of beating defenses with his arm as he is with his legs.
So what drove the University of Washington Huskies to seek Yankoff?
Two events actually.
He was initially planning to attend the University of Oregon, but as Tom Loy of CBSSports.com reported in December 2016, Oregon made coaching changes which prompted Yankoff to reopen his recruiting. Ultimately, the University of Washington won out over a number of national football programs.
The second event, or rather events, has been the frequency of dual threat quarterbacks winning the coveted Heisman Trophy. Since 2000, there have been 13 quarterbacks of 16 winners of the award. Of those, ten have been dual threat. And so, the ever ready to adapt Coach Peterson is more than happy to add that same aspect to his offense.
In the end, it is the random opportunity of Yankoff’s availability which afforded the University of Washington Huskies an opportunity to add such a dangerous offensive weapon to the team.
So what is the University of Washington Huskies doing with the football program? Becoming unbeatable.
Aerial Assault
When you begin to place the pieces already assembled by Coach Petersen, the puzzle begins to form.
The team has three outstanding receivers committed for 2018. There is four-star receiver Austin Osborne, four-star receiver Marquis Spiker, and soft-handed three-star receiver Devin Culp. The heights of the trio are 6-foot-3, 6-foot-3, and 6-foot-5 respectively.
Autzen Zoo
Throwing to them will be a pair of skyscraper quarterbacks in the pocket at 6-foot-4.5 and 6-foot-3.5. It will be rather tough to defend treetop to treetop passes. That’s what Coach Petersen is counting on.
Since arriving in December of 2013, the Washington Huskies have slowly migrated from a running team to a passing team. In 2014, the offense was 52 percent passing, 48 percent rushing. In 2015, the offense split was 59 percent passing and 41 percent rushing. Finally, in 2016, the split was 56.6 percent to 43.4 percent. But that 2016 offense ground up nearly 1000 more yards in the process.
Ultimately, the goal is to get better. Not just better for the sake of statistics, but to win the NCAA National Championship.
And that means, this team has to find a way to beat Alabama. So how does one go about doing something it has not yet done? Follow the lead of those who have.
Beating ‘Bama Basics
All roads to the National Championship seem to run through Alabama. At least, it seems that way. And so, any NCAA team with National Championship aspirations must answer the question. How does this team beat the Alabama Crimson Tide?
Well, it’s been the question asked by many teams for many recent years, and so the template is already built. In fact, ESPN’s Edward Aschoff documented that magic formula in an August 2016 article. And so, teams simply need to follow these steps:
- Step 1: Spread things out
- Step 2: Use play action to get downfield
- Key Step 3: Find a mobile quarterback
- Step 4: Get passes to the outside, particularly the right side
- Step 5: Find some luck
Now the recruiting makes sense. To defeat Alabama, the Washington Huskies must force the Crimson Tide to defend the entire field, not just the line of scrimmage.
The University of Washington Huskies are an improving football program. That is not just in the PAC-12, but in the nation. And as such, the team must assume they will compete in the NCAA playoffs.
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In conclusion, to win a national championship, the Washington Huskies must be well armed. In 2018, they will be packing a double-barrelled shotgun. With any luck, that may be just enough to bag the NCAA National Title.