Jacob Sirmon leads Chris Petersen’s highest rated recruiting class ever, but the question remains, should he start in 2018?
Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. Washington football fans have fallen in love with Jake Browning. Browning is the current junior quarterback of the Huskies, and has wowed the fans since he first stepped on campus in 2015 and won the job.
But there’s a man who stepped on campus around the same time that Husky fans should love just as much; his name is Jacob Sirmon. He’s going to be the next star quarterback in Washington, and probably one of the best in the nation.
Sirmon is a five-star QB prospect out of Bothell High School who had committed to Washington in December 2015. From that moment on, he routinely takes regular trips to campus. Why? Well on one hand, he studies the playbook of course. And while he is there, he meets with Coach Petersen. On the other hand, Sirmon has been very active in the recruiting game. He has helped grab four-star receiving prospects Austin Osborne and Marquis Spiker to the team, both from the very competitive State of California.
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Should Sirmon start in 2018?
So the first question in everyone’s mind is will Jacob Sirmon start his freshman season? That answer is no. No, Jake Browning isn’t going to lose his job to Sirmon in camp. As a matter of fact, Chris Petersen and his staff may redshirt Sirmon during his first year.
Sirmon knows and respects everything Browning has done in his time at UW. Giving Sirmon extra time to create chemistry with young guys like Spiker and Osborne, while letting other receivers like Ty Jones and Aaron Fuller develop a little longer will give Sirmon a much better supporting cast to work with coming in.
Also, Chris Petersen wouldn’t want to throw Sirmon into the fire right away, since the Huskies open their season with the Chick Fil A Kickoff Game against the Auburn Tigers next season. Going off of developing receivers, as tough of a matchup as Auburn is going to be, it’ll be harder without Dante Pettis.Ty Jones or another receiver could make a giant leap in the off season and turns into a true number one target, but this still just isn’t the right matchup for Sirmon to begin his career.
Don’t rule out Sirmon
With that being said, Jake Browning still needs to watch his back. That is especially true once the Pac-12 conference play starts. Opposing coaches have scouted junior Jake Browning for three years. Unfortunately, Husky fans know better than anyone, that Browning doesn’t have the strongest arm. He makes all the throws, but the zip really isn’t there.
Sirmon can thread a needle. Watching Sirmon’s game tape, even at the high school level, you see the zip that made teams like Alabama, LSU and Michigan come after him hard. If Browning shows weakness in games as he had in 2016 and 2017, the team now has a relief pitcher in the bullpen. And so, if it happens next season, do not be surprised to hear Sirmon’s name surface around Seattle. If things get too sticky, he could see playing time.
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In reality, will Chris Petersen replace Browning? Browning is a rising senior. In fact, he has led this team to the NCAA College Football Playoffs. He has even led the team to two straight 10 win seasons? The reality is probably not. But with all the excitement around Jacob Sirmon, and fellow 2018 commit Colson Yankoff, it’s definitely worth taking note. And definitely warrants Browning taking a look over his shoulder.