Washington Huskies: 30 greatest football players of all-time
By Brad Weiss
The Washington Huskies have one of the more storied football programs in college football history. Here are the 30 best players in program history.
One of the more storied programs in the history of college football, the Washington Huskies have produced some legendary players since their inception. The Huskies football program has produced 748 wins in total, good for 19th overall in the history of the sport, and continue to get better every season.
Washington has claimed two national titles during their existence, one in 1960, and another in 1991. That 1991 team is one of the best teams from that decade. It produced a bunch of NFL players, including the first overall pick in the 1992 NFL Draft.
In total, the program has won 18 bowl games, 17 conference titles and have won the Rose Bowl seven times. The program has also seen 23 players be named consensus All-Americans, and is widely known as “Quarterback U,” due to all the NFL arms that come out of the school.
A charter member of what is now the Pac-12, Washington had 27 consecutive non-losing seasons from 1977 to 2003, and have the longest unbeaten streak at 64 games. In addition, their win streak of 40 in a row is the second longest in FBS history, showing the kind of consistency that few programs in college football can match.
As we take a look at the 30 greatest players in program history, it was hard to narrow it down to just that amount. There have been more than 30 players who could have cracked this list, but we give it a shot, starting at No. 30.
Here are the 30 greatest players in program history.
A native of Pasco, Washington, Michael Jackson would go to be one of the better linebackers in Huskies history. Playing his football at Pasco High School, Jackson appeared destined to put on the Huskies uniform. He certainly stood out once he did so, dominating on the defensive side of the ball.
During his time at Washington, Jackson set a number of school records. Some of them will likely never be touched. He still holds the single-season record for tackles, with an astonishing number of 210, as well as the career watermark, which currently sits at 569 in total.
The Most Valuable Player of the team during the 1978 season, Jackson is a member of Washington’s All-Centennial Team. He put a capper on his college career with a huge interception against Rick Leach and the Michigan Wolverines in the 1978 Rose Bowl.
That play is one of the more memorable in school history. It would make sense that a legendary player would make it. The Washington victory against Michigan that day is one of the bigger upsets in school history.
A two-time All-Pac-8/10 player, Jackson was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the 57th overall pick in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft. While he never enjoyed the kind of success he had in college at the professional level, he is an absolute legend in the Seattle area. Jackson kicks off our list as the No. 30 greatest player in Huskies program history.