Washington football has so much talent waiting in the wings, and we started to see it emerge yesterday against Oregon, and they should see more time over the rest of the season. Note: This is part two of my Oregon review, check out part one right here!
Washington football can’t afford to keep Puka Nacua on the sidelines any longer, and the catch and run touchdown against Oregon should have proved that to the coaching staff. Terrell Bynum led the team in catches and looked great in the open field, and Marquis Spiker got his first career catch, which would’ve been for a first down if not for the false start penalty before it. The receivers are just the start, but that position group has obviously been the biggest area of concern this season.
The next step is getting Austin Osborne more snaps, because we saw the Husky offense operate very well without Aaron Fuller, who has been the top receiver for the Huskies this season. Bynum filled in and was able to flash his speed and break tackles, which have both been key points of the position group this season. The Huskies have a lot of talent at receiver, and now that it’s starting to emerge, we can finally see what the Husky offense can be, just like we saw in 2016 with John Ross and Dante Pettis.
Factor that in with elite quarterback talent in Jacob Eason, and that’s unstoppable. Will Eason return for 2020? That’s a massive unknown, and while Jacob Sirmon might not be ready to start at quarterback and run the offense yet, there’s still time for him to learn and hopefully get some more snaps in the future. All reports coming out of practice say that he’s dropping jaws, making the same kind of throws that Eason makes, but he’s not quite ready yet. There’s almost a year for that to change, and who knows where he’ll be by then.
Defensively, linebacker has been the biggest concern this season, but behind the seniors is hope. M.J. Tafisi and Jackson Sirmon look like a very promising duo. If true freshman Josh Calvert didn’t have to miss the season after a knee injury late in camp derailed his hopes, we might be talking about him burning his redshirt. With all the talented youth in the secondary and along the defensive line, the Husky defense has a chance to threaten some school records over the next few seasons.
All the pieces are there, but since Chris Petersen trusts practice and seniority, we haven’t seen as much of them as some fans would like. But that isn’t the only reason Husky fans should have hope.