Washington Football: 5 players to watch in 2017 spring game
By Zach Bigalke
As Washington football tries to defend its Pac-12 title and return to the College Football Playoff, who should you keep an eye on at this year’s spring game?
It was a year of highs and lows for Washington in 2016. The Huskies beat rivals Oregon and Washington State en route to their first conference title since 2000. They beat out Penn State for a spot in the College Football Playoff. But then they were bounced by Alabama in the Peach Bowl and now must regroup after losing several key players to the NFL and graduation.
Chris Petersen still has many of the ingredients to field another championship contender in 2017. This spring is largely about figuring out which players will replace the departed starters and filling out depth. Petersen and his staff will likely hold many of their star players to limited participation as they try to prevent injuries heading into the offseason.
With that in mind, there are a couple key storylines to follow as Washington begins its spring practices. Click ahead to see the five players to keep a close eye on heading into the Huskies’ spring game on April 22.
There are no questions about who will start at quarterback for the Huskies this season. Jake Browning ranked seventh nationally in passing efficiency, second in touchdown passes thrown, and 11th in yards per attempt.
The Pac-12 returns plenty of high-quality quarterbacks. But Browning was the best among the group last season. Though he fell short in losses to USC (17-of-36 for 259 yards, 1 TD/2 INT) and Alabama (20-of-38 for 150 yards, 1 TD/2 INT), he still led the pack in the Pac-12.
As such, the thing to watch with Browning is just how much Petersen allows him to participate this spring. He is recovering from an injury to his throwing shoulder and was pretty much inactive through Washington’s first practice.
The plan is to slowly ramp up Browning’s activity as the practice period progresses, culminating in getting reps in front of the fans on April 22 at the spring game. Keep a close watch on how much play the quarterback gets in the spring game, and how limited spring action might affect his play.