Washington football has the tools to repeat as the Pac-12 champ and here are five reasons why the Huskies will win the conference crown in 2017.
When Chris Petersen took over the Washington football program, the Huskies were searching for answers. Steve Sarkisian had put the program back on the map, but had just left for the head coaching job at USC.
How would the Huskies retain success? Well, Petersen has done an excellent job of recruiting and his players have bought into the system. Moreover, Washington has the pieces in place to compete at a high level. In fact, the Huskies took the conference title in 2016. Can they repeat?
Here are the five seasons why Washington will repeat in 2017.
5. Jake Browning
Jake Browning returns at quarterback. Traditionally, when Washington has a returning starter under center, the team does reasonably well. Keith Price and Jake Locker are recent examples. The Huskies went 9-4 during Price’s senior season and 7-6 during Locker’s senior year.
Browning earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year for his 2016 season. He will face stiffer competition for the title this season with Josh Rosen returning from injury and Sam Darnold coming off a breakout season. Additionally, Browning lost his top receiver in John Ross (more on that later) but still has plenty of talent surrounding him.
In 2016, Browning threw 43 touchdowns, tied for the Pac 12 record. He also set a school record for most touchdown passes in a single game (six). Browning threw eight touchdowns of 50 yards or more, another school record.
Having one of the conference’s best quarterbacks makes Washington one of the best teams in the conference.
4. Dante Pettis
Dante Pettis should have a monster year. While the Huskies lost John Ross to the NFL Draft, the team returns Pettis and Chico McClatcher. Ross was second in the Pac-12 in 2016 with 1,150 receiving yards.
McClatcher is an undersized slot receiver, but the statistics do not lie: McClatcher had 574 receiving yards in 2016, a top-20 ranking for the Pac-12. McClatcher’s 18.5 yards per catch ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12. McClatcher’s numbers could improve this season, but Pettis’ numbers are very likely to improve in 2017.
Pettis is one of the best athletes on the team. He doesn’t have the same speed as Ross, but has good speed and can win jump ball throws if tasked to do so.
He will be the most receiver on the team in 2017. Pettis finished 2016 with 787 receiving yards, good for seventh in the Pac-12. He also finished the year with 15 receiving touchdowns, second in the Pac-12 just behind Ross.
3. Running backs
In addition to weapons at wide receiver, Browning will have plenty of help at running back. Myles Gaskin finished third in the Pac 12 in rushing yards and ranks at the top among players returning to school this season.
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Another member in the backfield, Lavon Coleman, is a load to bring down and had his strongest season in 2016. He ranked ninth among Pac-12 rushers with 852 yards. His 7.5 yards per carry ranked second in the Pac-12.
One would be hard-pressed to argue against Washington having one of the best running back tandems in the conference.
A strong argument could be made for Oregon with Royce Freeman and Tony Brooks-James, the back who posted 7.6 yards per carry for the best average in the Pac-12. Oregon figures to be Washington’s stiffest competition for the Pac-12 North, but the Ducks, at least on paper, don’t quite measure up to the Huskies in one other area.
2. Schedule
Washington faces a slightly easier schedule than its Pac-12 North foes. Based on recent history, Stanford and Oregon are Washington’s stiffest competition for the North crown. Since the Pac-12 added two teams in 2011, either Stanford, Oregon or Washington have won the conference.
Stanford’s second game of the season is a road contest against USC. Stanford also faces Utah on the road. The team also plays UCLA, even if it is a home game. Admittedly, the Cardinal get Oregon and Washington at home.
Oregon faces Nebraska for its second game of the season and faces both Stanford and Washington on the road. Additionally, the Ducks travel south when playing UCLA and play Utah, although it is a home game.
Washington does face Stanford on the road, but faces Oregon at home. The team also doesn’t have to play USC and plays UCLA and Utah at home. The Huskies face last season’s South champs Colorado on the road and the Buffaloes present a challenge but lost several critical players from last season’s team.
1. Defense
Washington finished 2016 with the eighth-ranked scoring defense in the nation, best in the Pac-12. The closest team in the Pac-12 was 18th-ranked Stanford, averaging almost a full three points more per game (2.7 to be precise). Washington was also the top-ranked Pac-12 team in total defense, allowing 316.9 yards per game, good for 12th in the nation.
The Huskies return six starters from that unit. To be sure, Washington lost the bulk of the secondary with NFL draftees Budda Baker, Kevin King and Sidney Jones.
However, the secondary returns talent in Jojo McIntosh and Taylor Rapp. Rapp notched four interceptions, tied for third-best in the Pac-12. Rapp earned the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year.
While the secondary lost most of its starters, Washington returns two of its three starters on the defensive line and three of the defensive unit’s best players in Vita Vea, Greg Gaines and Jaylen Johnson. Specifically, Vea should be one of the team’s best players, capable of a monster season with his athleticism, size and strength.
Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: Way-too-early edition
First-team All-Pac-12 selection Azeem Victor returns after missing the final four games of the 2016 season due to injury. Even though he missed four games, he finished as the Huskies’ third-leading tackler.