Washington Football: 5 reasons Huskies won’t repeat as Pac-12 champs
By Jerran Anderson
4. Replacing John Ross will be hard to do
The departure of wide receiver John Ross is a huge blow to the Washington Huskies’ offense. As quarterback Jake Browning’s favorite target on offense, Ross caught 81 receptions for 1,150 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns.
On special teams, Ross returned 17 kickoffs for an average of 24.2 yards, fourth in the Pac-12. He also had one kickoff return for a touchdown. Replacing Ross’ contributions will be rather difficult for the Huskies offense. Ross was electric after returning in the 2015 offseason from a re-aggravated torn meniscus injury.
The Huskies return wide receiver Dante Pettis. Pettis caught 53 passes for 822 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. He also returned 25 punts for 287 return yards and two touchdowns. However, after Pettis, there’s a big drop off in production.
Wide receiver Chico McClatcher caught 31 passes for 574 receiving yards and five touchdowns and started in three games last season. True freshman wide receiver Aaron Fuller caught 16 passes for 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns after four starts in 2016.
If the Huskies want to get over the hump, they’ll need to develop some new weapons for Browning to throw to, or the championship could be theirs to lose.