Washington Football: 5 breakout candidates for 2017

SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 17: Wide receiver Chico McClatcher #6 of the Washington Huskies reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Portland State Vikings in the second quarter on September 17, 2016 at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. The Huskies defeated the Vikings 41-3. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

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One of Chris Petersen’s biggest recruiting victories since taking over at Washington had to have been snagging Byron Murphy away from Pac-12 counterparts. In fact, he went into Arizona and landed the Army All-American cornerback over the likes of Arizona and Arizona State.

Murphy was also being courted by USC, Florida State, Texas A&M, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, UCLA, Tennessee and Texas, among others. He was one of the most prized recruits in the 2016 class, but the Huskies won out.

Now that he has sat back for a year, learning under guys such as Kevin King and Sidney Jones, it’s time for him to take the reigns as a redshirt freshman starting cornerback.

It’s not going to be easy to replace King and Jones, but Murphy has all the talent in the world and he could be an All-Pac-12 candidate in his first year of action. He wasn’t ranked a top-150 recruit for no reason and his 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame is ideal for this level.

Speed, aggressiveness and potential are the three things that make him such an easy breakout candidate to choose.

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