Washington football opens its 2017 season this weekend and secret weapon Taylor Rapp is giving fans a major reason for excitement.
When Taylor Rapp committed to Washington football’s 2016 recruiting class, not many expected him to have the instant impact he did. He came in and took over the secondary as a bright young star, but he still doesn’t get quite the recognition he deserves.
Rapp was named to the Pac-12’s All-Freshman team and was even a Freshman All-American, but analysts and opposing fans are so fixated on what Washington lost in the secondary from last season that he goes unnoticed. Why isn’t he talked about more? That’s a good question, but you can bet he loves being an underdog.
Heck, that’s what Washington thrives on. The Huskies weren’t expected to dominate the Pac-12 last year, but — with the exception of a USC loss — that’s exactly what they did. They don’t need the attention and they take after head coach Chris Petersen.
Petersen landed the former four-star safety from Bellingham, Wash., in 2016 and he ended up being the best freshman on the team, and in the conference.
In fact, Rapp finished fifth on the team in total tackles with 53. He also had four interceptions, one returned for a touchdown and two pass deflections. He was everywhere, it seemed, and became a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. Expect more of that in 2017 since he’s flying under the radar again.
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Sleep on Rapp all you want, but this kid is going to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors before it’s all said and done.