Washington Football: 5 spring 2019 storylines to follow

3. Receiving core remains intact

Switching gears offensively, it is apparent that Washington will also have to deal with only minor losses in the receiving core.

The Huskies will benefit from the return of their top pass catcher from a year ago in rising senior Aaron Fuller. They also bring back rising senior Andre Baccellia, who recorded the second-most receptions last year.

Fuller and Baccelia shared a near equal level of production in 2018. Fuller hauled in a team-best 58 catches that went for 874 yards and four scores. He also averaged 15.1 yards per catch. He started in eight out of Washington’s 14 games last year and had a career-high seven receptions that went for 135 yards against Auburn in the team’s opener.

Throughout his Washington career, Fuller has appeared in at least 13 games each season, and that kind of stability play a factor next season as well.

Baccellia wasn’t far behind Fuller from a receptions standpoint and finished with 584 yards despite not catching a touchdown throw. In 2018, Baccellia played in 14 games and enters his final year of college eligibility after redshirting his freshman season.

One loss that Washington will have to deal with is that of tight end Drew Sample. He was a pass-catching threat last season, corralling nearly a quarter of the offense’s receiving touchdowns in 2018.

Last year, the Honorable Mention All PAC-12 selection caught 25 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns.