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Washington Football: Will Jacob Eason lead Huskies to Pac-12 title?

By Dante Pryor

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Washington Huskies head coach Chris Petersen calls a play during the second half in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Washington Huskies head coach Chris Petersen calls a play during the second half in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 10: Myles Bryant #5 of the Washington Huskies breaks up a pass in the endzone intended for JJ Arcega-Whiteside #19 of the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on November 10, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 10: Myles Bryant #5 of the Washington Huskies breaks up a pass in the endzone intended for JJ Arcega-Whiteside #19 of the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on November 10, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Strong defensive line, secondary lead the way

Along with having one of the best offensive lines in the country, the Huskies might have one of the best defensive lines despite returning only one senior starter.

One key to Jimmy Lake’s hybrid 3-4 defensive scheme is size upfront, and the Huskies are not short on it. Alongside senior Benning Potoa’e (6-3, 285 pounds) is 6-2, 318-pound Tuli Letuligasenoa, 287-pound Levi Onwuzurike and they’ll find room and time for 322-pound redshirt freshman Sam Taimani.

They have good, but untested players at linebacker in Ariel Ngata, Jackson Sirmon and freshman Josh Calvert. One of them have to replace tackling machine Ben Burr-Kirven and his 176 total tackles from last season.

Lake has acquired a reputation for recruiting defensive backs at a high level. From Budda Baker to Byron Murphy, Lake has had the best secondary in the Pac-12 for a few years, and this year will be no different. Although Myles Bryant is their only returning starter from last year, they are not short on talent. Elijah Molden and Keith Taylor are really good at corner, and Brandon McKinney will be at the other safety spot next to Bryant.

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