Washington football began the Jacob Eason era in Week 1 with a convincing win over Eastern Washington. What did we learn about the Huskies?
Chris Petersen waited months to name his starting quarterback who would be Jake Browning’s replacement and he landed on Jacob Eason, a Washington-native and transfer from Georgia.
That decision looks to have paid off as the Huskies routed Eastern Washington in the opener, 47-14, and Eason looked like one of the top passers of Week 1. He showed a strong arm, accuracy and leadership that the Huskies need at the position and the rest of the team took care of the rest.
Here are a few quick thoughts from the Washington win.
1. Jacob Eason will be just fine
The Georgia-transfer quarterback came back home to start for Washington but he wasn’t guaranteed a spot at QB1 when Jake Browning graduated. He had to fight for the job and it turned out Petersen made the right choice. Eason finished the game with 349 yards and four touchdowns on 27-of-36 completions and he looked like a sure-fire leader and down-field threat.
2. Passing defense is work in progress
Losing a number of quality starters in the defensive backfield to the NFL definitely hurts, and it showed, in spurts, on Saturday afternoon as the Huskies allowed 211 passing yards and a touchdown through the air to a first-year starter under center. They have the talent back there, but it’ll be a work in progress.
3. Richard Newton may be the team’s best RB
Salvon Ahmed came into the season as the presumed No. 1 running back who would be looked at to replace Myles Gaskin but he didn’t look like the top runner on Saturday. That was actually redshirt freshman Richard Newton. He finished with 12 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown while Ahmed had just 44 yards and a score on 15 touches. It might be time to turn to the freshman until Ahmed proves he’s worthy.