Washington Football: Richard Newton, Sean McGrew will be scary 1-2 punch

When speaking of the best backfields in the Pac-12, one that doesn’t quite get the credit it deserves resides in Seattle.

Washington football has quite the rotation of backs led by Richard Newton and Sean McGrew and they could help lead Jimmy Lake and the Huskies to the Pac-12 title game which they should have been in last season if not for a COVID-19 outbreak.

Don’t get me wrong, Cameron Davis should have a strong role in the backfield this season after a decent freshman campaign in which he rushed for 67 yards on 4.5 per touch, but the bulk of the carries will be given to McGrew and Newton with the latter being the presumed workhorse.

McGrew led the backfield last season with 227 yards and four touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry in just four games while Newton was third with 122 yards and two touchdowns with a 5.3 yards per carry average as well. He didn’t play in the final two games of the season which is why his yardage total was so low.

But Newton is the guy I see taking charge this season as a big 6-foot-1, 210-pound back in his third season and he’ll get back his freshman year mojo when he rushed for 10 touchdowns.

With the entire offensive line returning to an offense that ranked 54th in the nation in rushing, Newton and McGrew are going to make a terrifying duo.

Richard Newton could be a national breakout star

While I like McGrew’s game and think he’ll be one of the best complementary rushers in the Pac-12 this season, Newton is the guy who everyone should keep an eye on.

I would be surprised if he didn’t begin the year as RB1 and show just why Lake likes him as the top dog in the backfield. He runs downhill and is a load to bring down and he has proven in the past that he can be a workhorse, every-down type of back. He rushed 117 times for 498 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2019 as a freshman and has the capability of doubling that output.

If we see Newton run 150-200 times and maintain his 5.3 yards per carry that he had in 2020, he should approach that 1,000-yard mark. McGrew will be somewhere in the 700-800 range if he isn’t far behind in carries and Davis should reach a few hundred as well.

This backfield will be really, really good in 2021 and no one is giving it the credit it deserves.