16 Huskies, 4 on First Team, and DeBoer Earn All-Pac-12 Honors
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Sixteen different University of Washington football players received All-Pac-12 accolades, from first team to honorable mention as voted on by the league coaches, with Kalen DeBoer named the conference's co-Coach of the Year with Oregon State's Jonathan Smith, the former Husky offensive coordinator.
Sophomore wide receiver Rome Odunze, senior offensive guard Jaxson Kirkland and edge rushers Bralen Trice and Jeremiah Martin, a sophomore and a senior, each received first-team All-Pac-12 honors — with Kirkland receiving his for the third time, with the other two coming with him at left tackle.
Four more UW players earned second-team recognition in quarterback Michael Penix Jr., a junior who already has announced his 2023 return; sophomore offensive tackle Troy Fautanu; senior place-kicker Peyton Henry, and, in some good news for an embattled UW secondary, senior safety Alex Cook.
Honorable mention was doled out to the following Huskies: senior offensive guard Henry Bainivalu, senior linebacker Cam Bright, senior center Corey Luciano, sophomore wide receiver Jalen McMillan, senior running back Wayne Taulapapa, junior edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui, sophomore linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala and junior safety Asa Turner.
DeBoer shared the conference's top coaching honor after guiding the Huskies to a 10-2 record, which included sweeping the Northwest schools and the Bay Area schools, and taking them to an Alamo Bowl berth against Texas and former UW coach Steve Sarkisian. He has a chance to coach the Huskies to 11 or more wins in a season for just the fifth time in school history.
Odunze was named to the first team after catching 70 passes for 1,088 yards and 7 touchdowns, and running for an eighth.
The 6-foot-7, 340-pound Kirkland sat out the first two games of the season because of an NCAA mandate for removing himself from the NFL draft and recovering from ankle surgery, but he played a full Pac-12 schedule in top form — making him one of the most decorated conference players ever with three first-team selections.
Trice and Martin matched each other all season coming off the edge with quarterback pressure and total sacks (8 and 8.5, respectively) and now first-team, all-conference honors. In a most unusual circumstance, they actually were two of three UW edge rushers who were singled out by the conference for recognition, with the player known as ZTF (with 4.5 sacks) likewise feted as an honorable-mention pick.
Penix, who leads the nation in two passing categories in total yardage (4,354) and yards per game (362.8), took a backseat as a conference quarterback only to USC's Caleb Williams, who was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Fautanu, who started all 12 games, was so good he forced the coaches to make room for him at left tackle and move Kirkland inside, considering it the best fit for all involved.
Cook was the only UW secondary player to appear in and start all 12 games for a five-man crew that had players out for multiple games with injuries much of the season. He led the Huskies in tackles with 77, 12 more than the next player.
Henry was a clutch player who won the Oregon State and Oregon games with last-second field goals on consecutive weekends.
Two former Huskies, Cal senior linebacker Jackson Sirmon and UCLA junior defensive lineman Laiatu Latu, were named as first-team, All-Pac-12 picks, too.
To access the entire list of conference selections and accompanying profiles on the players and coach of the year honors, click this link.
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