Skip to main content
Inside The Huskies

Dozen Huskies Named to Athlon's Preseason All-Pac-12 Team

The UW was tied for the second-highest number of selections behind USC.
Dan Raley|
Dozen Huskies Named to Athlon's Preseason All-Pac-12 Team
Dozen Huskies Named to Athlon's Preseason All-Pac-12 Team

In this story:

Washington Huskies

After taking a look at the University of Washington football roster, once it was passed from Jimmy Lake to Kalen DeBoer, Athlon Sports has come to the following conclusion.

The Husky cupboard is not bare. 

That 4-8 record in 2021 aside, a lot of talent remains stockpiled in Montlake.

The long-time college football preview magazine lists an even dozen UW players on its four-unit All-Pac-12 team — tied for the second-highest total across the conference.

With 16 selections, only USC has more than the Huskies. Oregon and Utah also have 12 Athlon picks.

Three Huskies rate as first-team recipients in senior offensive tackle Jaxson Kirkland, junior edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui and, in a bit of a surprise, junior defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa.

Quite possibly the thinking with Letuligasenoa, who played for a unit that generously permitted nearly 200 yards rushing per game, is the Husky defensive front will be much improved under the direction of Inoke Breckterfield, the UW's new D-line coach who is credited with turning NFL standout Aaron Donald into an elite player collegiately at Pittsburgh.

Three more UW players landed on the Athlon second unit in sophomore wide receiver Jalen McMillan, junior linebacker Edefuan Ulpfoshio and sophomore linebacker Carson Bruener. Ulofoshio, of course, is recovering from an offseason knee injury that will cause him to begin the season late.

On the Athlon third unit, senior Henry Bainivalu gives the Huskies a second decorated offensive lineman to go with Kirkland, plus junior Giles Jackson is chosen as both the kickoff and punt returners.

Ultimately giving recognition to six of the projected 11 UW defensive starters, Athlon included sophomore edge rusher Bralen Trice and junior safety Asa Turner on its fourth unit.

Husky wide receiver Rome Odunze also was a fourth-unit selection, which bodes well for the spread offense being installed.

Of the four former UW players who transferred elsewhere in the conference, linebacker Jackson Sirmon now at California was named to the Athlon first team. However, wide receiver Terrell Bynum and cornerback Jacobe Covington at USC and defensive lineman Taki Taimani at Oregon were not recognized. 

A couple of younger Huskies not chosen but capable of making a list such as this, based on their spring performances, are sophomore offensive lineman Troy Fautanu and redshirt freshman defensive tackle Kuao Peihopa. 

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Husky FanNation stories as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Husky FanNation on Facebook by searching: Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated

Follow Dan Raley of Husky FanNation on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

Home/Football