Huskies' Coleman, Boston In Race to Reach End Zone

The UW players both rank among the nation's touchdown leaders.

Denzel Boston lets out a howl during his 2-TD effort against Rutgers. | Dave Sizer photo

As a University of Washington running back with a nose for the goal line, Jonah Coleman still leads the nation in touchdowns scored with a dozen and in rushing six-pointers with 11 as the Huskies reach the halfway point of their regular season.

Meantime, teammate Denzel Boston is tied for third in the country in receiving TDs with 6 and he's tied for 13th with 7 scores overall, counting his 78-yard punt return that went the distance earlier against UC Davis.

That's a fairly potent 1-2 punch of players lighting up the scoreboard as the Huskeis prepare to play Michigan next Saturday at the Big House, which has a 107,061 capacity and hopefully end zones they can squeeze into.

Kidded that Coleman appears to be hoarding TDs on him, Boston preferred to keep the conversation serious about what's happening in Montlake.

"I'm not worried about the touchdowns," he said. "They're going to come."

That they are.

The Huskies already have scored 31 touchdowns midway through this season compared to 36 over an entire season of 13 games last year.

Coleman and Boston have a combined 19 TDs this fall, which matches their 2024 season total.

A year ago, Coleman finished with 10 TDs and Boston posted 9 while since-departed UW wide receiver Giles Jackson backed them with 8 more scores, including 4 in a 35-34 Sun Bowl loss to Louisville alone.

Jonah Coleman hits the hole against Rutgers. | Dave Sizer photo

This past Friday night, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Boston found the end zone twice in the Huskies' 38-19 victory over Rutgers, catching scoring passes of 23 and 38 yards.

On the first one, he used his height to high-point a ball, in other words catch a pass well above the reach of Rutgers' 5-foot-11, 198-pound cornerback Jacobie Henderson. With five inches on his defender, Boston simply made it no contest when they went up for the ball.

"I'm 6-foot-4," he said. "I'd hope the advantage is there."

Denzel Boston makes the catch against tight Rutgers coverage. | Dave Sizer photo

While Coleman's rushing totals have dipped notably as opponents try to key on him, his touchdowns keep coming and have never been more timely.

At Maryland nine days ago, the senior back scored a game-winning TD on a 1-yard run with just 3:21 left to play to cap off a furious Husky rally from 20 points down to beat the Terrapins 24-20.

This past Friday, Coleman dove into the end zone on another 1-yard run to put the UW ahead for good at 17-13 early in the third quarter.

Coleman and Boston are keeping the Huskies "pointed" in the right direction.

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