UW Roster Review, No. 2-99: Pleasant Dreams Would be to Start Again

Kamari Pleasant wiled away much of University of Washington spring football practice hearing how much better sophomore Cameron Davis and junior Richard Newton had become as running backs.

He watched as fellow sixth-year senior Sean McGrew addressed the media on behalf of all the Husky runners.

He likely rolled his eyes whenever witnessing the hotdogging ways of redshirt freshman Jay'Veon Sunday.

While all of this ball-carrying stuff was fairly entertaining to behold, Pleasant couldn't have been faulted had he spoke up and suddenly asked, 'What about me?' "

The 6-foot, 220-pounder largely was relegated to a behind-the-scenes existence, which actually is nothing new for him.

Pleasant ran in relative obscurity for four seasons before he was installed as a somewhat surprise backfield starter to begin the 2020 pandemic season. He rushed for 61 yards and a score in last fall's season opener, a 27-21 victory over Oregon State.

His reward?

He was sent back to the bench to back up McGrew, the newly installed starter for the next game against Arizona.

A week later, Pleasant was re-introduced as the No. 1 running back for the Huskies' stirring 24-21 comeback victory over Utah. He toughed out 34 yards on 12 carries and scored again.

His reward?

Another seat on the bench behind McGrew for what proved to be the season-ender, a 31-26 defeat to Stanford.

No matter what he did, Pleasant wasn't going to see spring football restore him to a prominent role. Based on development alone, the newer guys were scheduled to pack the ball in the spring.

"Obviously I've got a good group of young guys and then you've got the two older guys, with Sean and Kamari," UW running-backs coach Keith Bhonapha explained. "As a coach, you want to see how far along you can get the young guys when it comes to spring ball, seeing that they're here. With Sean and Kamari, I just want those guys to get that sense of the leadership portion of it."

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— Washington Football (@UW_Football) May 1, 2021

Going down the roster in numerical order, this is another of our post-spring assessments of all of the Husky talent at hand, gleaned from a month of observations, as a way to keep everyone engaged during the offseason.

Davis wears No. 24, same as freshman safety Makell Esteen. He ran most of the time with the No. 1 offense, while a newly reinvigorated Newton got a chance to stretch out his legs again after being held out of the last two outings of the pandemic season.

Freshman Caleb Berry and Sunday, both from the Lone Star state, also received plenty of spring carries to see what they could do.

That left Pleasant and McGrew to fill in when they could, pulling spot duty among the young and younger.

Yet as he did previously over much of his career, Pleasant made a cameo appearance in the spring game and bounced off tacklers and into the end zone for a 3-yard scoring run, just one of three touchdowns chalked up that afternoon.

Coming back for a sixth season, Pleasant was welcomed by the coaching staff but given no promises of playing time.

After all, you can't impede the progress of guys like Davis and Newton, especially with both newly dedicated to launching their careers and physically ready to break loose.

Pleasant likely is undaunted by any of the potential roadblocks, confident he can deliver when called on.

Pleasant's 2021 Outlook: Projected as reserve running back

UW Service Time: Played in 30 games, started 3

Stats: 47 carries for 412 yards and 5 TDs; 14 catches for 130 yards; 1 kickoff return for 10 yards; 2 tackles

Individual Honors: None

Pro prospects: NFL free-agent signee

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