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Inside The Huskies

Lawson Makes Biggest UW Catch Yet, Pulls In Starting Job

The Husky pass-catcher is a new starter as multiple injuries disrupt the receiving corps.
Dan Raley|
Chris Lawson chats up a game official during the Utah State game.
Chris Lawson chats up a game official during the Utah State game. | Dave Sizer. photo

Early in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Chris Lawson slipped behind a pair of Utah State defenders, left his feet reaching for Demond Williams Jr. pass in the back of the end zone and electrified the Husky Stadium gathering by pulling it in with one hand.

Unfortunately for him, this University of Washington pass-catcher came down with the ball out of bounds and it didn't count.

Such has been the case for Lawson, seemingly on the verge of making big things happen in his two seasons in Montlake yet unable to get that proverbial foot down and make it all count.

That's no longer the case, however, as the San Francisco product became a starter for the first time, with injuries to others elevating him last weekend and from here on out.

"For me, I was kind of ready for it," Lawson said on Tuesday. "I've been preparing myself with the playbook and I feel pretty good about it."

As a freshman, he arrived as part of an extra talented five-player freshmen receiving corps that saw Dezmen Roebuck and Raiden Vines-Bright become immediate UW starters, him and Marcus Harris draw playing time and Deji Ajose redshirt.

During fall camp, Kennesaw State transfer Christian Moss and Lawson went head to head in an entertaining manner to claim Denzel Boston's old Husky receiver spot now that the latter plays for the NFL's Cleveland Browns.

Moss won the starting job, but his reward was relegated to just one play in the season opener against Washington State before he suffered a leg injury that will keep him out until November if not longer.

Chris Lawson just missed coming down in bounds with a 9-yard touchdown catch against Utah State.
Chris Lawson just missed coming down in bounds with a 9-yard touchdown catch against Utah State. | Dave Sizer photo

Add to that, starting wide receiver Rashid Williams exited the Utah State game with a hip pointer, didn't come back and his return is uncertain.

All of which made the 6-foot, 185-pound Lawson a first-time starter and even more of a key component to the Husky offense going forward.

"He's got all the explosion that you look for," UW receivers coach Kevin Cummings said.

Through two games, Lawson has 7 catches for 116 yards. As for the one that didn't count, he saw a 9-yard TD catch get wiped out by landing just outside of the end zone against Utah State.

"I was real close," he said. "I've got to get my foot down. I was kind of mad I didn't get it."

Yet with so much opportunity coming to him all of a sudden, Lawson has to be a happy receiver these days.

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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.

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