How Good Are the Huskies? Athlon Sees 10 Honors-Worthy Players
The results are in.
Athlon Sports' college football preview magazine deems 10 of the prospective 24 starters for the University of Washington football team as really good.
All-Pac-12 worthy at some level.
Elite players.
It was eight Husky selections the year before.
Two names in particular stick out -- Richard Newton and Jaxson Kirkland.
People scoffed last season when this site, Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated, made the suggestion that Newton, then a redshirt freshman, might be better a better running back than the veteran player starting ahead of him.
Entering this season, Athlon rates him as a second-team All-Pac-12 pick, even though the sophomore from Lancaster, California, hasn't started a collegiate game yet.
The magazine picked his predecessor, Salvon Ahmed, then a junior, as a third-teamer 12 months ago. The speedster had a nice career. still, the hard-charging Newton should be better.
More than a few eyebrows were raised when Husky Maven/SI stated a case for Kirkland, then a sophomore, becoming the Huskies' next great offensive lineman.
Athlon put him on its All-Pac-12 first team and he hasn't played a game at his new position yet -- left tackle. His enormous size and proven track record as a two-year starting guard make him a natural for preseason attention.
"Time to go prove it on the field," the 6-foot-7, 323-pound Kirkland said.
Kirkland, whose game is analyzed in the accompanying video by former Husky running back great Greg Lewis, is one of four UW first-team selections chosen by the magazine. He joins senior cornerback Elijah Molden, senior defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike and junior edge rusher Joe Tryon.
Newton is one of four Husky second-teamers, sharing this distinction with junior tight end Cade Otton, senior edge rusher Ryan Bowman and junior placekicker Peyton Henry.
Athlon, unlike other preview magazines, prefers to go four teams deep in saluting the Pac-12's top talent. Sophomore cornerback Trent McDuffie and senior offensive lineman Luke Wattenberg, who is possibly moving from guard to center, are Huskies paced on the fourth unit.
Similar to 2019, the Huskies lack a quarterback and inside linebacker with honors on this preseason listing, with Athlon last year reluctant to single out then-junior QB Jacob Eason, now NFL-bound.
The Huskies hope sophomore Jacob Sirmon, Eason's presumed replacement, can play his way into an honors candidate. Yet he's not appeared in anything but mop-up time as a college QB so far.
Sophomore inside linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio, however, was a late-season starter and showed excellent speed when given a chance to play steady minutes on the Huskies' defensive second row. Ulofoshio easily could rectify the linebacker issue for the UW, in terms of production and recognition.
Ten players singled out for attention by Athlon is lot of talent. But it's only on paper. The Huskies will need show that it translates to the win column to verify it.
