Scott Ecklund/UW Athletics
Of All the Choices, Who's the Next Great Husky Football Player?
So many questions surrounded this past University of Washington football team.
Who would be the quarterback? How would Jimmy Lake do as coach? Would there even be a season?
Two months from the beginning of spring practice if the pandemic permits and nine months from the season opener against Montana, the Huskies have taken most of the mystery out of who they are and what they're all about.
Nineteen of 22 starters return from their last game played against Stanford, as do another half a dozen players who opened in other outings.
Dylan Morris running the huddle and Lake on his headset gave the UW a real chance to win each of its four games in the pandemic-shortened season and even an opportunity to play for the Pac-12 championship had the team been healthy.
No, the only real mystery to the coming season is who will be the star of the show?
Who will be the best player for the next Husky football team, the most recognized individual, dare we say a first-team All-American selection?
It was Elijah Molden, but he's taking his talents to the next level, calling four seasons a college career, and who's to blame him?
To examine a possible successor — that someone who will become the face of the next UW football team and garner unlimited honors — is no easy chore because there are so many candidates to pick from.
Cade Otton, Jaxson Kirkland, Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Edefuan Ulofoshio and Trent McDuffie are obvious choices.
All first- or second-team All-Pac-12 choices or better than that. Players with readymade reputations entering the '21 season.
Who's to say Sav'ell Smalls, Kyler Gordon, Jacobe Covington, Laiatu Latu or Tuli Letuligasenoa won't make a big move and realize all of that enormous potential placed on each of them?
Even in just four games, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Otton took a big leap in making himself far more recognizable to the rest of the college football world, knocking down everyone who got in his way and coming up with a last-second, game-winning catch against Utah.
Kirkland is a workout maniac, someone determined to make himself into a great player. The son of a former first-team All-Pac-12 guard, Jaxson matched Dean with his own selection as the league's top left tackle. The 6-7, 305-pound Kirkland possesses that long, lean body similar to Trey Adams, only undamaged and capable of making him a high draft pick.
ZTF drew a lot of national attention for his four-game work sample that consisted of seven sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. The 6-3, 280-pounder who grew up in the shadow of Pearl Harbor has all the storylines necessary to put him in the spotlight.
McDuffie is the latest highly reputable Husky cornerback, of which there are six currently in the NFL, starting since he was a true freshman, ready to become the leader of the secondary in Molden's absence.
Did we forget anyone?
Oh yes, Ulofoshio.
If it's at all possible, the inside linbacker wants to be that great player more than anyone else on the roster. He's the guy.
Consider his collegiate resume:
He came to the UW as a walk-on.
He forced a fumble on his first play as a freshman.
He became a starter as a redshirt freshman.
He earned a scholarship once it became ridiculous that he didn't have one.
He shows up before the coaches at dawn to watch film.
In Nigerian, his last name means "unafraid of war."
He had 18 tackles against Stanford.
That's the second-highest total registered in Husky history, trailing only Michael Jackson's 20 in the 1977 Apple Cup.
He's also very smart, a pre-med student.
Pro Football Focus already gave him some All-American mention.
It's not a stretch to say Ulofoshio will be the face of the next UW football team.
A first-team all-everything for 2021.
A consensus guy.
The answer to the above question.
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