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UW Roster Review, No. 2-99: Taj Davis Runs a Comebacker to Huskies

After opting out, the wide receiver returns and flourishes during spring football.
Dan Raley|
UW Roster Review, No. 2-99: Taj Davis Runs a Comebacker to Huskies
UW Roster Review, No. 2-99: Taj Davis Runs a Comebacker to Huskies

On the eve of a late-starting Pac-12 football season, a forlorn University of Washington coach Jimmy Lake spoke to his virtual audience of media members before him and announced that Taj Davis had opted out. 

A 6-foot-1, 200-pound wide receiver, Davis chose to stay home in Chino, California,  for personal reasons, becoming one of five eligible Huskies who didn't return for the pandemic restart. On a larger scale, he was one of nearly a dozen underclassmen who left the program following the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl because of the pandemic, injury or the NFL.

The Husky coach tried to sound hopeful when addressing this particular departure, though these sort of roster actions usually were permanent.

"We hope we can get him back someday," Lake said of Davis. "We respect his decision. He's always going to be a Dawg."

Five months later, the coach's wistfulness resembled a premonition as the young pass-catcher showed up for spring practice.

And not only did Davis become a Husky again, as did young edge rusher Bralen Trice, Davis emerged as one of the team's most improved players over 15 April and May workouts, turning himself into strong starting candidate.

"It was just awesome to watch," Lake said.

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, who comes from the same Upland High School that sent tailback Cam Davis to the Huskies, will contend with senior Terrell Bynum, redshirt freshmen Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Sawyer Racanelli, Texas Tech transfer Ja'Lynn Polk and Michigan transfer Giles Jackson for the UW three starting jobs.

"Taj is definitely somebody in the last four or five practices that's made those tough catches, that's made big plays in big-time situations that we're putting our offense in," Lake said before spring workouts ended. "When guys are able to do that with grit, and with toughness, they're going to get rewarded with more playing time."

Davis came to the UW with 110 career high school catches, but didn't get on the field as a true freshman in 2019. After sitting out last fall's abbreviated season, he's ready to make his move up the depth chart.

He wears No. 17, a jersey he shares with his defensive counterpart, redshirt freshman edge rusher Sav'ell Smalls. As the accompanying videos show, the California plays with great confidence now and without any fear of the pandemic or the football competition.

"Now Taj has to be consistent, which he has been the last five days," Lake said of his rejuvenated receiver, "and keep building and keep grinding, and he'll push his way to more playing time."

Davis' 2021 Outlook: Projected wide-receiver starter

UW Service Time: None

Stats: None

Individual Honors: None

Pro prospects: 2024 NFL late-round draft pick

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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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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