UW Roster Review, No. 2-99: Bynum is Last Receiver Standing
Hi, I'm Terrell Bynum and I'll be your tour guide in the University of Washington wide-receiver room.
Over here we have Puka Nacua's old locker. Yes, those are real puka shells.
Over there, that's Marquis Spicer's stuff. However, all those scholarship offers and high school records don't mean a whole lot.
And that? Oh, it's the receipt for Ty Jones' one-way bus ticket to Fresno. Hope he doesn't call me to come pick him up.
Bynum is all that remains among the upperclassmen from the UW receiving corps after a five-player exodus took place once the season ended, one that also included Austin Osborne and Jordan Chin.
"It was actually a little devastating because I was super close with those guys outside of football," Bynum conceded. "We still stay in contact. It's not like I thought it would be."
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.
Bynum is No. 4, the offensive guy.
For the Husky fans, the rapid turnover of receivers was disheartening to them, if not a reality check exposing the harsher side of college football. Not everybody is going to play or play as much as they want or get the ball thrown their way as much as they would prefer.
The only alternative is to leave and start over. It's happening more and more across the college landscape.
Bynum, however, has made it happen for himself at the UW. He's been a starter for much of two seasons and caught 39 passes for 498 yards and 2 touchdowns, and he's content with that. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder scored at big moments, in the 2019 Apple Cup against Washington State and in the Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State.
Modest numbers for sure, but production just the same. He seems to understand his role, which is to catch his ration of passes and mentor the replacements for all of those departed teammates. Newer players such as Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, Sawyer Racanelli, Taj Davis and Texas Tech transfer Ja'Lynn Polk.
"I feel I have to take a big role, just teaching them about defenses," Bynum said. "They're smart guys so they understand the offense, but they have to adjust their routes."
At the same time, the Long Beach, California, product realizes as much as anyone how he needs to hang onto his job just like he would a well-contested pass in traffic. It's competition and there are no playing guarantees for anyone at this level.
While he starts alongside Odunze and McMillan for now, Bynum knows as well as anyone that those other young guys taking his advice are trying hard to supplant him in the lineup.
2021 Outlook: Projected wide-receiver starter
UW Service Time: Played in 27 games, started 13
Stats: 39 receptions for 498 yards and 2 touchdowns, 79 yards rushing on 6 carries
Individual Honors: None
Pro prospects: NFL free-agent signee
Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven
Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: HuskyMaven/Sports Illustrated
