From a shaking fence in Husky Stadium to a final fishing trip, UW folk hero Joe Jarzynka’s legacy transcends his last hurrah.
“That dude was just too big for life. He couldn’t live a long life. He had given too much. Joe couldn’t give that much forever.”
UW wide receivers Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan and Germie Bernard were targeted 20 times last night, and recorded 19 catches for 353 yards and two touchdowns. That's about as statistically dominant as you'll ever see.
UW WR Rome Odunze confirmed today that he broke a rib and punctured a lung recovering an onside kick against Arizona. He was in the hospital until nearly 5 am that night, and his mother and two UW trainers took turns driving him on a 23-hour trip back to Seattle.
UW's 1991 national championship team is headed to Houston to support the next great class of Huskies against a familiar foe.
“It’ll be great to be together, rooting our little brothers on," Dave Hoffmann said. "That’s really what it feels like.”
UW's next coach will inherit a roster that just lost the majority of its playmakers to the NFL draft, with many more possibly entering the transfer portal. He'll also inherit a program that will make significantly less than its Big Ten competitors in the near future.
Good luck.
The thing I keep thinking about this AM:
Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze and Troy Fautanu each bet on themselves. None had a first round grade last year. All could have left anyway. Most do these days. Instead, they came back and got better. No ego. All belief. They earned it.
Frank Clark was asked Monday night about Richard Sherman calling the Seahawks a "middle of the road" team a few weeks back.
You're going to want to read his response:
Richard Newton knew he might not play. He stayed anyway.
"I’ve always wanted to be a dawg, man," he said. "This decision, for me, was bigger than football. I wanted to spend my last year with my brothers, no matter what the role was.”
After 10 days of rampant departures, a growing list of Huskies — Kamren Fabiculanan, Davon Banks, Denzel Boston, Zach Durfee, etc. — have been vocal about their decision to return to UW in ‘24. And regardless of what happens next fall, those statements should be remembered.
UW has sold out of its allotment of 20,000 tickets for Monday’s national championship game against Michigan in Houston, a university spokesperson confirms.
Peyton Henry: “That (missed field goal at Oregon in 2018) is always in the back of the mind, especially because when people think of me they think of that kick. So hopefully they remember me for this kick.”
During a zoom availability for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards this afternoon, I asked UW coach Kalen DeBoer where his head is at less than two days after losing in the national championship. His answer lasted more than three and a half minutes.
Full response below:
Thrilled to share I’ve been appointed to succeed my friend/colleague, Larry Stone (
@StoneLarry
), as a sports columnist at
@seattletimes
. Larry retired Friday after a momentous 44-year run, leaving gargantuan shoes to fill. It’s the honor of my career to take on that challenge.
Breaking: Four-star Bethel LB Zaydrius Rainey-Sale — the highest ranked '25 recruit in the state of Washington — has announced a verbal commitment to the home state Huskies
For those in the Seattle area, pick up Monday's
@seattletimes
for our 10-page Sugar Bowl special section, including this gorgeous illustration on the cover. It's not to be missed.
If one UW player deserved better, it's All-P12 honorable mention WR Jalen McMillan. Let's compare McMillan and Oregon's Troy Franklin, who landed on the All-Pac-12 second team.
McMillan: 71 catches, 1,040 receiving yards, 8 TD
Franklin: 56 catches, 867 yards, 8 TD
Sure.
Chris Petersen says he heard a quote from an eastern philosopher in the fall, and it's been ringing in his ears:
"A man has two lives to live, and the second one begins when he realizes he only has one."
This quote from Edefuan Ulofoshio effectively summarizes the culture Kalen DeBoer has installed at UW.
More on how the Huskies physically outmatched Oregon:
UW QB Michael Penix Jr. organized a separate meeting with his teammates the night before the Sugar Bowl.
"I don't know what the meeting was about, but he asked to get the guys together," UW coach Kalen DeBoer said. "I think just sharing his mind, sharing his heart."
After he went off the air on YouTube, Caleb Presley signed off on IG Live by saying: “Shoutout Budda. Shoutout all the guys that stayed home. Class of 24, I’m coming to get y’all.”
NEWS: Former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers told ESPN he will withdraw from the NCAA transfer portal and remain at Washington to play for the Huskies in 2024. Rogers informed Washington head coach Jedd Fisch of his decision on Tuesday and has resumed classes.
Tyrone Swoopes signed to the Seahawks' practice squad and flew to Seattle on Monday, flew to London on Wednesday, was elevated to the active roster on Saturday and made his first career start (and catch) on Sunday.
How's that for a week at work?
Here's something that caught my attention today. Jedd Fisch said UW's assistant coach salary pool provided for the new staff "allows us to be able to hire anybody we want. There really isn’t anybody in the country that, if we wanted to hire them, that we couldn’t hire.”
Kalen DeBoer's first season as a college head coach ended with a 55-0 L in the NAIA semifinal. He then went 56-1 and won three of the next four national titles.
"He knew exactly what needed to be done. We needed to get bigger up front.”
Sound familiar?
BREAKING: UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb agreed in early November to a two-year contract extension through 2025, a source confirmed to The Times Tuesday. He's set to earn $1.45 million in 2023, $1.55 million in 2024 and $1.67 million in 2025.
On
@933KJR
, Michael Penix Jr. said he decided Saturday evening to return to UW. He had his return video made in secret by UW's media team and played at the end of the Huskies' team banquet on Sunday night. It was a surprise to everyone there -- including head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Worth noting, though it didn't work out for him at Washington, Sam Huard has been a class act from the very beginning. He's the first kid I've ever seen organize a Zoom call with local media to proactively explain why he's leaving. He's handled a difficult situation with grace.
Two weeks later -- after a bye -- Odunze caught eight passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns (including the game-winner) in UW's 36-33 win over Oregon. He never missed a game.
UW edge Zach Durfee will be eligible to play in the CFP, a team spokesperson confirmed. The Sioux Falls transfer was required to serve a year in residence before becoming eligible, and that's based on academic quarters. After UW's fall quarter ends Dec. 15, he's eligible.
BREAKING: Despite being offered the offensive coordinator job at Alabama Monday, Ryan Grubb will remain at Washington, a source confirmed to The Times Tuesday
In perhaps the greatest sequence of photos in Husky football history, Nick Harris celebrates Salvon Ahmed's 89-yard TD run by performing a full dance routine on the field ... and then Chris Petersen yells at him to join his teammates for the two-point attempt.
The game is stopped because of a probably inebriated man who belly flopped at midfield. Then he calmly walked off and no one seemed to stop him. Apple Cup!
FYI: today is my last day as UW football beat writer for
@seattletimes
. I'm taking next week off and will start my new role as sports columnist on Feb. 19.
Our new UW football writer — who I'll let introduce himself in the coming days — starts Monday. He's going to kill it.
UW opened as a 4.5-point underdog against Michigan. The Huskies approve.
“We prove everybody wrong time and time again, and we'll continue to do that," Bralen Trice said last night. "This is what we do as Dawgs at UW up in Seattle. We're bred for this. We prepare for this.”
I’m at a restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor, and the Michigan fans are rooting hard for Oregon, and the UW fans are rooting hard for Ohio State. It’s as if Michigan and UW are already playing each other. It’s disorienting.
UW's only other finalist, Steve Emtman, won a national championship weeks after finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1991.
Likewise, Michael Penix Jr. — and his brothers — have an opportunity to avenge a loss with a lasting win: