2016 Washington Huskies football team

2016 Washington Huskies football
Pac-12 champion Pac-12 North Division champion
Pac-12 Championship Game, W 41–10 vs. Colorado
Peach Bowl (CFP Semifinal), L 7–24 vs. Alabama
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
Division	North Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	12–2 (8–1 Pac-12)
Head coach	Chris Petersen (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Jonathan Smith (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Single set back
Defensive coordinator	Pete Kwiatkowski (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Jimmy Lake (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
MVP	John Ross (O) Budda Baker (D)
MVP	Lavon Coleman, Ezekiel Turner (ST)
Captain	Darrell Daniels Kevin King
Home stadium	Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by Chris Petersen in his third season as head coach of the Huskies. Washington competed as a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference and played their home games on campus at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

Washington finished the season with a 12–2 overall record and went 8–1 in conference to win the Pac-12 North Division, the program's first division title since the Pac-12 expanded and split into divisions in 2011. Most notable was defeating Stanford and Oregon, two of the toughest annual opponents for the team in recent years, by a combined 114–28. The Stanford game took place in front of a sold out crowd on ESPN and the Oregon game snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Ducks. The Huskies earned a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game where they defeated Colorado to win their first conference title since 2000. They were selected as the #4 seed in the College Football Playoff and played in the Peach Bowl, where they lost to #1 seed Alabama. Washington was ranked #4 in the final AP Poll of the 2016 season. The 2016 Huskies were the last Pac-12 team to represent the conference in the College Football Playoff until 2023.

College recruiting information (2016)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Byron Murphy Cornerback	Scottsdale, AZ	Saguaro High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jan 21, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Isaiah Gilchrist Athlete	Bellevue, WA	Bellevue High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 12, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Milo Eifler Outside Linebacker	Oakland, CA	Bishop O'Dowd High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jul 9, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Brandon Wellington Running back	Bellevue, WA	Eastside Catholic High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	Aug 12, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Taylor Rapp Safety	Bellingham, WA	Sehome High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	199 lb (90 kg)	Mar 13, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Sean McGrew Running back	Bellflower, CA	St. John Bosco High School	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	May 20, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Luke Wattenberg Offensive tackle	San Juan Capistrano, CA	JSerra Catholic High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	May 20, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Jordan Chin Wide receiver	West Hills, CA	Chaminade College Prep	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	149 lb (68 kg)	Jan 24, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Kentrell Love Cornerback	Corona, CA	Centennial High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jul 30, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Levi Onwuzurike Defensive end	Allen, TX	Allen High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jan 20, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Amandre Williams Defensive end	Covington, WA	Tahoma High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Aug 9, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Aaron Fuller Wide receiver	Allen, TX	Lovejoy High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jul 15, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Myles Rice Defensive end	Houston, TX	George Bush High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Oct 2, 2014
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Kamari Pleasant Athlete	Etiwanda, CA	Etiwanda High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jan 22, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Van Soderberg Punter	Olympia, WA	Capital High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Aug 5, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Nick Harris Center	San Juan Capistrano, CA	JSerra Catholic High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	272 lb (123 kg)	Jul 30, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Jacob Kizer Tight end	Salem, OR	West Salem High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jul 25, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Daniel Bridge-Gadd Quarterback	Phoenix, AZ	Paradise Valley High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	Oct 19, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 29   Rivals: 29  247Sports: 38
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.

2016 Washington Huskies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL 72 Trey Adams So TE 85 David Ajamu  Jr WR 19 Andre Baccellia  Fr WR 31 Drew Before Sr QB 17 Daniel Bridge-Gadd Fr OL 60 Shane Brostek  Sr QB 3 Jake Browning So OL 77 Devin Burleson  Fr QB 11 K. J. Carta-Samuels  So WR 82 Jordan Chin Fr TB 22 Lavon Coleman  Jr OL 62 Duke Clinch Fr WR 15 Darrell Daniels Sr TE 98 Will Dissly Jr TB 10 Jomon Dotson  So WR 87 Forrest Dunivin  Jr OL 52 Jake Eldrenkamp  Sr WR 12 Aaron Fuller Fr WR 89 John Gardner  So RB 9 Myles Gaskin So QB 16 Blake Gregory Fr WR 83 Connor Griffin Jr OL 56 Nick Harris Fr OL 70 Jared Hilbers  Fr TE 94 Derek Hunter  Jr TB 23 Logan Hurst  Fr OL 71 Matt James  So TB 40 Ralph Kinne  Jr OL 73 Andrew Kirkland  Jr OL 46 AJ Kneip Fr OL 67 Michael Kneip  Sr WR 81 Brayden Lenius Jr TE 5 Jeff Lindquist  Sr WR 28 Nik Little Sr WR 6 Chico McClatcher So TB 30 Gavin McDaniel  So OL 58 Kaleb McGary  So TB 25 Sean McGrew Fr TE 84 Michael Neal  Fr WR 86 Taelon Parson Jr FB/TE 45 Mike Petroff Fr WR 8 Dante Pettis Jr TB 24 Kamari Pleasant Fr WR 21 Quinten Pounds  Fr WR 29 Josh Rasmussen  Fr WR 80 Max Richmond  So OL 59 Henry Roberts  Fr QB 7 Tony Rodriguez Sr WR 1 John Ross III  Jr TE 88 Drew Sample  So OL 79 Coleman Shelton  Jr OL 75 Jessie Sosebee  So OL 74 John Turner  So OL 76 Luke Wattenberg Fr WR 18 K.J. Young  Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 32 Budda Baker Jr LB 17 Tevis Bartlett So CB 9 Brandon Beaver  Sr LB 15 DJ Beavers  So DB 47 Ian Biddle  So LB 7 Keishawn Bierria  Jr DE 96 Shane Bowman  So OLB 55 Ryan Bowman Fr DB 31 Myles Bryant Fr LB 25 Ben Burr-Kirven So DL 57 John Clark  Fr LB 34 Sean Constantine  Jr LB 40 Milo Eifler Fr DT 99 Greg Gaines  So CB 3 Darren Gardenhire Jr DB 18 Isaiah Gilchrist Fr DE 92 Jaylen Johnson  So CB 26 Sidney Jones Jr CB 4 Austin Joyner  Fr CB 20 Kevin King Sr CB 19 Brandon Lewis  So DB 12 Kentrell Love Fr LB 30 Kyler Manu  Fr OLB 5 Joe Mathis Sr DL 91 Ricky McCoy  Fr S 14 JoJo McIntosh  So DB 23 Jordan Miller So DB 6 Byron Murphy Fr OLB 29 Connor O'Brien  Jr DL 95 Levi Onwuzurike Fr DE 8 Benning Potoa'e  Fr LB 54 Matt Preston  So DL 56 Jared Pulu  Fr DT 11 Elijah Qualls  Jr DB 21 Taylor Rapp Fr OLB 41 Myles Rice Fr DB 38 Hayden Schuh Sr DL 97 Jason Scrempos  Fr OLB 37 Bryce Sterk  Fr DB 35 Mason Stone  So DT 66 Damion Turpin  Sr S 24 Ezekiel Turner Jr DL 50 Vita Vea  So DB 39 Sean Vergara  So LB 36 Azeem Victor  Jr S 27 Trevor Walker  Jr LB 53 Jake Wambaugh  So LB 10 Jusstis Warren  Fr LB 13 Brandon Wellington Fr OLB 16 Amandre Williams Fr OLB 28 Psalm Wooching  Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class LS 49 AJ Carty  Fr LS 51 Luke Hutchinson  Jr LS 78 Luke Lane Fr P 46 Race Porter Fr P 42 Van Soderberg Fr PK 81 Sebastian Valerio  Fr PK 48 Cameron Van Winkle Sr P/PK 43 Tristan Vizcaino Jr	Head coach Chris Petersen    3rd year at Washington    alma mater: UC Davis Coordinators/assistant coaches Keith Bhonapha    running backs/recruiting coordinator    3rd year at Washington    alma mater: Hawaii Bob Gregory    assistant head coach/linebackers/special teams coordinator    3rd year at Washington    alma mater: Washington State Pete Kwiatkowski    co-defensive coordinator    3rd year at Washington    alma mater: Boise State Jimmy Lake    co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs    3rd year at Washington    alma mater: Eastern Washington Jordan Paopao    tight ends    6th year at Washington    alma mater: San Diego Bush Hamdan    receivers    2nd year at Washington    alma mater: Boise State Ikaika Malloe    defensive line    1st year at Washington    alma mater: Washington Jonathan Smith    offensive coordinator/quarterbacks    3rd year at Washington    alma mater: Oregon State Chris Strausser    offensive line    3rd year at Washington    alma mater: Chico State Tim Socha    strength and conditioning Coach Rich Rasmussen    director of player personnel Jeff Tedford    consultant Derham Cato    offensive quality control Terrence Brown    graduate assistant Kyle Jolly    graduate assistant Kirby Moore    graduate assistant Hansen Sekona    graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: September 8, 2016

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	11:00 a.m.	Rutgers*	No. 14	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	P12N	W 48–13	58,640
September 10	2:00 p.m.	Idaho*	No. 8	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	P12N	W 59–14	60,678
September 17	5:00 p.m.	No. 19 (FCS) Portland State*	No. 8	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	P12N	W 41–3	57,151
September 24	7:30 p.m.	at Arizona	No. 9	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	P12N	W 35–28 OT	48,747
September 30	6:00 p.m.	No. 7 Stanford	No. 10	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	ESPN	W 44–6	72,027
October 8	4:30 p.m.	at Oregon	No. 5	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR (rivalry)	FOX	W 70–21	58,842
October 22	3:30 p.m.	Oregon State	No. 5	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	P12N	W 41–17	65,796
October 29	12:30 p.m.	at No. 17 Utah	No. 4	Rice-Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (College GameDay)	FS1	W 31–24	47,801
November 5	7:30 p.m.	at California	No. 5	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	ESPN	W 66–27	47,756
November 12	4:30 p.m.	No. 20 USC	No. 4	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA (College GameDay)	FOX	L 13–26	72,362
November 19	4:30 p.m.	Arizona State	No. 6	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	FOX	W 44–18	65,467
November 25	12:30 p.m.	at No. 23 Washington State	No. 5	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (Apple Cup)	FOX	W 45–17	33,773
December 2	6:00 p.m.	vs. No. 8 Colorado	No. 4	Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, CA (Pac-12 Championship Game)	FOX	W 41–10	47,118
December 31	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Alabama*	No. 4	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl–CFP Semifinal, SEC Nation)	ESPN	L 7–24	75,996
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to game All times are in Pacific time

^[1]

Coming off of a 44–6 win against No. 7 Stanford at Husky Stadium, No. 5 Washington traveled to Autzen Stadium to face a 2–3 Oregon team. Prior to this game, Oregon had beaten Washington twelve straight times, ten of which were by a margin of 20 points or more. This was the longest winning streak by either team in the Oregon–Washington football rivalry.

The Oregon winning streak was finally snapped after a 70–21 Washington rout. On the first play from the line of scrimmage, Washington safety Budda Baker, a one-time commit to the Oregon Ducks, intercepted the pass from Oregon's true freshman Justin Herbert. The Huskies took the lead on a Jake Browning touchdown run with 13:23 left in the first quarter and never relinquished it. The Huskies led 35–7 by halftime, 42–7 after the first possession of the third quarter, and 70–21 with 9:58 left in the fourth quarter.^[2]

The Washington offense racked up 682 yards of total offense, averaged 10.1 yards per play, amassed 6 passing touchdowns by quarterback Jake Browning, and scored 70 points, the most scored by either team in the rivalry. The Huskies’ 70 points were the second-most an opponent has ever scored on Oregon in Eugene.^[3]

Chris Petersen - Head Coach

• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year : Finalist
• Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award : Finalist

Tim Socha - strength and conditioning coach

• FootballScoop.com strength and conditioning coach of the Year : Winner

Jake Browning - Quarterback - Sophomore

• Manning Award (quarterback) : Finalist
• Walter Camp Award (player of the year) : Finalist
• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback) : Semi-Finalist
• Maxwell Award (player of the year) : Semi-Finalist

John Ross III - Wide receiver - Junior

• Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver) : Semi-Finalist

Jeff Lindquist - Tight end - Senior

• Wuerffel Trophy (community service and academic excellence) : Semi-Finalist

Budda Baker - Safety - Junior

• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player of the year) : Semi-Finalist
• Lott IMPACT Trophy (defensive player of the year) : Semi-Finalist
• Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back) : Semi-Finalist

First team

• Budda Baker - The Sporting News, FWAA, ESPN, Sports Illustrated
• John Ross III - ESPN

Second team

• Budda Baker - AFCA, The Associated Press, CBS Sports
• Sidney Jones - Sports Illustrated
• John Ross III - FWAA, The Associated Press, CBS Sports
• Trey Adams - FWAA

Freshman

• Taylor Rapp - FWAA, USA Today, ESPN, Pro Football Focus

Offensive Player of the Year

• Jake Browning - Quarterback - Sophomore

Freshman Defensive Player of the Year

• Taylor Rapp - Safety - Freshman

Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year

• Jake Eldrenkamp - Guard - Senior

First team

• Jake Browning - Quarterback - Sophomore
• Myles Gaskin - Running back - Sophomore
• John Ross III - Wide receiver - Junior
• Trey Adams - Offensive tackle - Sophomore
• Jake Eldrenkamp - Guard - Senior
• Elijah Qualls - Defensive tackle - Junior
• Azeem Victor - Linebacker - Junior
• Budda Baker - Safety - Junior
• Sidney Jones - Cornerback - Junior

Second team

• Coleman Shelton - Center - Junior
• Vita Vea - Defensive tackle - Sophomore
• Keishawn Bierria - Linebacker - Junior
• Dante Pettis - Return specialist - Junior

Honorable mention

• Darrell Daniels - Tight end - Senior
• Greg Gaines - Defensive tackle - Sophomore
• Kevin King - Cornerback - Senior
• Drew Sample - Tight end - Sophomore
• Psalm Wooching - Linebacker - Senior

Seven members of the 2016 team were invited to participate in drills at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine held between February 28 and March 6, 2017 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

* Top performer

† New combine record

The 2017 NFL draft was held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia on April 27 through April 29, 2017. The following Washington players were either selected or signed as free agents following the draft.