Spring practice, Day 8: Washington still has some juice at receiver
There's no replacing The Trio, but the Huskies still have some dudes.
SEATTLE — They accounted for 3,358 yards and 27 touchdowns last season, as prolific and talented of a receiving trio as Washington has ever had, each of them now preparing for selection in this month’s NFL Draft.
There will be no replacing what Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja’Lynn Polk brought to the Huskies in 2023, nor the connection each developed with Michael Penix Jr. the past two seasons. Yet if UW’s first eight spring practices under new coach Jedd Fisch have revealed much about expected team strengths, it seems possible receiver could again fall in that category, even if the current group doesn’t wind up producing a top-10 pick.
Then again, as Denzel Boston uses two hands to pluck a 5-yard fade ball for a touchdown with Ephesians Prysock in coverage … or soar above two defenders to pull in a deep throw downfield …
The third-year sophomore has much to prove before anyone might include him in their memories of the Odunze/McMillan/Polk generation, but he’ll get the chance. Already, Boston projects as one of the Huskies’ most important players, establishing early in Fisch’s tenure as a potential WR1 in 2024. He gets open, he catches everything and his size (6-foot-4, 207 pounds) makes him a desirable target for Will Rogers and Demond Williams Jr.
“I feel like waiting behind those guys was for sure the best thing for me to do, and stay patient and stay here,” Boston said. “I think this is the time that’s been coming. I’m excited to take what I can from the opportunity.”