Bailey's UW Record Isn't Safe with Boston Coming for It

The Husky wide receiver ranks second nationally with 8 TD catches.

Denzel Boston catches his 8th touchdown pass against Michigan. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Denzel Boston caught another touchdown pass on Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines, giving him 8 in six games and at least one against every opponent he's faced this season except for Washington State in the Apple Cup.

The 6-foot-4, 209-pound sophomore from South Hill, Washington, continues on a steady pace to try and unseat Mario Bailey -- someone who was seven inches shorter and 52 pounds lighter when he played -- as the University of Washington's record-holder for scoring receptions in a season.

In 12 games for an unbeaten 1991 Husky football team that captured a national championship, Bailey hauled in 18 TD passes, mostly deep balls in which he simply ran past anyone and everyone trying to stop him.

In the aftermath of the Michigan game, Boston was asked about this record-breaking possibility. Others might have totally sidestepped this topic of discussion, yet this Husky home-run hitter, so quietly confident yet sure of himself, acknowledged it.

"I'm coming, but we'll just have to see," Boston said. "We'll just have to see."

With the ball on the Michigan 3 in the first quarter, Boston lined up on the outside shoulder of right offensive tackle Drew Azzopardi as if he were a tight end, hand fought with Wolverines cornerback Jyaire Hill, also a sophomore, into the end zone and hauled in the ball as Hill fell down.

Boston nearly ran into the line of photographers catching frames of his every move, pointed to the side of the end zone to make sure the officials had seen him toe tap and then celebrated with Husky teammates, again for the eighth time this season.

Denzel Boston gets his 8th TD of the season for @UW_Football 🙌

They are on the board first at home 💪#B1GFootball on NBC 📺 pic.twitter.com/FHQFlKEYSG

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 6, 2024

If he stays on his current pace, Boston will finish with 16 touchdown grabs during the regular season, with a postseason game a likelihood.

Thirty-three years ago, Bailey finished with 68 catches for 1,163 yards and those 18 scores, with his last TD that season coming against Michigan in the Rose Bowl, clutching a 38-yard throw from Mark Brunell early in the fourth quarter of the Huskies' 34-14 victory to wrap up their national title.

Bailey, of course, celebrated the moment with a Heisman pose, just to let Desmond Howard, the Michigan wide receiver who won the trophy that season as college football's top player, know the following -- that he was there.

Boston will need to increase his TD catch rate just a tad to have this UW receiving record all to himself, with the tall, lanky one benefitting from coach Jedd Fisch's proclivity for throwing the ball to him.

"Coach Fisch is a great play-caller," Boston said. "We've had a tremendous offense this year. We believe in him and we're going to keep rocking with him."

Huskies wide receiver Denzel Boston celebrates his 3-yard touchdown catch against Michigan. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Boston currently stands at 35 catches for 492 yards and his 8 scores going into the next game at Iowa. His scoring receptions rank him second in the nation, just behind San Jose State's Nick Nash, who has 9 in five outings.

No one really has been able to deal with Boston defensively because of his combination of exemplary speed and great length. Not Weber State, Eastern Michigan, Northwestern, Rutgers and certainly not Michigan. He just reaches over people or runs right past them.

He's coming.

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