Boston's Late Saturday Flurry Makes Him UW's Most Productive Frosh

The newcomer scored a touchdown, caught a pass and drew a pass-interference call on a defender.

People already were headed for the exits, with the University of Washington football team enjoying a six-touchdown lead, when Denzel Boston accepted a handoff on a fly sweep and scored from 2 yards out with little trouble going around the right end. 

Boston supplied his touchdown with 5:12 left to play and gave the Huskies a 52-6 lead that held up as the final score. It came six plays after he hauled in a Sam Huard pass for a 10-yard gain and one snap following a pass-interference call he drew against Portland State to get the ball close.

The significance of this was it represented the true freshman's instantly productive college debut — making the wide receiver the first member of the eight-player Husky recruiting class of 2022 to do something meaningful in a game situation. 

It led coach Kalen DeBoer to suggest this was just a short sprint for what will be a Boston marathon .

"Denzel has had a really good fall camp and it was cool to see him rewarded finding the end zone," Kalen DeBoer said. "He's going to be a great player here."

So long and lean, the 6-foot-3, 193-pound Boston is easy to identify during practice because he seems to tower over all of his fellow pass-catchers when running through drills and acts like he belongs with an overly talented crew. 

"He's consistent, that's what I love about him," DeBoer said. "He's consistent catching the ball."

Boston is part of a smallish class the new Husky coach was able to salvage after taking the job following the messy firing of Jimmy Lake, and the first-year player originally was one of two receivers who signed with the Huskies in December

However, the talented Germie Bernard asked out of his UW scholarship and bolted for Michigan State once UW receivers coach Junior Adams left Montlake to join the Oregon staff, leaving Boston to fend for himself. 

Interestingly, these two first-year receivers will be on opposite sides come Saturday when the Spartans visit Husky Stadium.

While Boston still needs to fine-tune some of the details, such as improving his timing in certain situations, he's off to a notable start.

"He, for the most part, for where we're at with him as a true freshman and what we're asking him to do in his role, it's really impressive," DeBoer said. "He's a super cool kid. He wants it bad."

The following is an early scorecard sizing up the Husky true freshman who have scholarships and even one who doesn't but has played:

1) Denzel Boston, WR, 6-foot-3, 193 pounds — has a touchdown run and a pass reception to his credit, to top his peers in making things happen.

2) Parker Brailsford, OL, 6-foot-2, 263 pounds — hasn't played yet, needs to add weight. 

3) Tristan Dunn, S, 6-foot-4, 186 pounds — suited up for the first time on Saturday and played on special teams. 

4) Jaivion Green, CB, 6-foot-2, 202 pounds — played in the first two games and came up with a tackle against Portland State.

5) Grady Gross, PK, 5-foot-11, 213 pounds — won the kickoff job in Week 2 and provided touchbacks on six of his eight kicks.

6) Lance Holtzclaw, ER, 6-foot-3, 217 pounds — hasn't played yet, needs to bulk up a lot.

7) Ryan Otton, TE, 6-foot-6, 234 pounds — injured on the first day of fall camp and recently returned to practice, but hasn't played in a game.

8) Armon Parker, DL, 6-foot-3, 314 pounds — injured when he reported to fall camp, hasn't practiced yet.

9) Jayvon Parker, DL, 6-foot-3, 312 pounds — he and Green are the only freshmen to appear in both Husky games so far.

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