Help Wanted: UW Looking for Healthy, Ready to Travel Receivers

The Huskies were down four scholarship receivers against Montana, all of whom have started.

Wanted: Someone with soft hands, quick feet and nerves of steel, to spend a Saturday  afternoon catching passes in front 109,000 wildly screaming people.

Jimmy Lake should post that notice on Craigslist right away. Down four wide receivers with the season just a week old, the University of Washington football coach finds himself going into Michigan way too thin on able pass-catchers.

With just four left who are paid for — former Wolverine Giles Jackson, Taj Davis, Sawyer Racanelli and Jabez Tinae — Lake said he's been poring over his roster searching for emergency options. 

The coach, however, has bigger problems than just catching the ball. He needs to find a way to get his guys to block, run and tackle at a higher level, too, after not getting it in last weekend's dismal opener against Montana.

Considering Ja'Lynn Polk, Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Terrell Bynum are either out or hurting, the Huskies need to do some patchwork.

We've decided to research out a few options for Jimmy Lake. Some might make sense, others maybe not, but who's going to be picky at this point. See if any of these candidates work for you.

Alex Cook

Now a safety, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior from Sacramento originally came to the UW as a wide receiver, spent three seasons at that position, caught a pass for 26 yards against North Dakota in 2018 and started against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl at the end of that season. So he's got starting experience against a Big Ten team. He might be available. He started three of four games in the secondary last season, but comes off the bench now. Unlike at wideout, the Huskies appear to have a surplus of players who have been starting safeties, currently five of them. 

Quentin Moore

The Kansas junior-college transfer, when he first arrived, was a tight end who resembled a taller than normal wide receiver for the UW. Good speed, decent moves. Someone even kidded wide receivers coach Junior Adams about the possibly of poaching Moore from that position room. Any new suggestion of this is no joke. As a senior at Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, Washington, Moore caught 38 balls for 547 yards and 5 scores. Although he's since filled out to a meatier 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, he's likely still mobile enough to be a capable throwing target. 

Sean McGrew

Whether it's running the football, returning kicks or catching balls coming out of the backfield, McGrew is quick enough to be a threat in each role. After starting last year's opener against Oregon State at running back, the sixth-year senior from Torrence, California, didn't get on the field against Montana. So he's available. In his UW career, he's caught 19 passes for 161 yards. 

Sam Adams III

This guy came to Washington as a highly regarded running back and safety, so why not put the versatile one at wide receiver? At Eastside Catholic High in Sammamish, Washington, he caught 12 passes for 185 yards and 3 scores. The second-year freshman, who hasn't played for the Huskies yet, was in street clothes for the Montana opener, but he didn't seem injured.

Kamari Pleasant

He started a pair of games at running back in 2020, but with the Huskies committed to Richard Newton and Cam Davis to open the season, Pleasant is available. He played only special teams against Montana. In his UW career, the 6-foot, 225-pound sixth-year senior from Rialto, California, has 14 receptions for 130 yards coming out of the backfield.  

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