Inside The Huskies

It's Time for Osborne to go Airborne in Husky Offense

The touted pass-catcher has just one reception in two seasons at the University of Washington. It's make-or-break time.

Dan Raley

It's Time for Osborne to go Airborne in Husky Offense
It's Time for Osborne to go Airborne in Husky Offense /

Everybody wanted Austin Osborne.

A big and fast Southern California receiver. 

Fourteen schools offered him.

Among them, Michigan, Miami, Tennessee and half of the Pac-12.

Osborne chose Washington, joining the Huskies at the same time as fellow SoCal pass-catcher Marquis Spiker.

Since coming to Seattle, he has been the perfect teammate, the program's good soldier. He joined in the school's newcomer video shoots, publicly thanked Chris Petersen when the coach stepped down and sent congratulations to quarterback Jacob Eason on his NFL draft pick.

Otherwise in two seasons, Osborne has been hard to find.

He's appeared in four games and come up with one reception.

For negative two yards.

Opportunity has presented itself for the UW's young receivers to step up and step in.

Osborne hasn't done it yet.

A Seattle newspaper even asked at midseason, "Where in the world is Austin Osborne?"

"He's waiting for his opportunity," Husky receivers coach Junior Adams said flatly this spring, not getting into specifics. 

If he doesn't know already, Osborne really can't wait much longer. 

The good thing is the sophomore from Mission Viejo High School in Rancho Santo Margarita, California, is old enough now to have learned what's required of him.

The dispiriting reality in the competitive atmosphere is, for two recruiting classes in a row now, the UW has made receiver a recruiting priority. 

The Huskies have snatched up a bunch of guys who resemble his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame.

So it's make-or-break time for Osborne as far the UW goes. 

"You've got to make plays," Adams said, generalizing for all of his guys. "It's who's going to make plays on a consistent basis and be in the right place at the right time."

This is the 52nd profile of a returning Washington football player, each of which can be found on the site by scrolling back. While the pandemic has interrupted and delayed team activities, Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated offers continuous coverage of the team.

Osborne arrived with plenty of fanfare, as did Spiker. They've both been pidgeon-holed in the same situation. Spiker has two receptions so far.

Yet they didn't step in and play right away, with plenty of minutes beckoning them. 

Some guys just need more time to figure things out.

It's Osborne's turn. 

SUMMARY: He's got one catch for negative yards coming against Hawaii. He needs to make that a fleeting memory.

GRADE (1 to 5): Osborne gets a 2.5 because he hasn't played. Has one catch. Is there more to come?

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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