Inside The Huskies

UW Fresh Start (No. 12): Polk Seeks Another New Beginning

The one-time Texas Tech transfer hasn't really had a chance to show what he's got.

Dan Raley

In his first play for the University of Washington, wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk caught a ball over the middle against Montana and was hit high and low by a pair of defenders.

He was helped to his feet after a 13-yard gain, but it was an unlucky 13. 

After one snap, Polk was done for the day. In fact, he was finished for the next two months, forced to have surgery to treat a chest injury.

It was the ultimate misfortune for a promising freshman pass-catcher who had transferred from Texas Tech to the UW. His mishap was piling on for a Husky position area already shy three projected starters because of injury.

The Huskies wouldn't get the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Polk in a game again until their next-to-last outing against Colorado, when he caught two passes, including one that went for a 55-yard touchdown. 

Cheered On :: Andrew Dieb/USA TODAY Sports

Ja'Lynn Polk goes 60 yards with a catch to score against TCU.

Cowboy Up :: Bryan Terry/USA TODAY Sports

Ja'Lynn Polk tries to pull in the ball against Oklahoma State.

Sound Check :: Andrew Dieb/USA TODAY Sports

On his 60-yarder, Ja'Lynn Polk goes flying past a big sound microphone.

Numbers Guy / UW Athletics

Ja'Lynn Polk wore No. 23 at UW until he switched to 12.

Spring Fever / UW Athletics

Ja'Lynn Polk tries to run away from Husky safety Julius Irvin.

A month and a half until spring practice, we're offering gathered intel and observations on the UW football personnel in a series of stories on every scholarship player from No. 0 to 99. We'll review each Husky's previous starting experience, if applicable, and determine what comes next under new coach Kalen DeBoer.

As is the case with any coaching change, it's a new football beginning for everyone, including for the Huskies' No. 12 on offense.

Polk showed up in Seattle a year ago looking for just that. He'd been highly successful as a true freshman at Texas Tech, starting seven of 10 games during the height of the pandemic. He caught 28 passes for 264 yards and a pair of scores. 

Yet the Lufkin, Texas, native wasn't totally satisfied with his experience in the Big 12. Caleb Berry, his high school teammate and bound for the UW, encouraged Polk to join him in the Northwest.

So what do the Huskies have here?

At first glance, it would appear that Polk will provide a capable third receiver and nice complement to fellow sophomores Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze.

However, ranking him behind the others might doing the young Texan an injustice. He could be better than them.

Polk has that lightning-strike 55-yard receiving score against Colorado, which was a season long for the UW, following a 60-yard scoring catch against TCU in his previous stop. The guy can go deep.

McMillen's longest scoring catch last season went for 33 yards against Arkansas State while Odunze's covered 26 yards against UCLA.

The Husky receiving hierarchy, with Polk available for an entire season in a new offense, still needs to play out.

UW Starter or Not: DeBoer uses a lot of wide receivers in his spread offense, so minutes shouldn't be an issue for Polk or any of his peers. McMillan and Odunze return as nine- and seven-game starters, while sophomore Taj Davis had six game-opening assignments last season and junior Giles Jackson is back after three starts. Polk was healthy enough to start only against Montana and in the Apple Cup against WSU. Barring injuries, the Huskies wouldn't surprise anyone if they opened the season against Kent State with McMillan, Odunze and Polk in the lineup. He's starting material for sure.

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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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