Consummate MVP: Molden Was There When UW Needed Him

Huskies cornerback continues to come up with big plays, get recognized for it

While a lot of people have been leaving this Washington football team earlier than expected -- Chris Petersen, Hunter Bryant, Trey Adams and possibly Jacob Eason -- they can't keep Elijah Molden off the field.

The Huskies junior cornerback from West Linn, Oregon, has provided stability and leadership for a group facing way too much transition.

Molden, in fact, has turned in a season better than anyone else on the Washington roster. His growing accolades verify that.

At the beginning of December, he was named as a first-team All-Pac-12 selection by Pro Football Focus.

He next was chosen to the first unit of the league's All-Pac-12 team by the coaches.

On Saturday night, Molden capped off his superlative season by receiving Las Vegas Bowl Most Valuable Player honors in the UW's 38-7 beatdown of Boise State at Sam Boyd Stadium.

He intercepted a pass, forced a fumble, collected nine tackles and supplied an aggressive approach that helped leave Boise State reeling. He found the good even in the bad, such as when the Broncos marched down for their lone touchdown using all sorts of deceptive moves.

"I was clapping my hands coming off the field because they really earned that," Molden said of his Idaho opponents. "They were scrapping and clawing the whole  time. We looked at each other and said, "Good, we're glad this happened and we're going to finish strong.' "

Molden earlier stepped in front of a Hank Bachmeier pass to open the second half, demoralizing Boise State to the point it made a personnel change, replacing the freshman quarterback.

"It was just a hook play and I was reading the quarterback and it was a slow-developing play," he recounted. "So I kind of read his eyes and saw the running back flare out and took it."

Molden wasn't done with just getting his hands on the wayward pass. He had encouraging words for his offensive brethren that seemed to resonate.

"After that play, I went toward the offense and I said, 'It's your turn to go,' " he said. "They did their thing. I looked at Nick (Harris) and those guys. We were all having fun. It turned out the way we wanted it to."