Poke the Husky Beast and Out Comes Polk as a Team Headliner
Ja'Lynn Polk was advertised for the longest time as the University of Washington's third-best receiver, maybe a guy who could have it all to himself in 2024 once Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan moved on.
However, this somewhat unassuming pass-catcher from East Texas has spent much of this current football season playing like a No. 1 guy for the Huskies, who likely will be hard-pressed to keep him from joining the others in next year's NFL draft.
Mind you, Odunze and McMillan have done little to lessen their high regard as players and pro prospects, though the latter is dealing with a leg injury suffered at Michigan State that's kept him out of three halves of Husky football now.
Meantime, the 6-foot-2, 204-pound Polk simply has made himself as dangerous as the other two and capable of doing just about anything on game day.
"I mean, if the ball's in the air, he absolutely has no fear," UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said.
Heading into Saturday's game at Arizona, Polk trails only Odunze in team receiving numbers with 21 catches for 427 yards — just 6 grabs and 117 yards shy of his teammate — and they're tied for the team lead in scoring catches with 4 each.
"We all feed off each other," Polk said. "We're all leaders in there. "We're doing our job. We're all prepared for the moment when it's our turn."
What's interesting about Polk is he entered the 2021 season for the UW as a transfer from Texas Tech, as someone looking for a program that fit him better, and brought first-year receiving credentials that superseded those of Odunze and McMillan.
While the other two each started a UW game and caught a handful of passes as freshmen the season before, Polk received seven Big 12 starts and finished with 28 catches for 264 yards and 2 scores, including a 60-yarder against TCU.
Before these guys could compare their skills in Montlake on Saturdays, though, Odunze missed the first three games of the 2021 season with a shoulder injury, McMillan sat out the opener with a hand injury and Polk suffered a broken collarbone on the first play of the season opener against Montana that sent him off for same-day surgery.
They wouldn't share the huddle in a Husky game until the next-to-the-last outing of that sorry season against Colorado, in which Polk made a proper debut with a 55-yard touchdown catch of a Dylan Morris pass.
Ja'Lynn Polk will do anything to make the catch, such as this one at Michigan State.
Nick King/USA TODAY Sports
A year ago, everyone got to embrace the high-powered DeBoer/Grubb offense that was made for everyone's elite receiving skills. Polk often was the third option with 41 catches to McMillan's 79 and Odunze's 75 because that's how it worked out. Things are now more even among these three.
"Through the injuries, through the adversity he had when he first got here, through maybe not getting as many looks as he wanted, he's persevered through it all," Odunze said of his Lone Star state teammate.
While Polk has always possessed sufficient talent, he simply doesn't make waves or try to bring extra attention to himself. He's intensely loyal, even to former Husky coach Jimmy Lake, still thanking Lake for bringing him to Seattle.
Yet Polk has increased his size, strength, strength in his hands and overall playmaking ability to make the big catch, further frustrating opposing defenses and increasing his stature. While he doesn't make a habit of promoting himself, a photographer caught Polk and Devin Culp posing for an entertaining postgame selfie at Michigan State.
"J.P.'s progression as a player is what a coach wants out of all those guys. ... He's one of the hardest workers we've had, in and out of the season, and I think it's really showing," Grubb said.
Like a mad scientist, Grubb finds himself with endless combinations of plays, deception and touchdowns at his disposal with so many elusive guys. Each of the three starting receivers, plus back-up Germie Bernard, have rushed for scores this season.
Polk has impressed with his ability to concentrate and make any kind of catch in traffic, no matter how difficult, such as the one he came up with against Cal, intently following the path of a ball that went through a defender's hands and into his sure grasp in the back of the end zone
Grubb confirms that Polk is drawing increased NFL attention these days, which means the Huskies likely will need all new starting wide receivers next year. These three guys actually are all the same age, though Polk remains classified as a sophomore while Odunze and McMillan are juniors, only because Polk missed almost all of that 2021 season as a medical redshirt.
"He just continues to improve," Odunze said of his teammate. "To see that success and see him doing it like this is nothing new to me. It makes me so happy that the world gets to see all the hard work he's putting in come out on the field."
For secondaries trying to stop the more advanced Polk and the others, the world may never be the same again.
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