Three Huskies Named to Pro Football Focus' Top 101 for 2022
It took a while for people to realize University of Washington football was back, with All-America consideration eluding individual Huskies.
However, Pro Football Focus always seems to be crunching numbers 24/7 and in reviewing this past college season it places three Huskies among its top 101 players— quarterback Michael Penix Jr. comes in at No. 19, edge rusher Bralen Trice at 57 and wide receiver Rome Odunze at 82.
All three of these UW players could have entered the NFL draft and expected to be selected, but each will spend another season in Montlake and see where college football takes them.
After transferring from the Big Ten, the oft-injured Penix built heady credentials with the Huskies, finishing the 2022 season as the nation's leader in passing yards per game (357.0) and second in passing yards (4,641), with the latter a UW single-season record. He was named second-team All-Pac-12 and Alamo Bowl offensive MVP.
PFF took notice of the lefty's ample career rehabilitation at the UW and offered the following assessment:
"It had been a few years since we had last seen Penix Jr. play this well, as his career has been riddled with injuries up until this season when he finally got to shine after transferring from Indiana. Penix finished with the second-most passing yards in the entire nation with 4,641 yards."
Husky edge rusher Bralen Trice was named Alamo Bowl MVP.
Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports
While Penix already is drawing Heisman Trophy chatter and surely will enter into All-America consideration with a projected Top 10 team, Trice might have the biggest upside of any Huskies.
Coming off a highly productive sophomore season, the 6-foot-4, 269-pound defender from Phoenix checks in at No. 57 with PFF. Powerful and fast for an edge rusher, Trice should put himself in the running for all sorts of college attention.
PFF had the following to say about this Husky disruptor, who was named first-team All-Pac-12 and has two seasons of college eligibility left:
"For the first time since 2019, college football's pressure leader wasn’t Will Anderson Jr. Trice took that crown this past season with 70 pressures. His 29.5 percent pass-rush win rate led all FBS edge defenders, as well."
Entering last season, Husky wide receivers widely were ignored by all of the preseason national and conference teams, which was residue from a 4-8 season that did no one any favors on offense.
Odunze and teammate Jalen McMillan took full advantage of the newly installed Kalen DeBoer/Ryan Grubb offense by collectively catching 154 passes for 2,243-plus yards and 16 touchdown receptions.
The following was PFF's take on Odunze, who was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection and is looking for more in 2023:
"Odunze led the Pac-12 with 1,145 receiving yards in 2022, In particular, the junior excelled in the short game. His 375 yards on throws up to nine yards were the fifth most in the Power Five."
PFF picked 16 Pac-12 players from five schools, with USC supplying seven players to its list, including quarterback Caleb Williams, who ranks No. 1 after winning his Heisman. The Trojans, national champion Georgia and Ohio State each had seven players turn up on this list, which can be accessed here.
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