Inside The Huskies

Washington's Special Teams Are, Well, Special

The Huskies received a stellar grade on special teams from Pro Football Focus.

Roman Tomashoff

In this story:

The Washington Huskies' special teams have been arguably just as effective as their stellar offense. Not always the most glorious assignment, those handling Washington's special-teams responsibilities deserve some recognition. 

Linebacker Carson Bruener and safety Tristan Dunn have delivered highlight-reel hits on kick coverage this season and the group as a whole has earned high praise from Pro Football Focus. 

Through seven games, special-teams coordinator Eric Schmidt's group has earned a 90.4 grade from PFF, the third-highest in the nation. 

Sophomore punter Jack McCallister has punted 17 times for 703 yards this season and Washington's coverage on his kicks has been nothing short of spectacular. Of those 17 punts, only 4 have been returned for a composite -2 yards, the fourth-best mark in the country.

The Huskies also have been stellar on kickoff coverage by allowing an average of 14.8 yards per return on 17 kicks — which is 10th-best in college football. Minimizing returns has played a big part in Washington's defense limiting teams to 18.9 points per game, which is down almost 7 points from last season's average.

On top of that, sophomore Grady Gross has been nearly perfect this year, making 40 of his 41 collective kicks. Gross has converted all 33 extra point tries this season and is 7-for-8 on field goals, with his only miss coming on his first career attempt against Tulsa.

As the Huskies move into the toughest portion of their season, Schmidt's special-teamers will become even more important. Facing explosive offenses in upcoming games, the UW, by forcing them to go the length of the field, could make it tough for them to execute.

Washington's offense has put a lot of pressure on opponents this season and having an elite special-teams unit helps it perform at a higher level. Long fields for opposing offenses lead to more stops and more short fields for Penix and the offense to exploit.

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Roman Tomashoff
ROMAN TOMASHOFF

I've followed the Huskies for my entire life, and to be in a position where I get to cover them full-time is nothing short of an honor. After graduating from Lasell University in 2019, I moved to Seattle to pursue my dream of working in sports media. While writing for the Husky Haul, I also covered local sports for the Everett Daily Herald before the COVID-19 pandemic. After being hired by Realdawg.com in February of 2021, I also transitioned into doing a lot of entertainment writing, as I work on a variety of magazines as a contributing writer for Centennial Media, and have also contributed to Emmy Magazine, as well as Walt Disney Television Studios. 

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