SAN ANTONIO — Bralen Trice, one of Washington’s two first-team all-conference edge rushers, didn’t sound like a guy who obsessed over his pro prospects this year. Neither did Troy Fautanu, a second-team all-conference pick at left tackle. There were conversations, sure. But Trice seemed almost uninterested when asked last week if a first-round grade would have compelled him to enter the NFL Draft rather than announce his decision to return in 2023, as he did in conjunction with fellow edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui.
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“I don’t know — honestly,” Trice replied to the first-round hypothetical. “I just really want to enjoy another year of college football, to be honest.”
“For me,” Fautanu said, “it was just, like, I don’t want to be left out on what’s going to go on next year, you know what I mean?”
It is that sentiment — FOMO, or something like it — that prevails when asking why Washington’s top, non-senior NFL Draft prospects have chosen to return in 2023 rather than turn pro. The Huskies haven’t had a single player with eligibility remaining choose to enter the draft, and with receiver Rome Odunze the only remaining undecided, it’s possible they will bid farewell to only their seniors and those who enter the transfer portal — but even the latter crew is relatively scant and does not yet include anyone who was in line for significant playing time.
“At the end of the day, we’re all trying to make it to the NFL,” Fautanu said. “But it says a lot about this team and how close we are that we’re able to come back one more time, two more times — however many years it takes — just being able to be together and try to get what we didn’t accomplish this year.”
The good news has trickled through social media over the past month. Trice. ZTF. Fautanu. Jalen McMillan. Tuli Letuligasenoa. And of course Michael Penix Jr., the star quarterback who stunned his teammates and coaches by announcing his return via video at the end of the team’s annual awards banquet. That’s one first-team all-conference selection and two second-teamers, plus a 1,000-yard receiver, a multi-year starter at defensive tackle and an edge rusher who once received All-America honors. Even without Odunze — and his return remains a distinct possibility — that’s an impressive collection of talent coming back for another go, and the Huskies will play Thursday’s Alamo Bowl game against Texas with zero opt-outs.
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“I think the common theme has been a lot of, they don’t want to miss out on what’s ahead here in this program,” coach Kalen DeBoer said Wednesday at a joint news conference with Texas coach Steve Sarkisian. “They’re excited about what they’ve built and what the opportunity is, not just in this game but next season, and so when you have those relationships amongst your team, they don’t want to miss out, and they know how important each of them are to the success of the others.”
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Penix started what appeared to be a chain reaction, even if the timing of the public announcements didn’t necessarily align with when those decisions were actually made. McMillan, for example, had indicated to the coaching staff during the final weeks of the season “that he felt in his heart that this was what was best,” as DeBoer put it, but he didn’t say anything publicly until tweeting a simple, two-sentence message last week.
I’m coming back for next year. Go huskies.
— J MAC (@jalenmcmillan20) December 22, 2022
Aside from the tangible — a 10-2 record, the nation’s top passing offense, big wins over every Pacific Northwest rival — DeBoer’s greatest accomplishment to date is transforming the program back into one that people want to be part of. Football is complicated, but some truths remain as simple as ever: The most successful programs are those which have more people lined up to get in the door than leave out of it.
Washington didn’t feel like that kind of program a year ago upon DeBoer’s arrival in the wake of a 4-8 season and coaching change. His first task was simply retaining Washington’s most talented players — Odunze, McMillan and ZTF, at least, considered transferring. Now, some of those same players are putting off their professional aspirations to play another year for the same coaching staff who had to convince them not to leave in the first place.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” DeBoer said, “but I never took it for granted.”
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The administration has shown its willingness to invest in the product. DeBoer signed a two-year contract extension in November that also raised his pay by $1 million per year. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb signed an extension of his own, then received a second raise last week after Texas A&M came calling. At $2 million per year through 2025, his salary is believed to be the highest for an assistant in Pac-12 history. His retention continues the theme of staffers wanting to be part of DeBoer’s program. Courtney Morgan left after one season at Michigan, his alma mater, to work for DeBoer as director of player personnel. When receivers coach Junior Adams left for Oregon last January, DeBoer replaced him with the highly thought-of JaMarcus Shephard from Purdue. You can be sure raises are coming for Morgan and assistants such as Shephard and edges coach Eric Schmidt, at the very least.
Those who bought in back then have reaped the benefits, even if this charming season still left something to be desired.
“This is the second Pac-12 championship that I should have been in, that I had to watch from a couch,” Tupuola-Fetui said. “Definitely some unfinished business.”
Of course, there are more practical considerations. Penix himself said he felt another healthy season within the offense would benefit his draft stock. ZTF mostly came off the bench as UW’s third edge rusher this season while totaling a modest 4.5 sacks, and will presumably be a starter in 2023. As he put it: “If someone watched the tape right now and asked me if that’s who I was, I’d feel like there’s still more to me. I’d rather grow here than grow in a mini-camp fighting for a roster spot, you know what I mean?” It could simply be the case that each of Washington’s high-profile returners are making the proper business decision by coming back, and that’s what DeBoer says he prioritizes. Never discount, either, the possibility of NIL changing a player’s financial picture.
“I’m proud of just the way that each guy has been thorough in his own way,” DeBoer said of conversations with UW’s draft prospects. “The piece of, making sure that in the end, they do what’s best for them.”
Recruiting improved this cycle, too, though expectations will be higher for the 2024 class. Washington’s 2023 signees currently rank No. 27 nationally and fourth in the Pac-12 in the 247Sports Composite, and its seven-player transfer class is ranked No. 9. Five of those seven transfers came from Power 5 schools, and one of them, receiver Germie Bernard, originally signed with Washington in the 2022 class before enrolling instead at Michigan State. There was one glaring defection: four-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz from Pierre (S.D.) T.F. Riggs, who committed to the Huskies in June but flipped to Ohio State a week before signing day.
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So, not everyone wants to play for Washington. But more players are choosing the Huskies now than before DeBoer’s arrival, and some of them are choosing the Huskies over beginning their NFL careers. That’s not just progress. It’s how you lay the foundation for what so many at Washington seem to believe is possible in 2023.
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Grubb, who’s never one to mince words, made an appearance on KJR 93.3 FM last week, before his most recent raise had been reported. He said he had received interest from other schools about becoming a head coach, but he likes the path he’s on as Washington’s OC.
He said something else, too.
“I think this is a (College Football) Playoff team. That’s what this is,” Grubb said. “Why would you leave when you have a chance to get to the pinnacle?”
(Photo: James Snook / USA Today)