Washington Huskies: Is Jake Browning Ready to Take the Next Step?
By Paul Taylor
As the Washington Huskies kick off spring workouts at Husky Stadium, is Jake Browning ready to build on a promising freshman season?
The Washington Huskies take the next step in preparing for the 2016 season, with Monday marking the first of 15 spring workouts. Anticipation is high, but a myriad of questions remain ahead of the home-opener on September 3.
Arguably one of the most important queries will be to ask if Jake Browning is ready to take the next step in his progress and develop into a true team leader? The indications appear promising, at least after last season.
Browning became the first true freshman to start a season-opener for Washington, and went on to throw for the fifth-most yards in school history. Other marks included the sixth-highest completion percentage and the fourth-most 200-yard passing games in a season for a Huskies quarterback.
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To top if all off, the Portland, Oregon native threw for 284 yards in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. He even added a career-high 28 yards on the ground, to help the Huskies beat Southern Miss 44-31.
Chris Petersen will obviously be looking for more consistency this coming season. However, the Huskies head coach only need consider Browning’s play in the second half of the 2015 campaign, to find optimism.
Across the board, the 2014 High School All-American’s play improved from his first six games of the season. His passing statistics increased in all areas, including seeing his average yards through the air rise from an average of 222.0 to 270.5.
In truth, maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise how quickly Browning developed. After all, he previously set national records as one of the most prolific high school passers in history.
Of course, you can manipulate individual statistics all you like, in an attempt to make the four-star recruit from Folsom, California look like the second coming. Ultimately though, it’s about winning games, which comes down to the team as a whole, no matter how good your quarterback is.
In that respect, the team is stacked, thanks in large part to a defense ranked 28th in the country in 2015 for average yards allowed per game. More importantly, they were second-best in the Pac-12 and should only improve this year.
In addition, Myles Gaskin exploded onto the scene towards the end of last season, giving the Huskies a reliable ground game moving forward. The offensive line returns four of five starters, which should only help with continuity.
The biggest (and perhaps only major) concern centers around the receiving core. Former Florida wide receiver coach Bush Hamdan has been brought in to revitalize the unit, which was decidedly average in 2015.
Overall, most of the pieces are in place for Browning to succeed in his sophomore year. If he can build on a productive first season, the Huskies are positioned to challenge for their first Conference championship since 2000.
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What do you expect to see from Jake Browning next season? Is he ready to take the Huskies on his shoulders and lead them back to prominence? Let us know in the comments section below.