Four years ago, a true freshman quarterback by the name of Jake Browning came onto the scene in Huskyville with a well-earned reputation of being a cold-blooded football gun-slinger, among the greatest natural passers the game has ever known.
Browning early on was a Boise State commit. When Coach Peterson left Boise, under NCAA rules, his commits could go with him... and Browning did.
The wife and I have been season ticket holders the last two years. I have many of these games recorded. I've watched many of them repeatedly.
In his first year here (2015), Jake was fearless. His mechanics were very good. He did then what he has trouble doing now: executing his decision, good or bad, with a finesse that amazes.
On paper, he was all that and a bag of chips.
As a sophomore, he guided the Dawgs offense to a FBS Bowl (where they got hammered by Alabama) and won the PAC12.
And along the way, he showed flashes of brilliance. He was fearless. He was a football warrior.
Until the USC game of that season.
Since then, he's shown flashes of incompetence.
The Huskies opened up that PAC12 season (2016) by crushing Stanford.
It was a thing of beauty, an almost technically flawless game.
It was the intersection of a great defense and a high-caliber offense. Stanford wound up humiliated on national TV.
Browning was a super-star, high on the list of Heisman hopefuls.
And there he stayed... until everything fell apart in that seasons' USC game.
The Trojans were singularly unimpressed. They came to Husky Stadium and they pounded and pounded and pounded. It's like they smashed Jake in the mouth
And that's when the first cracks appeared in his armor.
In my estimation, he's never been the same since.
Something happened in his head and he has never recovered.
Oh, he completes passes. But there are many passes, to wide open receivers, that he DOESN'T complete.
And when he DOES deliver the ball, he's frequently late, and frequently inaccurate. He throws behind the receiver more often than not. Instead of leading receivers, they have to wait for him... and reach behind themselves to snag the ball.
This is his 4th year at Washington. No one mentions the Heisman and Browning in the same sentence any more.
He's not only played himself out of contention for that statue, he's busy playing himself out of a job in the NFL.
Washington's defense rose to the challenge yesterday against lowly North Dakota. They were 45.5 point favorites and North Dakota put up a spirited fight. They never gave up, even when the outcome was obvious. And Jake threw 2 interceptions that most high school QB's would have avoided.
But this year's Washington defense is missing the elements of greatness that were present and obvious for the past two years.
It's not a matter of "fault" or bad coaching.
But how do you replace a Budda Baker and a Vita Vea and the others now in the NFL?
The problem? How does a team like North Dakota come up with a running back that puts together 139 yards?
How is it that the best we could do was 53 by reliable Number 9, Mark Gaston? (Now the leading rusher in Washington history.)
Yeah, I know, we have to face the season without Trey Adams anchoring Jake's blind side.
But if yesterday was the best we could do?
Imagine if we had been playing Stanford or Oregon or USC?
And most of the problem rests between the ears of Jake Browning.
He needs to sit out. He needs a shrink or a hypnotist. But the problems that showed up last year have not gone away this year.
And I would much rather have the fearless freshman Jake than the seasoned, educated, experienced Jake we have now, who can't seem to find his lost magic that made him a top quarterback in the country.
And without it, Washington will be lucky to be invited to the Tire Iron Bowl in Hot Coffee, Mississippi.
Browning attended Folsom High School in Folsom, California. Browning set numerous national and state records during his high school career. In 46 games, he completed 1,191 of 1,708 attempts for 16,775 yards and 229 touchdowns, all California records. The 229 touchdowns also broke the national record previously held by Maty Mauk who had 219.[2][3] As a senior, he threw for a national record 91 touchdown passes. He also passed for a California record 5,790 yards, which broke his record from his junior year. Browning was the Gatorade Football Player of the Year his junior and senior year.Those numbers are stupidly good. Fantasy numbers. "Can't even dream of these" kind of numbers.
Browning was rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and was ranked as the third best pro-style recruit in his class.[4] He committed to the University of Washington to play college football.[5]
Browning early on was a Boise State commit. When Coach Peterson left Boise, under NCAA rules, his commits could go with him... and Browning did.
The wife and I have been season ticket holders the last two years. I have many of these games recorded. I've watched many of them repeatedly.
In his first year here (2015), Jake was fearless. His mechanics were very good. He did then what he has trouble doing now: executing his decision, good or bad, with a finesse that amazes.
On paper, he was all that and a bag of chips.
As a sophomore, he guided the Dawgs offense to a FBS Bowl (where they got hammered by Alabama) and won the PAC12.
And along the way, he showed flashes of brilliance. He was fearless. He was a football warrior.
Until the USC game of that season.
Since then, he's shown flashes of incompetence.
The Huskies opened up that PAC12 season (2016) by crushing Stanford.
It was a thing of beauty, an almost technically flawless game.
It was the intersection of a great defense and a high-caliber offense. Stanford wound up humiliated on national TV.
Browning was a super-star, high on the list of Heisman hopefuls.
And there he stayed... until everything fell apart in that seasons' USC game.
The Trojans were singularly unimpressed. They came to Husky Stadium and they pounded and pounded and pounded. It's like they smashed Jake in the mouth
And that's when the first cracks appeared in his armor.
In my estimation, he's never been the same since.
Something happened in his head and he has never recovered.
Oh, he completes passes. But there are many passes, to wide open receivers, that he DOESN'T complete.
And when he DOES deliver the ball, he's frequently late, and frequently inaccurate. He throws behind the receiver more often than not. Instead of leading receivers, they have to wait for him... and reach behind themselves to snag the ball.
This is his 4th year at Washington. No one mentions the Heisman and Browning in the same sentence any more.
He's not only played himself out of contention for that statue, he's busy playing himself out of a job in the NFL.
Washington's defense rose to the challenge yesterday against lowly North Dakota. They were 45.5 point favorites and North Dakota put up a spirited fight. They never gave up, even when the outcome was obvious. And Jake threw 2 interceptions that most high school QB's would have avoided.
But this year's Washington defense is missing the elements of greatness that were present and obvious for the past two years.
It's not a matter of "fault" or bad coaching.
But how do you replace a Budda Baker and a Vita Vea and the others now in the NFL?
The problem? How does a team like North Dakota come up with a running back that puts together 139 yards?
How is it that the best we could do was 53 by reliable Number 9, Mark Gaston? (Now the leading rusher in Washington history.)
Yeah, I know, we have to face the season without Trey Adams anchoring Jake's blind side.
But if yesterday was the best we could do?
Imagine if we had been playing Stanford or Oregon or USC?
And most of the problem rests between the ears of Jake Browning.
He needs to sit out. He needs a shrink or a hypnotist. But the problems that showed up last year have not gone away this year.
And I would much rather have the fearless freshman Jake than the seasoned, educated, experienced Jake we have now, who can't seem to find his lost magic that made him a top quarterback in the country.
And without it, Washington will be lucky to be invited to the Tire Iron Bowl in Hot Coffee, Mississippi.
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