Washington football lost a lot of key pieces after the 2018 season, and everyone writing preseason polls has taken that into account, but this team could be better than the 2016 Husky team that made the College Football Playoff

Washington football is reloaded and ready to go for the 2019 season, and with all the talent they have, they can go down as one of the best Husky teams of all time. They have a young, talented defense and an experienced offensive line protecting an incredibly talented quarterback in Jacob Eason.

Trey Adams and Eason are both projected to be first round picks, and we could see a few of them emerge on defense as the season goes along (I’m looking at you, Keith Taylor and Levi Onwuzurike).

On offense, the line is returning four starters, and Luke Wattenberg got a good amount of experience during Adams’ injury. Jared Hilbers is also going to be an exciting player to step in at right tackle after the outstanding job he did in 2018 filling in for Adams. The running backs group is going to be an exciting one to watch, and the talented backs all have different skill sets that Bush Hamdan can utilize.

The wide receivers group is going to be out of this world this year, with Ty Jones and Aaron Fuller who should make leaps and bounds under new wide receivers coach Junior Adams. Don’t forget the three studs waiting in the wings, Marquis Spiker, Austin Osborne, and Trey Lowe. Top 50 recruit Puka Nacua will also arrive on campus this summer, and he has a chance to crack the two-deep depth chart in camp. Don’t forget the outstanding tight end pairing of Cade Otton and Hunter Bryant, and we might see a lot more of Devin Culp this season, who has a sky-high ceiling.

Moving to the defense, the defensive line is reloaded with all kinds of talent after losing Greg Gaines, Shane Bowman, and Jaylen Johnson to the NFL. It’s time for Sam Taimani, Tuli Letuligasenoa, and Levi Onwuzurike to take center stage. The ultra-talented true freshmen pairing of Jacob Bandes, who’s already on campus, and Faatui Tuitele, two of the best high school defensive tackles in the country. On the edge, Joe Tryon and Ariel Ngata are going to be great, along with the mix of Ryan Bowman and potentially even true freshman Laiatu Latu, who should solve the pass rush issue, which plagued the Huskies for the majority of 2018.

Linebacker is going to be an interesting position to watch, but the one lock at the position is Brandon Wellington, who’s primed for a big senior season. Jackson Sirmon and Edefuan Olofoshio are returning names to watch at the other inside linebacker spot, and newcomers Josh Calvert and Daniel Heimuli. The secondary has been the strength of the defense, and with all the talent back there, from Keith Taylor and Elijah Molden to Kyler Gordon, Dominique Hampton, and Julius Irvin, it won’t matter that Myles Bryant is the only returning starter.

The past two recruiting classes are the highest rated classes in Chris Petersen’s coaching career, and he’s pulled in 26 blue chip recruits (including the Eason transfer) over the last two seasons. Combine that with one of the best coaching staffs in the country, and the Huskies are ready to blow up. Don’t ever count this team out, and the fact that writers are rating them in the low teens is criminal. Yes, they’re unproven, but this is going to be a top four team by the end of the season, and they’re ready to prove everyone in the media wrong.