Washington's defense lost Danny Shelton, Shaq Thompson, Marcus Peters, Hau'oli Kikaha and John Timu before this past season.

Three of those players went in the first round of the NFL draft, one went in the second round, and one was the Huskies' leading tackler in 2014.

As a result, expectations were not high. In Vegas, oddsmakers set the Huskies' win total at four games. Many pointed to the seemingly gutted defense as justification for that paltry line. And back in August, linebacker Travis Feeney took that as a slight.

"They have us among the last teams in the Pac-12," he said. "We love that. That's motivation for us. Let them say we're not going to be that good. Because we're going to shut everyone up and that's how it's going to be."

Budda Baker and the Huskies defense held opponents to 18.8 points per game on average last season. Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

Defensive tackle Elijah Qualls offered more detail about the Huskies' reloading efforts on that side of the ball.

"We will have an entirely different defense," he predicted. "But I absolutely really do feel like we will be a better defense."

To the surprise -- and even shock -- of many, Qualls was right: Washington allowed only 18.8 points per game in 2015 to lead the Pac-12 in defense. The Huskies' performance ended up a full touchdown better than the star-studded 2014 unit, which surrendered 24.8 points per game.

Washington also led the Pac-12 in total defense (4.9 yards per play) and were second in rushing defense (3.3 yards per carry). Then there's the secondary, where the one-two punch of cornerback Sidney Jones (tied for a conference-best 12 pass breakups and 125 interceptions yards) and safety Budda Baker is considered the class of the league.

In one year, we saw an inexperienced Washington defensive backfield transform into a veteran force with suffocating closing speed. But perhaps more significantly, we also saw the Huskies' front seven maintain its dizzying level of 2014 production despite its slew of departures to the NFL.

"We came together big compared to last year," Jones said. "We were more of a unit. Everyone had each other's back. We controlled things. We wanted to bring energy from the secondary and carry it through the whole defense, be more assignment sound. It was about the little details, and that's what we're continuing to focus on now."

Despite having to replace 462 tackles, 64 stops for loss, and 44 sacks of production, the Huskies finished with the same gaudy tackle for loss total -- 91 -- in 2015 that they did in 2014. Their rush defense also posted identical results, allowing 3.3 yards per carry in both years. Combine that with improvement due to maturation in the secondary -- Washington allowed only 6.8 yards per pass attempt as opposed to 7.4 the year prior -- and the defense did indeed get better as a whole.

"We proved people wrong as far as being competitive in the Pac-12," linebacker Keishawn Bierria said. "But as far as our standard of proving people wrong, I don't think we've done that yet. We want to surprise people with the 2016 season, and complete the overall journey."

The Huskies are reluctant to delve into what that entails, but they do promise that their goals are ambitious. Much has already been written about the potential of the Washington offense moving forward behind quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin. The defense feels like it can mirror the attack's maturation, especially since it returns most of its starters.

The unit is also being held to a high standard of competition at practice.

"[Browning] is professional," Jones said. "And the more professional he is, the more professional the whole defense has to be. The better players you go against, the better you are. He's going to make us better, and we're going to make him better."

Even if Washington only remains steady defensively, the team will likely remain at the top of the conference pecking order in that department. We won't be hearing the same doubts that we did regarding this unit entering last season. The Huskies, though, have turned the page. After a season of proving their worth, this defense is no longer concerned about answering questions regarding its prowess.

"We're trying to do more than that," Bierria said. "We're trying to be the best players we can be. And if we do that, being at the top of the Pac-12 again is just one of the goals we can achieve this year."