Washington TE Bryant shows he's ready to make impact

Oct 10, 2017 - 4:35 AM Washington has been shy of reliable targets for quarterback Jake Browning.

But Hunter Bryant may be on the verge of becoming that second trustworthy pass catcher the Huskies need.

The true freshman tight end delivered nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown in last Saturday's victory over California and strives to follow up on the performance when the No. 5 Huskies (6-0, 3-0) visit Arizona State on Saturday.

The 6-foot-2, 239-pound Bryant was already ahead of the curve with 10 receptions in the first five games, but he displayed he's ready to be a force with his huge outing against the Golden Bears.

"He can really, really catch the ball," Washington coach Chris Petersen said at his Monday press conference. "He's kind of like that unique athlete and he really understands that he has tremendous hands."

Junior tight end Drew Sample suffered a leg injury in the Sept. 9 contest against Montana, opening the door for Bryant to get more snaps.

Browning has meshed well with the youngster and targeted him 11 times against the Golden Bears. Petersen sees that trend continuing.

"Hopefully, this is a confidence builder and booster for him and hopefully we can keep building," Petersen said.

Bryant ranks second on the Huskies with 19 receptions and 303 yards, and his emergence can only help senior receiver Dante Pettis, who has 37 catches for 416 yards and six touchdowns.

Regardless, he has pumped life into the tight end position. The yardage output against Cal made him the first Washington tight end to top 100 yards in a game since Austin Seferian-Jenkins in 2012.

Petersen sees the difference but insists tight ends always have a big role in his offense, despite the lack of statistical proof to back it up.

"The last couple of years everybody is like, 'They don't use the tight ends,'" Petersen said. "That's not really the case. Really what we think is, one, using our talent, and, two, coverage dictates a lot of where the ball goes."

--QB Jake Browning continues to be efficient by completing 70.5 percent of his passes for 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. The junior has thrown for 1,466 yards but doesn't have a 300-yard performance through six games. Browning has accumulated 7,851 career passing yards (third in school history) and 73 career passing touchdowns -- the latter just two behind program record-holder Keith Price (75 from 2010-13).

--WR Dante Pettis has hauled in 22 catches over the past two games after having 15 grabs over the first four contests. Pettis has eight career punt return touchdowns, which ties Texas Tech's Wes Welker (2000-03) and Oklahoma's Antonio Perkins (2001-04) for most in NCAA history.

--OLB Tevis Bartlett posted two sacks in the victory over Cal to continue his strong season. The junior leads the Huskies with 7.5 tackles for loss, an impressive amount as he has just 18 tackles. Bartlett also has an interception and fumble recovery this season.

--DE Ryan Bowman is making contributions and leads the Huskies with 3.5 sacks. The redshirt freshman had 1.5 sacks in last Saturday's victory against Cal and is proving to be hard to block despite standing just 6-foot even. Bowman has 16 tackles and one forced fumble.