Washington football schedule, roster, recruiting and what to watch in 2018

Bill Bender

Washington football schedule, roster, recruiting and what to watch in 2018 image

Washington may be coming off a 10-3 season that ended with a trip to the Fiesta Bowl, but the standards have started to change under Chris Petersen. The Huskies expect more, and that should be the case in 2018.

With the return of quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin this season, Washington becomes a prime Pac-12 contender, given its opener against Auburn in the Chick-Fil-A Game heightened importance not just for the Huskies, but for the entire conference. After that, the Huskies' schedule is set up for success.

MORE: Pac-12 conference primer

Washington jumped up to NO. 7 in Sporting News' updated way-too-early top 25, a nod to the success the program has enjoyed the last two seasons. Here's a look at the Huskies heading into 2018: 

Washington schedule 2018

DateOpponentLocation
April 21Spring Football GameSeattle
Sept. 1No. 8 AuburnAtlanta
Sept. 8North DakotaSeattle
Sept. 15at UtahSalt Lake City
Sept. 22Arizona StateSeattle
Sept. 29BYUSeattle
Oct. 6at UCLAPasadena, Calif.
Oct. 13at OregonEugene, Ore.
Oct. 20ColoradoSeattle
Oct. 27at CalBerkeley, Calif.
Nov. 3No. 14 StanfordSeattle
Nov. 10ByeOff
Nov. 17Oregon StateSeattle
Nov. 23at Washington State (Friday)Pullman, Wash.
Nov. 30Pac-12 Championship (Friday)Santa Clara, Calif.
Pac-12 games in bold

Washington recruiting 2018

Washington's recruiting class ranked No. 13 in 2018 according to 247Sports' Composite team rankings, and two quarterbacks are on campus in Colson Yankoff (Coeur d'Alene, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) and Jacob Sirmon (Bothell, Bothell, Wash.). Four-star receiver Marquis Spiker (Murrieta Valley, Murrieta Calif.) and defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa (De La Salle, Concord, Calif.) were the biggest gets on Signing Day. It's the Huskies highest-ranked class under Petersen, and that's the next step for this program.

Pac-12 team reviews: Stanford | USC

Washington football roster 2018

Washington's roster will be updated in the spring and fall here

No.NamePos.Year
1Byron MurphyDBSo.
3Jake BrowningQBSr.
3Elijah MoldenDBSo.
4Austin JoynerDBJr.
5Andre BaccelliaWRJr.
5Myles BryantDBJr.
6Chico McClatcherWRSr.
7Colson YankoffQBFr.
8Benning Potoa'eLBJr.
9Myles GaskinRBSr.
10Jomon DotsonDBSr.
11Brandon McKinneyDBSo.
11Jacob SirmonQBFr.
12Aaron FullerWRJr.
13Jake HaenerQBR-Fr.
13Brandon WellingtonLBJr.
14JoJo McIntoshDBSr.
15DJ BeaversLBJr.
15Alex CookWRR-Fr.
16Amandre WilliamsLBSo.
17Tevis BartlettLBSo.
17Daniel Bridge-GaddQBSo.
18Isaiah GilchristDBSo.
19Hunter BryantTESo.
20Ty JonesWRSo.
21Quinten PoundsWRJr.
21Taylor RappDBJr.
23Jordan MillerDBSr.
23Deshon WilliamsTESr.
24Kamari PleasantRBSo.
25Ben Burr-KirvenLBSr.
25Sean McGrewRBSo.
26Salvon AhmedRBSo.
27Keith TaylorDBSo.
28Terrell BynumWRR-Fr.
29Josh RasmussenWRJr.
30Kyler ManuLBJr.
32Joel WhitfordPJr.
34Nate IhlenfeldtRBR-Fr.
38Zechariah BrownDBSo.
39Sean VergaraDBSr.
40Camilo EiflerLBSo.
41Myles RiceLBSo.
42Van SoderbergPK/PSo.
45Mike PetroffFB/TESo.
45Jusstis WarrenLBJr.
46Race PorterPSo.
47Ian BiddleWRSr.
47Peygon HenryPKR-Fr.
48Paul WellsRBJr.
49A.J. CartyLSJr.
51Joe TryonLBR-Fr.
52Ariel NgataLBR-Fr.
53Jake WambaughLBSr.
54Matt PrestonLBSr.
55Ryan BowmanLBSo.
56Nick HarrisOLJr.
56Jared PuluDLJr.
57John ClarkDLJr.
58Kaleb McGaryOLSr.
59Henry RobertsOLJr.
63Cole NorgaardOLR-Fr.
64A.J. KneipOLSo.
65Jaxson KirklandOLR-Fr.
66Henry BainivaluOLR-Fr.
67Chase SkuzaOLR-Fr.
70Jared HilbersOLJr.
71Matt JamesOLSr.
72Trey AdamsOLSr.
74John TurnerOLSr.
75Jesse SosebeeOLSr.
76Luke WattenbergOLSo.
77Devin BurlesonOLJr.
78Luke LaneLSSo.
80Max RichmondWRSr.
81Sebastian ValerioPKJr.
82Jordan ChinWRSo.
83Cade OttonTER-Fr.
84Michael NealTEJr.
86Jacob KizerTESo.
88Drew SampleTESr.
89John GardnerWRSr.
90Josiah BronsonDLJr.
92Jaylen JohnsonDLSr.
93Jarryn BushDLSo.
95Levi OnwuzurikeDLSo.
96Shane BowmanDLSr.
97Jason ScremposDLJr.
99Greg GainesDLSr.
 M.J. AleOLFr.
 Draco BynumDLFr.
 Devin CulpTEFr.
 Victor CurneOLFr.
 Jacob EasonQBJr.
 Kyler GordonWRFr.
 Dominique HamptonDBFr.
 Julius IrvinDBFr.
 Ale KahoLBFr.
 Tuli LetuligasenoaDLFr.
 Tret LoweWRFr.
 Matteo MeleOLFr.
 Mosiah Nasili-LiuDLFr.
 Richard NewtonRBFr.
 Austin OsborneWRFr.
 Jackson SirmonLBFr.
 Marquis SpikerWRFr.
 MJ TafisiLBFr.
 Sam TaimaniDLFr.
 Zion Tupuola-FetuiLBFr.

What to watch in 2018:

1. How will Browning finish career?

Browning's stats dropped dramatically after a 2016 season in which he passed for 3,430 yards, 43 touchdowns and nine interceptions while leading Washington to the College Football Playoff. Last year, Browning had 2,719 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. He's an efficient playmaker, but he needs elevate his play for Washington to accomplish those lofty goals without offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith, who took over as head coach at Oregon State. The good news? Bush Hamdan is back on staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after spending a year with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. That should add some wrinkles to Browning's game.

2. Who steps up at receiver?

Dante Pettis led the Huskies with seven touchdown receptions last season. Nobody else had more than three. Pettis is gone, but Aaron Fuller and Andre Baccellia are young receivers who can — and must — step up. The freshmen will have a chance to break in early. Tight end Hunter Bryant also returns, and Gaskin will be an active pass-catcher out of the backfield.

3. Will the defense be a game-changer?

The Fiesta Bowl loss to Penn State was a bad game for a unit that allowed just 14.5 points per game in 2017. The Huskies allowed 14 points or fewer in eight games last season, but gave up 30 and 35 points in losses to Stanford and Penn State, respectively. Leading tackler Ben Burr-Kirven returns along with Ryan Bowman, who had a team-leading 5.5 sacks a freshman. Taylor Rapp leads a young secondary. This unit gets to prove itself at the start against Auburn.

Bill Bender

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.