Lauren Kirschman

The News Tribune

There was Aaron Fuller, wide open in the end zone, leaping to haul in a Jake Browning pass and score Washington’s first touchdown.

Later, it was Ty Jones in the back corner of the end zone. With a defender draped all over him, Jones made a diving, tumbling catch to put UW up 14-10.

And then it was Andre Baccellia’s turn. On the Huskies’ final drive of Saturday’s game, he somehow got a foot down in bounds while making a reception along the sideline. The pass was initially called incomplete, but a review showed otherwise.

UW was able to run out the clock on its 27-20 victory over Arizona State from there.

That was the play that excited Jones the most. And as soon as he saw Baccellia’s reaction to the reception, he was sure the incompletion would be overturned.

“We knew this for a long time,” Jones said of the Huskies’ wide receivers. “There were question marks around us before the season, but we all knew what we could do. It’s awesome to see us all making plays.”

Those question marks mostly centered around UW’s experience. Entering the season, the Huskies didn’t have a receiver on the roster with more than 50 receptions in his career.

And then there were the players they were replacing. The Huskies are without three of their top four receivers from 2017 in Dante Pettis, tight end Hunter Bryant and tight end Will Dissly. Pettis finished his UW career with 163 receptions for 2,256 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Fuller was the third-leading receiver for UW last season, finishing with 26 receptions for 291 yards. He already has 22 receptions for 367 yards in four games in 2018.

“I think those guys were challenged early on and I think they’ve responded,” said offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. “We’re not totally where we’re going to be yet. Just every single day go to work. Those guys are making plays.”

When the Huskies’ running game was slow to get started earlier in the season, it was the passing game that took center stage in the offense. It hasn’t really slowed down since. UW is third in the Pac-12 in passing offense behind Washington State and Oregon. The Huskies are averaging 272.5 yards per game.

“They came up big,” said head coach Chris Petersen. “Those guys have been making plays all year long, they really have. Every game it’s the same thing. I’m proud of those guys. I’ve been saying we got good players there.”

The receivers started proving themselves in the season opener against Auburn, like with Quinten Pounds’ diving, one-handed touchdown catch that received national attention. Then, a game later against North Dakota, Jones made a one-handed catch of his own while stumbling backward in the end zone.

In UW’s victory over Utah, Jones caught the first touchdown pass allowed by the Utes this season. In the third quarter, with the Huskies ahead 14-10, Browning scrambled and found Jones in the back of the end zone. Jones was moving toward the sideline, but managed to drag a knee in bounds as he hauled in the pass.

“Sometimes you’ll just forget to watch it into your hands,” Jones said of making his acrobatic catches. “It’s a simple fundamental, but a lot of times I just got to watch it in.”

So far in 2018, Fuller is leading UW in receiving yards. Jones has 10 catches for 202 yards and four touchdowns, while Baccellia also has 10 catches for 98 yards. Pounds has been a deep threat, hauling in four receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. Chico McClatcher, with seven catches for 98 yards, has also been in the mix.

Eight different players caught passes against the Sun Devils as UW finished with 202 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

“I think every game, we learn more about ourselves and certain guys get more confident,” Petersen said. “I think that’s a group that’s going to continue to get better.”