Chris Petersen: UW needs to score more in Jake Browning’s 2nd year
Aug 6, 2016, 11:55 AM
The Huskies, led by then-freshman Jake Browning, were tied for 55th in the nation in scoring in 2015. (AP)
(AP)
During his best seasons at Boise State, Chris Petersen always had a star quarterback to lean on. Now as his third season as the head coach at Washington approaches, the hope is that Jake Browning becomes Petersen’s first true star QB with the Huskies.
The most important reason why: they need to score more points in Browning’s sophomore year than they did in his freshman year.
The Huskies head into the season surrounded by hype, ranked inside the Top 15 in many college football preseason polls, but that’s expecting a lot out of a team that finished 7-6 in 2015 and was tied for 55th in the nation at 30.6 points per game. Petersen is aware how much pressure the high rankings put on Browning, but it doesn’t sound like it’s causing either or them anxiety.
“It doesn’t matter what style of offense that you run, it could be an option offense, but if you don’t have a really good quarterback, a really big-time guy, you’re not gonna win games. So we feel good about Jake,” Petersen told 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton on Thursday. “He did a good job for being a first-year player (in 2015), but we don’t want any ‘buts’ and as we move forward he’s not a first-year player. He’s got a bunch of experience and I think from spring ball he’s taken the next step and continues to impress and improve. And I think the key is getting everybody around him to take that next step and improve their game, and if they can, we’ll score more points, which is no question what this team needs to do.”
Highly touted coming out of Folsom (Calif.) High School, where he set the national record for career (229) and single-season (91) touchdown passes, Browning was handed the keys in an unprecedented move last year. He was the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener for the Huskies and just the second true freshman to start any game at QB for UW. He had a strong year considering his lack of experience, finishing with 2,955 yards passing, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 12 games, including three games with at least 325 yards through the air.
With what he’s seen this offseason from his quarterback, Petersen is pretty optimistic that Browning is on his way to realizing his potential.
“I think he’s a pretty focused, pretty driven, really competitive guy that will put the work in to continually get better. I think he’s a really good pocket passer, which is what we always want,” Petersen said. “I think it’s going to be all these subtle nuances that will take a guy from being pretty solid to really good. A lot of people don’t know why, but it’s thousands of reps, being great in the pocket, delivering the ball with tremendous anticipation and doing it with a lot of accuracy. He knows we know he can get better in those areas, and he is, and so we’re excited to see.
“I think only time will tell really how good he is.”
