The Washington Huskies are making their second appearance in the College Football Playoff. As the No. 2 seed, they'll face the No. 3 Texas Longhorns in the Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN).
With Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr. at QB, Rome Odunze at receiver and Dillon Johnson in the backfield, Washington had one of the best offenses in college football this season. Penix led the nation in passing yards. Odunze was second in receiving yards, and the team scored 37.7 points per game this season.
While Odunze was an ESPN 300 player, much of the Huskies weren't household names as recruits, and Penix is a notable success story of the transfer portal.
This team is simply not built like other playoff teams. We look at the Huskies' recruiting and usage of the transfer portal and how that construction translates to what they do on the field.
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Recruiting | Transfer portal | By the numbers
Recruiting
Recruiting focus: The Huskies are built off strong recruiting classes from 2018 through 2022 and have been greatly successful but selective in the portal. Most of their starters are veterans. Michael Penix Jr. is one of the few offensive starters who are not in at least their third year in Seattle. The roster has a lot of Chris Petersen's influence on it. No one did a better job developing two- and three-star prospects into Pac-12 winners and NFL players. Kalen DeBoer has followed suit and emphasized "the process" over immediate results. In fact, the Huskies have only four first-team all-conference selections. Washington focuses on in-state prospects and prospects from states like Nevada, California and Hawaii. The in-state talent they've signed has decreased the past five classes, and it might not hold enough skill to sustain a championship program. In the past four classes, the Huskies have signed 19 ESPN 300 prospects, the fewest among College Football Playoff teams.
Biggest win: Key portal additions have boosted the Huskies offense, but one of their biggest playmakers signed in the 2020 class out of western power Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. Other receivers ranked ahead of Rome Odunze, an ESPN 300 WR, but he was still among the top prospects in the Huskies' 2020 class. Odunze had 130 catches and 30 touchdown receptions in his final two high school seasons and won Nevada's Gatorade Player of the Year award. The Huskies signed him coming off an 8-5 season, and he has arguably exceeded expectations. Odunze became a key target and established himself as one of the premier receivers in college football, finishing as a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award this season.
Sleeper recruit that worked: Washington has several players who developed and contributed at levels that exceed their recruiting rankings. But the Huskies also have several former walk-ons playing big roles. TE Jack Westover, LB Edefuan Ulofoshio and DB Mishael Powell all entered the program as unranked walk-ons. Westover was an in-state recruit who ranks third on the team in receptions and touchdown catches. Powell, another in-state find from Seattle, ranks among the team leaders in both interceptions and pass breakups. Ulofoshio is another Bishop Gorman product who has been a multi-year contributor and, in addition to ranking among their leaders in tackles, is a captain. Recruiting is far from an exact science. That Washington rolls into the playoffs with three prospects who arrived with no fanfare, stuck with the program in the transfer portal era -- yes, the portal is full of walk-ons, too -- says a lot about both the players and the program that developed them. -- Craig Haubert
Transfer portal
The Huskies' staff has had a good balance between transfers and recruited players on their roster. The coaches haven't overloaded the team with transfers as the team had 20.4% of games started by transfers and 79.6% of games started by recruited players according to data by SportSource Analytics.
But this season, UW has been one of the best examples of how the portal can help teams and players and what happens when you hit on a player and they develop in the program. Just look at Penix.
He transferred to Washington from Indiana before the 2022 season following four decent, but injury-filled seasons in Bloomington. This season, he was a Heisman finalist, a Maxwell Award finalist, All-Pac-12 second team and led Washington to its first undefeated season since 1991.
He threw for 4,218 yards, 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season and has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country over the past two seasons. Penix is a star, but he's not the only transfer making an impact on the team on offense. The staff has sprinkled in a few transfers throughout the roster, including receiving Ja'Lynn Polk, the second-leading receiver on the team, who transferred in from Texas Tech. The team's leading rusher, Dillon Johnson, transferred from Mississippi State prior to this season and ran for 1,113 yards and 14 touchdowns.
On defense, 87.9% of tackles, 89.5% of sacks and 81.3% of the team's interceptions were by recruited players. The team's leading tackler, Dominique Hampton, has 93 total tackles and two interceptions and played for the Huskies since his true freshman season in 2018.
Edge rusher Bralen Trice leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks and has been with the team since he was recruited out of the 2019 class.
Recruited players account for 77.8% of Washington's starters and breaking that down even further, 50 percent of the starters are fourth and fifth year recruited players. So, this is a veteran team that has been developed while filling needs throughout in the transfer portal. -- Tom VanHaaren
Washington by the numbers
With merely good recruiting, not elite recruiting, you probably aren't going to field the sort of entirely well-rounded roster that others can. You have to be elite at specific things. For large portions of 2023, Washington had the most elite passing game in college football. Returns diminished in November, but Michael Penix Jr. still led the nation in passing yards, and the Huskies head into the CFP ranked third in sacks allowed per dropback, fourth in yards per dropback, fifth in passing success rate and in the top five in both standard downs and passing downs success rates.
Plus, when the passing game slipped a bit, the run game carried more weight: The Huskies also rank fifth in rushing success rate, and Dillon Johnson averaged 23 carries and 137 yards over the final five games of the regular season. You cannot knock the Huskies off-schedule, and if you do, almost no one in the sport better catches up to the chains. The offense is relentless, and it covers up quite a few defensive holes. -- Bill Connelly