5 Washington players to watch against Iowa football in 2024

IOWA CITY — Iowa football is the early favorite against last year’s national runner-up, albeit with an asterisk.

Yes, the Hawkeyes are 2.5-point favorites against Washington, as of Monday afternoon. But the Washington team that will come to Kinnick Stadium will look a lot different from the Washington team that played Michigan in the 2023 national title game.

The Huskies have a new head coach (Jedd Fisch) and a largely new roster, as well, after Kalen DeBoer bolted Washington for the Alabama job. Only two starters from last year’s team are back in 2024.

Here are five Washington players to watch as the Huskies look to continue their momentum from last week’s win over then-No. 10 Michigan:

QB Will Rogers

Washington has experienced some good fortune with its quarterback from the transfer portal.

Ex-Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers has completed 73.6 percent of his passes while throwing 12 touchdowns and one interception. His completion percentage is fifth-best in the country, and his 171.4 passer rating ranks 11th.

Washington’s 27-17 win over then-No. 10 Michigan last weekend was the first time he threw an interception as a Husky. It also was his first time completing fewer than 70 percent of his passes in a game. (He was not far below that benchmark, though, going 21-of-31.)

Before his time in Seattle, Rogers started 40 games at Mississippi State and finished as the program’s all-time leader in career passing yards and career touchdowns. He also set SEC records for completions — both in a single season and in his career.

LB Alphonzo Tuputala

Alphonzo Tuputala has enjoyed a productive first half of his senior season.

The 6-foot-2 linebacker is tied for the team lead with 2.5 sacks, is fourth on the team with three tackles for loss and is second with 30 total tackles.

Tuputala is one of the two returning starters from last year’s national runner-up team. He has started 33 of Washington’s last 34 games, dating back to the 2022 season. He was an all-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2022.

Tuputala, like Rogers, is one of Washington’s six captains this season. He grew up about 25 miles south of Husky Stadium in Federal Way, Wash.

RB Jonah Coleman

Jonah Coleman was among the many players who went with Fisch from Arizona to Washington.

The move seems to have been mutually beneficial as the 5-9 running back is at pace to have the best season of his college football career.

After recording 871 rushing yards for Arizona in 2023, Coleman already has 601 yards through six games with Washington. His five rushing touchdowns already matched last year’s total, and he is averaging 6.7 yards per carry.

Coleman — not entirely unlike Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson — has shown the ability to stay on his feet through contact. He is averaging 5.1 yards after contact per carry, according to Pro Football Focus.

Coleman also can be a weapon in the passing game, catching 14 passes this year on 15 targets through six games.

WR Denzel Boston

Denzel Boston has been one of Rogers’ go-to targets on the Washington receiver corps.

Boston has been targeted 10-plus times in three of Washington’s last four games, according to PFF, and he leads the Huskies with 492 receiving yards. One does not need to look far to understand why.

Boston leads the Big Ten in contested catches with eight so far in 2024, again per PFF. (That’s as many as Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith have combined.)

The 6-4 wideout also has been the Huskies’ punt returner. He has averaged 8.1 yards on his eight returns this season.

WR Giles Jackson

Giles Jackson has been exceptionally efficient in his sixth and final season of college football.

He has a team-high 38 receptions on 46 targets, per PFF. That equates to a reception rate of 82.6 percent, which leads FBS wide receivers who have at least 25 targets.

No longer behind Rome Odunze and other talented receivers on the depth chart, Jackson already has more than twice as many receptions as he did in 2023.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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