Safe to say, Washington fans were spoiled since the Chris Polk-era, to Bishop Sankey to the Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman eras and the Gaskin-Salvon Ahmed era. Those backs set the bar extremally high for the running back position at Montlake. Due to a curios offensive strategy in 2020 and 2021 the position’s production decreased dramatically, despite a “Run the Damn Ball” mantra. Kamari Pleasant and Sean McGrew.
Washington snagged three running backs in the transfer portal headlined by Wayne Taulapapa from Virginia. Also joining were Aaron Dumas from New Mexico and Will Nixon from Nebraska, both of whom red shirted in 2022. Kaleb Berry and Emeka Megwa both left the program via the transfer portal before the start of the season.
Sam Adams, Jay’Veon Sunday, Richard Newton and Cameron Davis stayed with the team.
Expectation:
Given that the mantra of the previous staff was vastly different than the offensive concepts of DeBoer and Grubb, it was expected that the running back position would be featured less but would probably be more productive than the 98.4 yards a game it averaged in 2021.
With a handful of backs to audition in fall camp for the bulk of the carries, Wayne Taulapapa was given the nod in the first game of the season.
Williams showed improvement every year since he has been in the program, but ball security issues have plagued him while at Washington.
Reality: Taulapapa ended up with the bulk of the carries with 140 attempts. He was reliable and exhibited solid vision all year. While drops in the pass game were an occasional problem, Taulapapa was exactly what this program needed–especially down the stretch, saving his best for last. Over the final 3 games of the season he ran for over 100 yards in each contest. He also found the endzone at least once in all but four games on the season.
Cameron Davis took the next step in his development as he carried the ball over 100 times this season. At times during the year he looked like the best running back in the program and will be the favorite for the lions’ share of the carries next year. He improved his ball security and continued his punishing running style.
In all the Huskies moved from 98.4 to 146 yards per game. Shockingly, the Huskies finished 15th in the nation with 33 rushing touchdowns, more than doubling their output from 2021.
In addition to the ground game, Washington’s RBs are expected to be polished receivers. Taulapapa caught 24 passes for 225 yards and a TD, while Davis 19 passes for 137 yards. Only once did either ball carrier put the ball on the ground.
That gives Washington’s two primary backs 1,771 yard from scrimmage and 25 touchdowns. That’s best mark since the 2018 season for Washington’s top 2 backs.
By comparison in 2019 Salvon Ahmed and Richard Newton combined for 1,618 and 22 TDs. However, the high-water mark came in 2016 when Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman combined for 2,393 yards from scrimmage then in 2018 the duo totaled 31 TDs.
Expectation v Reality Grade: A+
Overall Position Grade: B+
There’s still room for growth for this position, and what was witnessed down the stretch is more of what will be expected in the coming years.
The Future: The running back position is in better shape than it was when this coaching staff took over. Cam Davis, Richard Newton, and Sam Adams are all coming back, Daniyel Ngata moved north from Arizona State, and Dillon Johnson has joined Washington from Mississippi State who will factor in to the carries left by the Taulapapa graduation.
