When Puka Nacua committed to Washington, Husky Twitter couldn’t contain itself. The four-star talent out of Utah was one of the best receivers in the country during the 2019 recruiting cycle. His time at Washington was a little tumultuous, suffering a foot injury during his freshman season before having to deal with the pandemic shortened 2020.

He played in 11 games over two years, and accumulated 16 receptions for 319 yards and three touchdowns. While this is a huge blow to the team, it might not be nearly as painful as one might think.

With the combination of Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze who were able to produce as freshmen, along with senior Terrell Bynum, there are three returning starters. The position still has depth with Marquis Spiker, Austin Osborne, Jabez Tinae, and Sawyer Racanelli. On top of that, Texas Tech transfer Ja’Lynn Polk will be a big boost.

The pass catchers will still have some elite talent at tight end too, with Cade Otton, Mark Redman, Devin Culp, and junior college transfer Quentin Moore.

The passing game showed major signs of life at times last year, and with Dylan Morris having a full year to develop chemistry with his receivers, along with a normal offseason, should prove that this won’t be a huge hit to the team in the long run.