Receivers Rebound In A Big Way Against OSU
November 22, 2015 | Football
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
CORVALLIS, Ore. – With each year and every game Jaydon Mickens has spent at Washington, the receiver has established a standard he expects from himself.
If the ball is thrown his way, in his mind, the play needs to end with a catch. He needs to make a play to help the Huskies.
He demands that from himself. He expects it from his teammates.
“I hold myself to a standard just like they hold themselves to a standard, and I hold them accountable, just like they hold me,” Mickens said. “We pride ourselves on being playmakers. It showed up tonight.”
With 190 career catches, the senior is No. 2 all-time in the program's history. He has been a reliable target for each quarterback who has taken snaps over the course of Mickens' career.
However, two weeks ago against Arizona State, Mickens admitted the performance of Washington's passing game didn't meet expectations. He refused to let it happen two weeks in a row, so against Oregon State on Saturday, he caught seven passes for 59 yards and a touchdown during the Huskies' 52-7 victory.
“We had to come out and make plays for our quarterback,” Mickens said. “We let a couple misfires happen during the Arizona State game. We had to come and help our young quarterback out. That's what we did tonight.”
When Washington turned to its passing game against the Beavers, the Huskies made plays.
Brayden Lenius caught a pair of touchdown passes. Tight end Joshua Perkins made difficult grabs look easy, especially the one-handed catch that was called back after a penalty in the second quarter. Darrell Daniels and Dante Pettis also made the most of their opportunities.
They helped freshman quarterback Jake Browning complete 18 of 20 passes for 211 yards and four touchdowns.
Browning has shown maturity that belies his age throughout his first season, so it should come as little surprise he shouldered much of the blame for the performance of the passing game at Arizona State, while praising his receivers.
“I don't think I played very well last week,” he said. “You could say the same thing about me. They played well. They've been playing well all year. We've got to give them more opportunities.”
The Huskies had plenty of opportunities against the Beavers and, with Mickens leading the way, Washington's receivers delivered.
“They showed up and did a good job,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said.
With one game left to become bowl eligible, the Huskies expect another strong performance next week against Washington State in the Apple Cup.
“We're fighters,” Lenius said. “We're going to fight for four quarters and never give up. We've done that every single game. Last week there were some dropped balls, but we moved on from that. We showed it today. We had a good game passing. All week in practice we were working and it paid off.”
Mickens added, “We've got to keep it consistent heading into the Washington State game. We're going to keep striding until it's over.”
Players Mentioned
