Huskies notes: Polk catches TD in return; Morris, O’Brien both take reps at QB
Ja’Lynn Polk’s first catch in his return to the football field was a touchdown.
Ten games after he was injured on the first play of the Washington Huskies’ season-opener against Montana, the second-year freshman wideout lined up with the offense on Saturday at Folsom Field.
He took his first snaps since September in the first quarter, but was not targeted. Then, late in the fourth, Polk made the biggest play of the afternoon for the Huskies.
Moments after Colorado pushed its lead to two possessions, Polk lined up for the Huskies in the slot, sprinted forward on second-and-10 from the UW 40, and hauled in a long pass over the middle from Dylan Morris. Polk spun around, dodged an attempted tackle from a Buffaloes defender, and raced to the end zone.
The 55-yard touchdown cut the Colorado lead to three points with 2:30 remaining in the game, and though the Buffaloes held on for a 20-17 win, it was a thrilling welcome back for Polk.
The touchdown was also Polk’s first as a Husky.
“The guy is a good football player,” Huskies interim coach Bob Gregory said postgame. “He’s an awesome kid. You saw what he could do. He caught a touchdown pass, and we’ll continue to use him.”
When the season began, Polk — who joined the Huskies last winter after transferring from Texas Tech — was one of the several talented young wideouts on UW’s roster looking to make an impact.
During his true freshman season at Texas Tech in 2020, Polk played in 10 games, catching 28 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns.
He started against Montana, and caught his one target for 13 yards on UW’s opening series, but left with an injury and did not return.
Former coach Jimmy Lake said the following Monday that Polk had suffered a chest injury on that first play and had emergency surgery following the game. Polk was projected then to miss much of the remainder of the season.
He started participating in pregame warmups with the Huskies ahead of the Stanford game last month, and has suited up since, but Saturday was the first game he’s played in.
Polk also caught a 5-yard pass on UW’s final offensive drive and finished with two catches on three targets for 60 yards and the touchdown.
MORRIS, O’BRIEN TAKE REPS AT QB
For the second consecutive game, UW played two quarterbacks, with Morris and graduate transfer Patrick O’Brien both taking reps against Colorado.
“That was the plan all week was to get a different quarterback in the game and give us a little spark,” Gregory said. “That was our plan last week with Sam (Huard). So we stuck with the plan.”
Morris started for the Huskies for the 15th consecutive game — he debuted as UW’s starter in last season’s opener, started each of the four games that season, and has opened all of the Huskies’ 11 games in 2021 — and played 10 of the 12 offensive drives.
Morris finished 33-of-52 passing for 387 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, his completions, attempts and passing yards all single-game career highs.
O’Brien, who joined the Huskies this season after transferring from Colorado State, played two series in the second quarter, which both resulted in three-and-outs, and finished 1-of-3 for 1 yard.
It was the second time O’Brien has appeared for UW this season. He also played one series against Arkansas State in September.
The Huskies then returned to Morris at quarterback for the remainder of the game.
“We felt like Dylan was playing good enough at the time, so we stuck with Dylan,” Gregory said.
The Huskies took a similar approach last week against Arizona State, with Huard, a five-star freshman, playing three series and finishing 3-of-5 passing for 20 yards in his third appearance.
HUSKIES MISSING KEY PLAYERS
The Huskies were without several regulars again this week.
Tight end Cade Otton did not play after leaving the Arizona State game in the first half last week on crutches. Gregory noted he expected to have an update on Otton next week.
Running back Sean McGrew — who remains the Huskies’ rushing leader with 107 carries for 431 yards and eight touchdowns in seven games played — was absent for a second consecutive game.
Wide receiver Terrell Bynum — who is still UW’s leading receiver with 26 catches for 436 yards and four touchdowns in his eight games played — also missed a second straight game.
The Huskies were also without All-American outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui and defensive lineman Faatui Tuitele.
APPLE CUP SET
The loss to Colorado was UW’s seventh of the season, meaning the Huskies will miss out on bowl eligibility for the first time since 2009.
But, winning an eighth consecutive meeting against WSU (6-5) in the Apple Cup is still in reach for UW.
“It’s the biggest thing right here,” Huskies cornerback Kyler Gordon said. “We’re not trying to let that trophy go at all. So, we’re going to keep it in Seattle, for surely. I want to finish strong. ... So, Apple Cup’s got to stay with us.”
The Apple Cup kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday in Seattle.
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Huskies notes: Polk catches TD in return; Morris, O’Brien both take reps at QB."
