SI Scouting Reports 1. Oklahoma 2. Miami 3. Tennessee 4. Texas 5. Florida State 6. Colorado 7. Washington State 8. Florida 9. Oregon 10. Georgia 11. Washington 12. Ohio State 13. LSU 14. Nebraska 15. Virginia Tech 16. Maryland 17. Marshall 18. South Carolina 19. Louisville 20. Michigan 21. USC 22. Texas A&M 23. Auburn 24. Illinois 25. Penn State ----------------- The Top 25 All the Rest: 26-117 Lower Division Rankings

11. Washington

With their rodeo quarterback throwing ropes, the Huskies will score big, keeping the heat off an unproven defense

By Kelli Anderson

The speedy Williams, a true freshman last season, set team records with 55 catches and 973 yards. Peter Read Miller Enemy Lines An opposing coach's view of the Huskies "Quarterback Cody Pickett was flustered at times last year, and after starting for a full season, there will be pressure on him to perform.... Wideout Reggie Williams is a big-time player. He has natural field sense and wants the ball on every play.... The offensive line is pretty stacked and will be the soul of the team.... If they can rebuild the line, the defense could be a force. Guys like linebacker Kai Ellis have paid their dues and are ready to dominate.... The kids believe in Rick Neuheisel ."

Quarterback Cody Pickett's teammates like to tease him about his growing up on Chicken Dinner Lane in Caldwell, Idaho, the son of former rodeo world champion Dee Pickett and a good enough roper in his own right that he could, he claims, lasso a pigeon. What the Huskies take seriously, however, is Pickett's toughness, which he showed after separating his right shoulder in the third game last season. Says coach Rick Neuheisel, "He reminds me of the guy in the Monty Python movie who gets his arm chopped off and says, 'Flesh wound!'"

Pickett didn't merely play with pain; he excelled despite it. After sitting out one game, he passed for a school-record 455 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-28, come-from-behind win over Arizona, one of five fourth-quarter comebacks he engineered during Washington's 8-4 season. The 6'4", 205-pound Pickett, who underwent shoulder surgery last January, also set school marks last season for passing yardage per game (240.3) and completions of 50 yards or more (five). One of his favorite targets was 6'4" wideout Reggie Williams, who set conference freshman records in receptions (55) and yards (973).

Thanks in large part to Pickett and Williams, Washington scored 353 points during the season -- almost as many as its injury-plagued defense allowed (370). The Huskies, whose rushing D was last in the conference, gave up a combined 112 points in their final two games alone, losses to Miami and Texas.

That unit now has a year of experience -- 23 lettermen return, including five starters. Despite the questions surrounding the defense, Williams is characteristically confident about Washington's prospects. He's planning on a trip to the Fiesta Bowl, where he wants to play "some team from the South," he says. "People say those teams are the best anywhere. Well, I beg to differ."

Issue date: August 12, 2002