30 Day Countdown, Day 9 Ice Bath Time Machine

On this surface it seems like there would be quite a few immediate obvious answers. Lincoln Kennedy, Steve Emtman, and Benji Olson all immediately sprang to mind to help solidify the trenches. I was ready to hit the ground running with those names, but our editor issued a challenge: you can’t select a player that ever made an all-conference team. My easy picks went up in smoke.

Normally for an article like this I would list a couple of names and ultimately crown a winner for who I would like on the roster for the fast approaching season. I was determined to still find a player in the trenches, but nearly all the extremely talented OL and DL players who have played at UW over the years have made all-conference status. In doing that research though, I was so shocked by an omission that I scrapped my plan entirely and felt the need to right an injustice that occurred last season.

Given the theme of the trenches, you may be thinking Roger Rosengarten who was an honorable mention, but was not selected as an all-conference player in his time at UW. Rosengarten is one of my favorite players of the past decade, but since he was a freshman All-American I decided that would be enough to make him ineligible for this selection.

The player that I am taking is Ja’Lynn Polk. My brain must have intentionally blocked the memory of finding out that he wasn’t an all-conference selection for fear of the long term affects it would have on my body, but the shock of finding out the second time was hardly any better. I don’t mean to take anything away from Rome Odunze, Troy Franklin, Tetairoa McMillan, or Brenden Rice. They all had excellent seasons and deserved to be honored. What I do take issue with is that the Pac-12 didn’t even give Polk an honorable mention. In a league loaded with elite receivers Polk was 5th in receiving yards, 5th in YPC, t5th in TDs. Excluding the four players that were named first and second team all-conference, saying that there were six receivers more deserving of an honorable mention seems ludicrous to me.

I know receiver isn’t the biggest need for this year’s team, but every Husky fan knows just how special he is. Polk is excellent at running crisp routes, contested catches, and making plays in the open field. With Denzel Boston and Jeremiah Hunter, the Huskies would have another three headed monster receiving threat that could eat defenses alive again.