All-Time Husky Great Team

Our last pod got me thinking…what would a full roster of the best Huskies of all-time look like? I tried to match the number of players at each position to what feels like a real roster and their in the order of what I think the depth chart would be. Unlike our teams where I am thinking about just who would be the best player for one game, this is based more on legacy and doesn't consider NFL success at all. I put in hometowns because it's cool so many are from in-state.

Feel free to argue.

Starter: Michael Penix (Tampa, FL - 2020s)

Backup: Marques Tuiasosopo (Woodinville, WA - 2000s)

Depth: Don Heinrich (Bremerton, WA - 50s), Bob Scholredt (Gresham, OR - 50s), Sonny Sixkiller (Ashland, OR - 70s), Billy Joe Hobert (Puyallup, WA - 90s)

Starter: Myles Gaskin (Lynnwood, WA - 2010s)

Backup: Napoleon Kaufman (Lompoc, CA - 90s)

Depth: Corey Dillon (Seattle, WA - 90s), Hugh McElhenny (Los Angeles, CA - 50s), Bishop Sankey (Spokane, WA - 2010s), Chris Polk (Redlands, CA - 2010s), Greg Lewis (Seattle, WA - 90s)

Starters: Rome Odense (Las Vegas, NV - 2020s), Reggie Williams (Lakewood, WA - 2000s), & Mario Bailey (Seattle, WA - 90s)

Backups: John Ross (Long Beach, CA - 2010s), Dante Bettis (San Clemente, CA - 2010s), & Jalen McMillan (Fresno, CA - 2020s)

Depth: Paul Skansi (Gig Harbor, WA - 80s), Jermaine Kearse (Lakewood, WA - 2010s), & Jerome Pathon (North Vancouver, BC - 90s)

Starter: Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Gig Harbor, WA - 2010s)

Backup: Mark Bruener (Aberdeen, WA - 90s)

Depth: Jerramy Stevens (Lacey, WA - 2000s), Dave Williams (Tacoma, WA - 60s), Lee Folkins (Seattle, WA - 60s), Aaron Pierce (Seattle, WA - 90s)

Starters: Lincoln Kennedy (San Diego, CA - 90s) & Troy Fautanu (Henderson, NV - 2020s)

Backups: Jeff Toews (San Jose, CA - 70s) & John Meyers (Richland, WA - 60s)

Depth: Kaleb McGary (Fife, WA - 2010s), Curt Marsh (Snohomish, WA - 80s), & Chad Ward (Finley, WA - 2000s)

Starters: Ray Frankowski (Hammond, IN - 40s) & Max Starcevish (Duluth, MN - 30s)

Backups: Rudy Mucha (Chicago, IL - 40s) & Benji Olson (Port Orchard, WA - 90s)

Starter: Vic Markov (Chicago, IL- 30s)

Backup: Olin Kreutz (Honolulu, HI - 90s)

Depth: Roy McKasson (Lakewood, WA - 60s), Blair Bush (Palos Verdes Estates, CA - 70s), Bern Brostek (Honolulu, HI - 80s)

Starters: Ron Holmes (Lacey, WA - 80s) & Tom Greenlee (Seattle, WA - 60s)

Backups: Hau'oli Kikaha (Kahuku, HI - 2010s) & Bralen Trice (Phoenix, AZ - 2020s)

Depth: Jason Chorak (Vashon, WA - 90s) & Steve Thompson (Lake Stevens, WA - 60s)

Starters: Steve Emtman (Cheney, WA - 90s) & Vita Vea (Milpitas, CA - 2010s)

Backups: Arnie Weinmeister (Portland, OR - 40s) & Reggie Rogers (Sacramento, CA 80s)

Depth: Greg Gaines (La Habra, CA 2010s), Doug Martin (Fairfield, CA - 70s), Larry Tripplett (Los Angeles, CA - 2000s), Danny Shelton (Auburn, WA - 2010s)

Starters: Rick Redman (Seattle, WA - 60s), Dave Hoffmann (San José CA - 90s), & Michael Jackson (Pasco, WA - 70s)

Backups: Joe Kelly (Los Angeles, CA - 80s), Mark Stewart (San Jose, CA - 80s), & Shaq Thompson (Sacramento, CA - 2010s)

Depth: Mason Foster (Seaside, CA - 2010s), Ben Burr-Kirven (Menlo Park, CA - 2010s), & Dan Lloyd (San Jose, CA - 70s)

Starters: Calvin Jones (San Francisco, CA - 70s) & Sidney Jones (West Covina, CA - 2010s)

Backups: Trent McDuffie (Long Beach, CA - 2020s) & Vestee Jackson (Fresno, CA - 80s)

Depth: Ray Horton (Tacoma, WA - 80s), Al Worley (Wenatchee, WA - 60s), Dana Hall (Pomona, CA - 90s), & Desmond Trufant (Tacoma, WA - 2010s)

Lawyer Milloy (Tacoma, WA - 90s) & Budda Baker (Bellevue, WA - 2010s)

Backups: Tony Parrish (Huntington Beach, CA - 90s) & Vince Newsome (Vacaville, CA - 80s)

Depth: Charles Mincy (Pasadena, CA - 90s), Taylor Rapp (Bellingham, WA - 2010s), & Hakim Akbar (Riverside, CA - 2000s)

Starter: Jeff Jaeger (Kent, WA - 80s)

Backup: Chuck Nelson (Everett, WA - 80s)

Skip Boyd (Chelan, WA - 70s)

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Comments

WoolleyDoog

PurpleBaze

You had me at Rome Odense.

PurpleBaze

Dante Bettis ain't too bad, either.

Quietcowskee

OG’s Frankowski and Starcevich: look at those leathery faces. NOT to be fucked with.

BleachedAnusDawg

I haven't read it all, but wanted to be FIRST to say that I'd put Corey Dillon or Kauffman as the starter at TAILBACK. Probably would go Dillon, actually.

Also, Ross or McMillan over Mario.

WoolleyDoog

https://hardcorehusky.com/discussion/comment/2057956#Comment_2057956

Thanks, the autocorrect on here is my nemesis. I have so much ADHD. I'm surprised it didn't fuck up something in this reply.

WoolleyDoog

https://hardcorehusky.com/discussion/comment/2057961#Comment_2057961

As opposed to the podcast which was what would be the best one-game Husky team you can assemble, I thought more legacy here so I went Gaskin and wouldn't consider Dillon since he only played one season.

dirtysouwfdawg

nip nap as the OG.

Fuck rapp.

Great list.

chuck

Donald Butler in the depth at LB, ahead of BBK and probably others.

Kikaha starter at OLB/DE.

I didn't see much else to disagree with. I do like Odunze better than Offense, but that's a tomato/tomato kind of thing.

chuck

Mario was quite a force. It's hard to picture now, him being small and slow compared to 90% of modern receivers. He was so fucking good though. Always open and tough as nails.

WoolleyDoog

https://hardcorehusky.com/discussion/comment/2057984#Comment_2057984

I hate the Rapp Rose Bowl, but there's no denying he was great before that and one of the best defensive players in the Pac-12 for two years plus really coming on at the end of 2016.

I think Bailey loses points to time but I agree he is getting underrated. I remember a graphic during the 92 Rose Bowl which I think showed he had very similar stats if not better than Desmond Howard. He would have been great in the DeBoer years.

dannarc

Lester Towns, and Pharms were a couple of my favs, debatable if they make list. Solid work WoolleyDooger

haie

https://hardcorehusky.com/discussion/comment/2057999#Comment_2057999

I'm one of the few who still loves Rapp. I also have a CSB about him where I'm pretty sure he bleeds purples and shits gold. The rose bowl thing was disappointing.

CrispyEaterson

Byron Murphy should make the cut at corner. Healthy Azeem also feels worthy at LB. He was a beast.

whlinder

Salute for putting together.

Feel like some old school positions are left off by defaulting to a 3 WR/1 RB/1 TE. Pat Conniff weeps.

But for far more of our history we did not roll out 3 starting WRs.

How many players from the ‘84 team are on here?
I’d maybe quibble to put Brunell as depth, and I struggle with Tui as our backup. Love Tui but I can’t see him over Sixkiller and Billy Joe.

Chorak and BBK won conference defensive player of the year awards. Not sure if should be higher? Don’t know the other eras as well.

PostGameOrangeSlices

PGOS

Canadawg

More of a question than an opinion but is Cotton not cracking the depth at TE?

WoolleyDoog

Murphy I can't justify at CB because he really didn't play a ton because of injuries. Akeem is close consideration. I forget more and more as time goes on how bad it was losing him in 2016, especially because he was only a junior and it basically ended his career.

BBK is a hard one for me. I think he was overvalued by the media and wasn't that good until like halfway through his senior year. He's a guy who if he played for Oregon I'd probably bitch about being overrated, but hard to argue against a Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

You could sell me on any of the QBs after Penix really and if it was a real team you might go Tui because maybe you sneak a goal line package with him as the Penix teams quietly struggled inside the 5-10 sometimes.

Otton came up on the podcast because he really got squandered and is a testament to how bad Jimmy and Donovan were. They couldn't get him the ball in 2021 but then the next year he was catching game-winning passes from Tom Brady in the NFL. TE is also just stacked you got guys like Conwell, Cleveland, Dissly, and Sample not even in the depth. Include Hunter Bryant who was as good of a receiving TE as UW has ever had when healthy.

DerekJohnson

If BBK had played for Oregon, half this board would have had a field day with the fact he has two moms

DerekJohnson

I love the tip of the cap to Strauss Boy Vic Markov!