Pac-12: Don’t call it reloading; Chris Petersen says Washington is rebuilding for a defense of title

Washington coach Chris Petersen is known for his low-key, steady nature, never saying anything especially interesting in interviews.

He broke away from that persona during the Pac-12 Media Days last month, when he described some quarterbacking attributes as “completely overrated” and wouldn’t play along with any theory that the Pac-12′s defending champions would “reload” their roster in 2017 for another title run.

“I don’t think you reload,” said Petersen, whose team is ranked No. 8 in the preseason AP poll. “That’s not our mentality at all. … We rebuild. That’s just the mindset. We’re not even kind of the same team we were last year. So that’s always our process. We start from ground zero. We take nothing for granted, how we coach them from spring ball to fall camp to everything.”

Petersen understands reloading and rebuilding, when it comes to maintaining a high level of performance. He did it over nine seasons at Boise State and has elevated the Huskies. After two undistinguished seasons, Petersen took Washington to the College Football Playoff in 2016 and the Huskies again should contend nationally.

Washington’s offense is built around junior quarterback Jake Browning, who played for Utah offensive coordinator Troy Taylor at Folsom High School in California. Taylor’s work received a strong endorsement from Petersen.

The context was a question about what Petersen looks for in a quarterback prospect. “I think the physical parts of the quarterback position are completely overrated,” he said. “So we felt really good about certainly how [Browning] threw the ball, but we’re more excited about how he thought about the game and processed the game.”

That ability reflects Taylor’s coaching, and the Utes will face his former player Nov. 18 in Seattle. By then, the Huskies may be in the thick of the CFP conversation again. Washington must replace three defensive backs who were among the top 43 picks in the NFL draft, but Athlon Sports ranked each of the Huskies’ position groups No. 1 or No. 2 in the Pac-12. No other team – not even USC, with questions on the offensive line and in the secondary – came close to earning such high grades throughout the roster.