2016 Pacific Takes All-Pac-12 teams: Eight Washington Huskies on first team

I love to hand out all-conference awards, so let’s do four teams of the Pac-12’s best…

First Team

Offense

QB Jake Browning So. Washington - Browning wasn’t supposed to be this good, this fast. 40 plus touchdowns with just a few interceptions while leading the conference’s best team. He is a borderline Heisman candidate.

RB Christian McCaffrey Jr. Stanford - More than 1,900 yards combined rushing and receiving with 16 touchdowns while leading his team to nine wins with every defense gunning for him. Only for McCaffrey could that be a “disappointing season.”

RB Phillip Lindsay Jr. Colorado - He was Colorado’s McCaffrey. More than 1,500 yards rushing and receiving with 16 touchdowns. Most-importantly he was at his best when Colorado needed him to be.

WR John Ross Jr. Washington - Ross was unstoppable all season with teams doing everything they could to stop him. He finished with 1,000 plus yards receiving with more than 70 catches and scored 17 touchdowns.

WR Chad Hansen Jr. Cal - The conference’s best pure receiver. He would have had even better numbers had he not gotten hurt in the middle of the season. Either way, he finished with 92 receptions for more than 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns.

TE Pharaoh Brown Sr. Oregon - He quietly came back and had the best season of any Pac-12 tight end. 33 receptions for more than 500 yards and five touchdowns.

OL Chad Wheeler Sr. USC - Zach Banner got the preseason hype, but Wheeler was the best of the USC offensive line all season. He protected Sam Darnold exceptionally well and was a monster on the edge in run blocking.

OL Coleman Shelton Jr. Washington - The center of Washington’s line which was absolutely dominate at times. He rarely let pressure up the middle and was a beast when pulling.

OL Zach Banner Sr. USC - The 6’9 350-pound guy at tackle controlled the line of scrimmage for a whole year again. One of the most physically-dominant players in the Pac-12 in a long time.

OL Trey Adams So. Washington - Your next 6’8 plus Pac-12 tackle who is ready to become an All-American. He protected Jake Browning and was deadly with his range in run blocking.

OL Isaac Asiata Sr. Utah - The best guard in the conference was a powerful force inside for the Utes all season. A big reason why Joe Williams could run up the middle so well.

Defense

DL Takkarist McKinley Sr. UCLA - Turned into an All-American and first round pick this season. 10 sacks and 18 tackles for-loss. Tackles hated him all season.

DL Hunter Dimick Sr. Utah - We got to see Dimick healthy for a whole season and it was a thing of beauty. 14.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles for-loss.

DL Solomon Thomas Jr. Stanford - One of the most-exciting and most-dominant players up front on defense in the conference. He finished with seven sacks and 13 tackles for-loss.

DL Elijah Qualls Jr. Washington - He isn’t the stat guy these other guys, but he owned the line of scrimmage all season for the Huskies in run defense and caused massive pressure up the middle as well.

LB Jayon Brown Sr. UCLA - Led the conference as the only player with 100 tackles (119) for a UCLA defense that was actually really good most of the time.

LB Azeem Victor Jr. Washington - Would have been my conference defensive player of the year if he hadn’t missed the last 2.5 games due to injury. The leader of Washington’s defense and still finished with nearly 70 tackles.

LB Jimmie Gilbert Sr. Colorado - Turned into one of the conference’s best pass rushers. Finished with nine sacks and 12 tackles for-loss for a scary Colorado defense.

DB Sidney Jones Jr. Washington - My Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. Shut down half the field and was rarely thrown against. Still had nine pass break ups and a couple of picks.

DB Chidobe Awuzie Sr. Colorado - A straight-up lock-down corner and potential first round pick. He had 10 pass break ups, but offenses didn’t try to throw at him much.

DB Budda Baker Jr. Washington - He made throwing down the middle very difficult against Washington all season, but was also a great pass rusher. He finished with more than 60 tackles, nine tackles for-loss and grabbed a couple picks.

DB Adoree’ Jackson Jr. USC - The scariest corner in the Pac-12 was an absolute ball hawk this season. He had 15 pass break ups and four picks.

Special Teams

K Zane Gonzalez Sr. Arizona State - Made 23 of 25 field goals.

P Mitch Wishnowsky So. Utah - Ridiculous. Average 48 yards per-punt.

R Adoree’ Jackson Jr. USC - Why kick to this guy. He returned four for touchdowns.

2nd Team

Offense

QB Luke Falk Jr. Washington State - Threw for more than 4,000 yards with 37 touchdowns while leading his team to another great season.

RB Myles Gaskin So. Washington - More than 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also one of the most-impressive backs to watch with his tackle-breaking abilities and moves in the open field.

RB Joe Williams Sr. Utah - The craziest story of the season. From struggling to off the team to 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns.

WR Gabe Marks Sr. Washington State - Another year at Falk’s unstoppable top target. He finished with 85 receptions for more than 800 yards and 13 scores.

WR Dante Pettis Jr. Washington - He was a nightmare in the red zone with 14 touchdown catches. He also threw for a touchdown.

TE Nate Iese Sr. UCLA - Broke out as a senior with 25 catches for 400 yards and four touchdowns.

OL Jake Eldrenkamp Sr. Washington - The senior leader of that powerful Husky offensive line. He was a major spark in the run game all year.

OL Garrett Bolles Jr. Utah - The nation’s top incoming JC recruit showed why as a near-flawless offensive lineman.

OL Cody O’Connell Jr. Washington State - Graded out as one of the top offensive linemen in the country all season.

OL Damien Mama Jr. USC - A massive guard who dominated the line of scrimmage and mauled opposing linemen.

OL Jeromy Irwin Sr. Colorado - The best player on a really good Buff line that helped them win the South.

Defense

DL Jordan Carrell Sr. Colorado - A force at the point of attack who made Colorado really, really hard to run against. Also had five sacks.

DL Hercules Mata’afa So. Washington State - Great on run defense on the edge. Finished with 12.5 tackles for-loss.

DL Greg Gaines So. Washington - A lot like another David Parry who was a nasty run stuffer you couldn’t move from the middle this year.

DL Porter Gustin So. USC - Came on strong late and finished with 12 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

LB Kenny Young Jr. UCLA - Another great veteran Bruin linebacker. Finished with 90 tackles, 8.5 tackles for-loss and five sacks.

LB Cameron Smith So. USC - A powerful tackling machine in the center of the Trojan defense. Finished with 79 tackles.

LB D.J. Calhoun Jr. Arizona State - Another attacking Sun Devil lineman who made a lot of plays behind the line of scrimmage. Finished with 77 tackles, 11.5 tackles for-loss and 4.5 sacks.

DB Kevin King Sr. Washington - I will note that any of these second team defensive backs would be the best defensive back in any conference in most years. It was just a crazy year. King had 13 pass break ups as the other Husky corner you wouldn’t throw against.

DB Shalom Luani Sr. Washington State - The Cougars’ defensive leader had another stellar season. More than 50 tackles, nearly 10 for loss, almost 10 pass break ups and four picks.

DB Tedric Thompson Sr. Colorado - Scary in pass defense. More than 20 break ups and seven picks.

DB Marcus Williams Jr. Utah - Battled injuries, but still managed four interceptions and nearly 60 tackles.

Special Teams

K Matt Anderson Jr. Cal - 84 percent on field goals.

P Dylan Klumph So. Cal - Averaged 44 yards per-punt.

R Dante Pettis Jr. Washington - Took two punts back for scores.

3rd Team

Offense

QB Davis Webb Sr. Cal

RB Ronald Jones So. USC

RB Ryan Nall So. Oregon State

WR Shay Fields Jr. Colorado

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster JR. USC

TE Evan Moeai Sr. Utah

OL Scott Quessenberry Sr. UCLA

OL Sean Harlow Sr. Oregon State

OL Alex Kelley Sr. Colorado

OL Conor McDermott Sr. UCLA

OL Gerard Kough Jr. Colorado

Defense

DL Stevie Tu’ikolovatu Sr. USC

DL JoJo Wicker So. Arizona State

DL Vita Vea So. Washington

DL Lowell Lotulelei Jr. Utah

LB Koron Crump Jr. Arizona State

LB Kenneth Olugbode Sr. Colorado

LB Keishawn Bierria Jr. Washington

DB Ahkello Witherspoon Sr. Colorado

DB Randall Goforth Sr. UCLA

DB Jaleel Wadood Jr. UCLA

DB Treston DeCoud Sr. Oregon State

Special Teams

K Conrad Ukropina Sr. Stanford

P Matt Haack Sr. Arizona State

R Victor Bolden Jr. Sr. Oregon State

Honorable Mention

Offense

QB Sam Darnold Fr. USC

RB Royce Freeman Jr. Oregon

RB Tony Brooks-James So. Oregon

WR Tavares Martin Jr. So. Washington State

WR Demetrius Robertson Fr. Cal

TE Johnny Mundt Sr. Oregon

OL Cole Madison Jr. Washington State

OL Riley Sorenson Sr. Washington State

OL Johnny Caspers Sr. Stanford

OL Steven Moore Sr. Cal

OL Kaleb McGary So. Washington

Defense

DL Josh Tupou Sr. Colorado

DL Pasoni Tasini Sr. Utah

DL Harrison Phillips Jr. Stanford

DL Rasheem Green So. USC

LB Peyton Pelleur Jr. Washington State

LB Troy Dye Fr. Oregon

LB Manase Hugalu Jr. Oregon State

DB Fabian Moreau Sr. UCLA

DB Dallas Lloyd Sr. Stanford

DB Chase Hansen So. Utah

DB Leon McQuay III Sr. USC

Special Teams

K Andy Phillips Sr. Utah

P Jake Bailey So. Stanford

R Christian McCaffrey Jr. Stanford