PULLMAN – With one simple slant play over the middle Saturday, Marcel Reece reminded Husky fans what all the hype was about.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound junior wide receiver took a simple Carl Bonnell pass and turned it into a 69-yard touchdown that gave the Huskies a 21-14 lead early in the second half, a lead Washington would never relinquish in its Apple Cup victory over Washington State.
It was the longest pass play of the season for Washington, and though it wasn’t necessarily designed to go a long way, Reece said that’s not how he sees it.
“In my eyes, every play is designed to go that far,” said Reece, who finished with three catches for 107 yards.
Reece had been one of the bigger disappointments this season for Washington. He came to Montlake as a wide receiver with outstanding speed and credentials from El Camino Community College, where he had 47 catches for 1,286 yards and 13 touchdowns last year.
But Reece came in too heavy and then struggled to adjust to the pace of Division I football.
“He met with me a couple weeks ago and asked me what he had to do to get on the field,” UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said. “I said, ‘You’ve got to learn to practice.’ The last couple weeks he started picking it up, practicing hard, finishing catches, playing hard.”
To help ease Reece’s transition, he was put into the slot receiver spot, but recently moved back outside, where he said he feels more comfortable. Still, he hadn’t made a catch since the USC game on Oct. 7 until Saturday.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Reece, who finished the year with nine catches for 219 yards. “I’ve been through a lot of adversity this season. I had a lot of confidence in my coaches that they were going to put me in position to make plays. I was discouraged coming through but this week it happened.”
Reece said he doesn’t feel like he had trouble in practice and isn’t entirely sure why he didn’t see more playing time. In fact, he said he considers himself the hardest worker on the team.
Either way, he showed his ability on Saturday, turning a seemingly simple play into a game-changing performance. Reece added a nifty sideline catch in which he caught a high ball and managed to drag a foot inbounds for a 26-yard gain.
“I had tunnel vision,” Reece said. “All I saw was the purple and I ran to the end zone. … I knew it would happen, I just didn’t know when. What better week to have it than the Apple Cup?”
“This gives him a lot of momentum going into the offseason,” Lappano said. “I think Husky fans saw a glimpse of what is going to happen next year for Marcel Reece.”
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