Huskies senior wide receivers reaching goals in final season

By Lauren Kirschman / The News Tribune

SEATTLE — Asked about his relationship with Aaron Fuller, Washington wide receiver Andre Baccellia flashed a grin. He shook his head, placed his sports drink back on the floor beside him and said, simply: “That’s my guy.”

“We go way back,” Baccellia said. “I came in a year before him, redshirted. Just growing with him. Kind of holding each other accountable on and off the field. That’s been a big thing for us.”

They share a love of football and mostly have the same taste in music, although Baccellia could live without Texas-native Fuller’s country collection — “He’s got a pair of cowboy boots,” Baccellia said with a laugh. “He likes the country songs and I can’t mess with that.”

Fuller and Baccellia are both seniors now, key pieces of the Huskies’ receiving corps. Fuller is leading UW with 21 receptions for 259 yards and four touchdowns. Baccellia is third — right behind tight end Hunter Bryant — with 16 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns.

Fuller, Baccellia and Quinten Pounds — who will return from a three-game suspension this week after suffering a major knee injury last season — have spent nearly their entire UW careers together. Since Baccellia and Pounds redshirted, all three will leave the program at the same time, too.

“We’ve been buddies since day one,” Fuller said. “They were the first couple friends I made here and even now, we live right across the street from each other. So we’ve been hanging out day in and day out. It’s just fun.”

It’s been a pretty fun season for Fuller and Baccellia so far, too. It hasn’t been without its troubles — like all those dropped passes in the loss to Cal — but it’s mostly been about milestones.

For Fuller, that meant a punt return touchdown. There were also the two spectacular touchdown receptions in the season-opener, but the punt return had been high on his list heading into his senior season. During the third quarter of Saturday’s win over BYU, it happened. It took 31 punt returns, including 22 last season, for Fuller to reach the end zone. But he finally broke one against the Cougars, going 88 yards for the touchdown.

Baccellia just wanted to get back to the end zone at all. Before he caught a touchdown pass in the season opener against Eastern Washington, he hadn’t scored a touchdown in nearly three years. He added another against BYU — a 35-yard reception in the third quarter — to seal the first multi-touchdown season in his UW career.

“He just got a lot more confident,” Fuller said of Baccellia. “Coming in as a freshman and sophomore, he didn’t play too much just because of the receivers we had at the time. So, you know, just seeing him take a big role right now is pretty impressive in how he’s taking off. Even last year to this year, seeing him score, seeing him catch balls and take it to the house like he did last game. He’s stepped his game up a lot.”

Most of Fuller’s progress, Baccellia said, has been mental. Fuller was UW’s leading receiver last season and has been contributing since he arrived as a true freshman.

“Shoot,” Baccellia said, “he obviously came in as a really good player to begin with. Obviously, he’s improved on the field but I think the biggest thing he’s improved on is just his mindset. Staying humble and staying low but always having that will to grow is probably the biggest thing for him. He’s always willing to improve.”

Last week’s win over BYU was perhaps the best performance for the Huskies’ passing game this season. Fuller finished with eight receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown. Baccellia caught four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Fuller and Baccellia didn’t necessarily shrug off the drops against Cal. They knew there were issues that needed to addressed. But in the days after that defeat, neither seemed concerned that those problems would linger. So far, they haven’t.

And Saturday’s game against BYU could be a sign of things still to come.

“We’re always going out there, pushing each other to be the best we can, making plays,” Baccellia said. “We’re always cheering each other on and when we could’ve made a play, we’re always holding each other accountable. I think we’re doing some really good things. The pass game is kind of firing on all cylinders, but I think we’re never satisfied. There’s always room to improve.”