Pettis, Ross Dunk Their Way Through Breakout Season
October 22, 2016 | Football, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
When Washington players walk down the tunnel toward the field, they often jump and slap the "compete" sign before sprinting out onto the Husky Stadium turf.
And, in many of those instances, the Huskies strike their best dunking pose, slapping the sign as if they were dunking on someone.
For Dante Pettis, that move is really an option any time he walks through a door.
So, last season during a game at Oregon State, Pettis decided he didn't need a door to pull off the move. When Jaydon Mickens caught a touchdown pass, his teammate created a new celebration.
"I was like, 'I'm going to do it now, we don't need a door there,'" Pettis said.
So, while Mickens was in the end zone, Pettis jumped over his teammate like he was dunking.
That move may look familiar, it's become a staple for the Huskies when they score touchdowns. In fact, it happened frequently in Saturday's 41-17 win over Oregon State.
"It's become our signature," receiver John Ross said. "Every week, when we've got free time, we're always talking about touchdown celebrations. We never do them. We always dunk on each other for some reason."
With Pettis scoring twice, the teammates had plenty of opportunities to dunk on each other. But Ross isn't quite sure he believes Pettis started the celebration.
"I don't know where it came from," Ross said. "We just started doing it. I don't know if he came up with it. I'm going to have to talk to him about that. I may have to call him into my office for that one."
Ross and Pettis combined for eight catches for 227 yards and the two Pettis scores. The duo became the first Washington receivers to total over 100 yards each in a game since Reggie Williams and Patrick Reddick back in 2002.
It is fitting the teammates hit the mark together – after all – they became fast friends during Pettis' official visit a few years ago.
"He was my host," said Pettis, who caught four passes for 112 yards. "We had a pretty good connection then, laughing and having a good time. It's carried over onto the field. We're always joking around out there. We're just having a lot of fun playing the game."
Ross added, "I just remember meeting him, this quiet kid. We went out to eat. I think we went to the movies, were hanging out at a teammate's house playing video games and he was quiet the whole time.
"It is kind of funny to see how much he's grown. He was just a little goofy kid and now he's one of the top receivers in the nation."
When Ross and Pettis are playing well, they become a devastatingly difficult matchup for opponents. So far, so good this season.
"They've put in a lot of hard work," receivers coach Bush Hamdan said. "I think coach (Jonathan) Smith has done a great job of finding ways to get them the ball. "I'm proud of both of those guys for where they're at and now we've just got to keep pushing."
But, as well as Washington's receivers are playing, Hamdan makes sure to remind them how lightly the unit was regarded heading into the season. He wants the Huskies to maintain their edge.
"No one respects us," said Ross, who caught four passes for 115 yards. "We know it. We see it. We just go out every week and show we can play.
"We have that in the backs of our minds. We're going to show you we have one of the best receiving corps in the country. We have the best receivers coach in the nation and we have some of the best receivers."
But, while maintaining the chip on their shoulders, Ross and Pettis are making sure they have as much fun as possible, dunking on each other as often as possible.
"I like to think I started that," Pettis said with a laugh. "Now everyone's on board."
