Ross, Pettis Provide A Spark On Special Teams
September 05, 2016 | Football, General
Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Before Dante Pettis ran out onto the field to return a punt, his teammate provided a message that included a little motivation.
John Ross had already scored three touchdowns in Washington's 48-13 win over Rutgers, so he pushed Pettis, told him it was his turn to make something happen.
"I told him, 'I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day unless you get one,'" Ross said.
Then, 68 yards later, Pettis was in the end zone and Ross was on his way to celebrate.
"When he ended up getting one, I ran all the way to the other side of the box and told him, 'Let's go!' I was so happy for him," Ross said.
Pettis remembers Ross' pre-return pep talk a little bit differently, but meaning was the same.
"He said, 'You can't come home tonight unless you get in the end zone,'" Pettis said with a laugh.
With so many touchdowns being scored, the junior was feeling a little left out, so he said he wanted to do his part to put up some points.
"I was feeling a little left out anyway," he said. "Everyone else was scoring, so I had to get in myself."
When each special teams standout was asked about the other, the friends said they have as much fun watching their teammates score touchdowns as they do crossing the goal line themselves.
"That's one of my favorite things to watch," Pettis said, talking about Ross.
Ross added, "I actually get more excited. I'm so proud of him."
But, while the returners are electric in the open field, each player credited their teammates in front of them for creating running room.
"I couldn't have done it without my guys," Ross said. "I felt like that was luck. I just had to run. I was just so happy to see that these guys were really fighting to block, doing what they've got to do to spring me free."
Out of all the positives in Washington's win, the big plays, turnovers and tackles, getting special teams untracked in Week 1 was a goal for the Huskies.
"It shows how dominant we can be and it makes other teams change their gameplan," Pettis said. "Coach Pete is always saying special teams is the biggest part of the game. It has ability to change how the game is going, and I believe it. It showed today."
So far so good for the Huskies in the return game, a positive sign for good things to come as the season progresses.
"It's nice to get that return game going," Washington coach Chris Petersen said. "We've prided ourselves for a long time around here to make explosive plays on special teams and we have explosive guys back there."
