California couldn't stop him. On third-and-4 from the Bears 19 in overtime, Kamari Pleasant snatched a flat pass and bounced off tacklers for an emphatic 15-yard gain to set up a game-winning touchdown for Washington.
A week later, the sixth-year senior running back churned out a career-best 84 yards on 12 carries, ripping off a long run of 17 yards, as Oregon State couldn't prevent him from going places either, though it pulled out a win.
"I feel like they fall asleep on me," Pleasant said with an easy laugh, "and the next thing I know I'm running down the field."
Jimmy Lake and his Husky coaches have been guilty of this football gross misdemeanor, as well.
For nearly two and a half games, they didn't permit the solidly-built 6-foot, 225-pounder from Rialto, California, to touch the football, relegating him to special-teams duty, before backtracking.
Entering Saturday's game with UCLA at Husky Stadium, Pleasant has moved all the way from No. 4 tailback a month ago to sharing the starting job with fellow sixth-year senior Sean McGrew. Now that's a run worth replaying.
In dropping three of its first five games, the UW has completely shaken up its running-back rotation, now using rather than ignoring this determined tailback, who's stayed ready all along.
A year ago, Pleasant went from seldom called on for four seasons to a two-game starter in the pandemic-limited campaign. He showed off moves few outsiders knew he had, rushing for 144 yards and 3 touchdowns. He made the most of a strange situation.
"They gave us free games to go out there and play against anybody who wanted to play," he said. " That was a year they gave us as a free year."
Cashing in on the extra season provided by the NCAA, however, Pleasant had to know the Husky coaching staff would want to use the younger guys, sophomore Richard Newton and redshirt freshman Cam Davis, who had backed up him and McGrew in 2020.
The next generation was ready to carry heavier loads, designated as the running backs of the future and they needed to maintain a steady level of development.
A not so funny thing happened to begin this season — the Huskies, as a team, rushed for a paltry 65 yards against Montana and a more anemic 50 against Michigan, both losses. It was embarrassing. It was time for some changes.
For game 3 against Arkansas State, McGrew played for the first time this fall and started. Pleasant, who had covered on kicks but not taken a turn in the backfield, drew his first carry late in the first half of the same game, breaking off a 5-yard gain. He finished with 48 yards on 8 totes in the 52-3 Husky mismatch.
He'd made improvements in his game in his spare time, standing on yoga or medicine balls.
"I've been working on like my balance, just trying to run through tackles," he said. "I remember last year there were some tackles and plays I left on the field."
Six years into it, Pleasant is thriving as a running back after his belated start. Originally, he was recruited as a cornerback by a host of teams, including UCLA, and he committed to Arizona State before having a change of heart. This is always what he wanted to do.
As he sat and watched for most of four Husky seasons, Pleasant couldn't have been faulted had he wondered whether he should have become a collegiate defensive back. But he insists that never happened.
"Offense is the best part of the game to me, in my opinion," he said. "I was thinking about how I used to play defense, and it was fun, but I always used to talk trash to the quarterback because he'd never throw at me. I just wanted some action — and with offense, you get that."
At least now he does.
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