Huskies Had Down Season, But Gordon Couldn't Have Been Better

Someone make sure Kalen DeBoer gets a chance to meet Kyler Gordon before No. 2 leaves town. This will enable the two-week-old University of Washington football coach to see what the nation's top cornerback looks like in the eyes of a lot of people.

DeBoer probably will shake his head that he came so close to coaching this talented cover guy. Especially when he finds out Gordon has two seasons of college eligibility remaining and likely no chance at all of getting him to use even part of it.

Gordon hasn't made any official NFL pronouncements yet, but just his standing in Pro Football Network's most recent mock draft says a lot — he's picked No. 3 overall in the first round, right behind edge rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux of Oregon and Aidan Hutchinson of Michigan, two players he and the Huskies encountered this past season.

Then there's Pro Football Focus, which grades Gordon as the highest-rated cornerback in the Pac-12. Remember, he played alongside the exceptional Trent McDuffie, too. 

This past week, Gordon and McDuffie turned up side by side on the first units of four different All-Pac-12 teams released by the Associated Press, the Pac-12 Conference, WestCoastCFB and PFF.

It makes you wonder, with all this secondary talent at hand, how in the name of Jimmy Lake did this past UW team finish a miserable 4-8? 

Gordon, in his time in Seattle, has played cornerback and nickelback and studied the safety position, which makes him all the more attractive to pro teams.

"Nickelback is a very fun position for me," he said at midseason. "I feel I can use all my abilities at nickelback. I can do a lot and be around the ball more."