When the University of Washington football team recently lost three consecutive games, it was easy to point fingers and suggest that a lot of players had regressed over that time.
Chris Lawson, however, was not one of them.
Throughout the early season dip, the second-year wide receiver only got better and better as he settled into a starting position that was given to him once Kennesaw State transfer Christian Moss was injured and lost presumably for the season.
Lawson led the Huskies with 8 catches against Iowa. He topped the UW with 103 yards receiving at Purdue.
"I can always count on this guy to get open," quarterback Elijah Brown said. "He's so fast and dynamic."
Lawson currently ranks as the Huskies' second-leading receiver with 32 catches for 483 yards and 2 touchdowns.
For all of those reasons, as the UW (4-3 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) welcomes a bye week, the pass-catcher from San Francisco stands as the team's most improved player, taking full advantage of the opportunity to start six games and launch his career in a meaningful manner.
At Purdue, Brown went looking for Lawson almost immediately, finding him on a 17-yard pass play on the Huskies' second series.
Three plays later, the UW handed him the ball on a fly sweep and he nearly scored, settling for a 9-yard gainer to the Boilermakers 3.
"This game was a good one to get things started and get everything back rolling," Lawson said in the postgame exchange.
With the game tied at 17 late in the second quarter, the Huskies went for the kill using this wide receiver to make stuff happen on three of the first four plays during a 91-yard drive.
From the 9, Brown on first down delivered a 32-yard pass to Lawson in a crowd. Following a short run, the two connected on 11- and 16-yard receptions, ultimately setting up a 1-yard scoring run by freshman Brian Bonner Jr. to put the Huskies ahead for good.
Nursing a 24-20 lead late in the third quarter, the UW again turned to Lawson to get things moving. On first down, Brown found him once more with a 24-yard pass, leading to another score and a 31-20 advantage.
"We're just kind of building that chemistry and then when this opportunity came just kind of connected the same way," he said of him and his quarterback.
Lawson later would limp off the field in the end of the third quarter at Purdue with a knee issue that didn't overly concern him.
"It feels good," he said. "Just a little banged up."
To look at Lawson, no one would think that anything was out of sorts.
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