Full circle for locals Garnett, Rector in Rose Bowl win




It all came full circle for Puyallup's Josh Garnett and Gig Harbor's Michael Rector: On the same Rose Bowl field in Pasadena, with the same celebration as their freshman year.

"253!" they both shouted, an homage to their native area code: "253!"

But this time, it came alongside a couple Western Washington friends with a different area code - Bellevue's Mustafa Branch and Wenatchee's Isaiah Brandt-Sims - continuing the Washington pipeline to this year's Rose Bowl champs.

"To do it with a guy like Michael Rector and Mustafa Branch - guys who you grow up with and grow up watching them in high school and being on the same team as them and sharing the same experiences with them is unbelievable," Garnett said.

"I think the future for (the state of) Washington is bright," Rector said. "We've got two guys who are really talented and I think it's going to show next season."

But it was Garnett, this year's Outland Trophy winner, given to the best offensive interior lineman in the country, who capped off a banner career by topping even his father. Scott Garnett was a defensive lineman for the Huskies who also beat Iowa, 28-0, in the 1982 Rose Bowl. But the younger Garnett came away with a larger margin of victory, one more Rose Bowl experience, and one more Rose Bowl title.

"You always want to be like your dad," Josh Garnett said. "To beat the same team and beat them a little better than the Dawgs did back in the day is just an awesome feeling."

"It was challenging when he first decided not to go to the University of Washington," Scott Garnett said. "But three Rose Bowls in four years, and the education he was able to get out of it - there's been nothing but wonders."

Josh Garnett will be awarded with the Morris Trophy, given to the Pac-12's best lineman as voted on by the players, in Seattle next week. And while Garnett is a sure-fire NFL draft pick in April, Rector will decide whether to return for his final year of eligibility soon - with memories of catching two touchdown passes in the Rose Bowl still fresh in his mind.

"It's been a special experience. I wouldn't trade it for the world. To cap it off like that with another Rose Bowl championship, it's been amazing," Rector said.

Added Garnett: "What we've done as a team, to go down as a team that's won two Rose Bowls, three Pac-12 Championships, I mean, that's unbelievable."