SEATTLE – Chris Petersen is doing his best this spring to dial back the expectations for Washington in 2019.

Part due to his nature, as a coach notorious for being keen on the details and choosing substance over hype. The other reason is to keep UW away from an increased trend across college football.

Since Petersen took over as the Huskies head coach before the 2014 season, only two quarterbacks – K.J. Carta-Samuels and Daniel Bridge-Gadd – have transferred out of the program.

Carta-Samuels, a four-star recruit from San Jose, California (Bellarmine Prep High School) was the first QB Petersen signed at UW in 2014.

Despite losing the starting QB job to then-freshman Jake Browning in fall 2015, Carta-Samuels remained at the school for three seasons before choosing to transfer to Colorado State for the 2018 season as a grad transfer.

Bridge-Gadd, a one-time verbal commit to New Mexico State who signed with the Huskies in 2016 from Phoenix, Arizona, elected to finish his career in his home state at Northern Arizona University.

This spring UW has a five-star, three four-star and one three-star QB’s on its roster competing to be the starter this fall. Only one, junior Jacob Eason, came to the Huskies via transfer who happens to also be the only former five-star recruit in the room.

Eason, a 6-foot-6 and 228-pound signal-caller from Lake Stevens, Washington, considered UW and took a last minute official visit to the school before he signed with Georgia in 2016. Hosting the No. 1 pro-style QB may well have been the seed that led Eason back home.

He’s the first five-star quarterback Petersen has ever had in his 13 years combined between Boise State and UW. Eason threw for 2, 430 yards and 16 touchdowns as a true freshman in 2016, leading the Bulldogs to an 8-5 overall record while going 4-4 in the Southeastern Conference.

After suffering a knee injury during the season opener against Appalachain State the following season, Eason lost the starting QB job to five-star freshman Jake Fromm. Fromm led UGA to a heart-breaking overtime loss to No. 1 Alabama in the 2018 National Championship, after which Eason decided to transfer to UW.

During the same seasons Petersen landed a pair of four-star QB recruits for the Huskies 2018 recruiting class. Colson Yankoff, a dual-threat prospect from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, became the second QB to commit after Jacob Sirmon was the first back in December 2015 as a freshman at Bothell HS.

None of the three, however, are the last quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in a UW uniform that remains on the roster.

That honor belongs to redshirt sophomore Jake Haener, a three-star recruit who signed in 2017 out of Monte Vista (Danville, California), who threw a 12-yard TD to Ty Jones in the Huskies 45-3 victory over North Dakota in week two last season.

Haener completed all seven of his pass attempts and totaled 110 yards in his first college appearance. However, he completed 2 of his final 6 attempts in 2018 including a pick-six that resulted in the the Huskies 12-10 loss at Cal, a game UW led when Petersen elected to replace Browning with Haener.

From the outside looking in the decision as to who should be the Huskies’ starter in 2019 seems rather clear. But that’s exactly why Petersen isn’t expected to name who will be under center for UW on August 31 against Eastern Washington until, at the very least, a week or two into fall camp.

"“We’re all about sustained consistency," Petersen said earlier this spring on April 3, when asked how he evaluates players that jump out early in spring.

"But that is what we’re looking for – guys that really jump out, starting day one and doing it through the next 14 practices.”

Applied to the QB competition, the logic for Petersen and UW offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, is not to fall in love with one too early and instead see which of the group is most consistent.

Not just for 15 practices this spring, though. It's also about which quarterback can galvanize the rest of the offense, and even the defensive players and specialists, during summer conditioning and carry it through to the fall.

That's where a player like Haener, who isn't nearly the same stature as Eason at 6-foot, 189-pounds, is able to get his foot in the competition on top of his ability to play on the field.

"It's part of the game, it's why I'm playing college football," Haener said this spring. "Competition is good. It makes you better. I'm not worried about it. You can't worry about what other guys are doing.

"You have to focus on yourself on this stuff. Be a good teammate. If you do that everything is going to fall into place."

Haener spent the past four months during the offseason watching tape, but not his own.

"I've been watching a lot of Drew Brees film," he said. "Kind of compare myself to him, see how he plays watch how he moves. Just understanding defenses. Sitting down with coach Lake, really focusing on defensive perspective."

It's helpful for Haener, or any of the Huskies quarterbacks, to have one of the best defensive coordinators on their side while going against one of the nations top-ranked defenses the last few years every day in practice.

Using all the tools at the players disposal is something that Petersen would certainly hope for, but going and applying it on Saturday's is the ultimate key.

"Just go play. Have fun. It's a game after all," Haener continued. "Everyone tries to make a big deal out of nothing. We're playing a game. So everyone needs to put that in perspective and just have fun with it."