The Details: ‘This Is Not A Fairytale’

By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com

There is a quick answer for many Washington players when asked about earning a trip to the College Football Playoff. Most consider the Huskies' New Year's Eve matchup with Alabama in the Peach Bowl to be a "dream" scenario.

However, for Psalm Wooching, after "dream" slipped out of his mouth during a recent interview, he quickly corrected himself.

Why?

Well, for the senior, everything that is happening is very real.

"This is not a fairytale," he said with a laugh.

Wooching is spending the waning days of his senior season focused on the byproduct of his five-year investment.

"It's been great, in my last year, to be able to accomplish everything we've done and still have a lot more to do," the outside linebacker said. "It's awesome to be on that stage where we're doing so well."

When Wooching first committed to play at Washington, he saw a program on the rise. He believed the Huskies would one day be considered among the nation's elite. However, early on, he wasn't sure if that destiny would be realized during his career.

"I knew if we kept on working hard, grinding, that eventually we would get to where we are," he said. "I just didn't know if it would be during my time."

To have been able to reach college football's ultimate stage in his final season, it makes every moment sweeter.

"We all had it in our mind that, if we kept on doing what we were doing, and kept on taking it one game at a time, we'd be successful," he said. "It's settling in, sort of. We're still in awe we got this far. Now we've just got to prepare for what's next."

What's next is a matchup with top-ranked Alabama in the Peach Bowl, but as Wooching prepares for the next step in his final season, he did take some time to reflect on a moment he will never forget.

Rewind a few weeks to the aftermath of the Huskies' 41-10 win over Colorado in the Pac-12 championship game. Wooching was center stage, hoisting the championship trophy has confetti rained all around him.

It was a moment years in the making. It was a celebration to savor.

"It was like nothing I've ever felt before," he said. "Holding that thing up, all of our hard work – five years for me – it's just crazy, all of that hard work and sweat, in that piece of metal, that trophy.

"It was awesome."

And now it is on to the next game, one more step in a season Wooching wants to extend as long as possible.

The Details: Wooching Is Family's First Graduate

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