When the season began, wide receiver Chris Lawson wasn't even a starter for the University of Washington football team.

It took one play and a teammate's season-ending injury for the sophomore pass-catcher from San Francisco to move up and he hasn't stopped getting promoted.

This week, the 6-foot, 180-pound Lawson was named to the watch list for the 33rd Biletnikoff Award, annually given to the top FBS receiver nationwide.

He's one of five players to receive a late nod this month, increasing the wieldy list to 75 players. He was singled out a week before the Biletnikoff voters pare the candidates to 13 semifinalists next Monday.

While he initially wasn't one of the UW's top receivers, he might be the best one now. He leads the Huskies with 727 receiving yards while ranking second in catches with 49, with the latter number eight behind Dezmen Roebuck.

Most of all, he has forced opponents to take him seriously and not just gang up on Roebuck, likewise a second-year player.

In his most recent outing, Lawson caught a team-high 5 passes for 89 yards in the UW's 28-25 loss to Penn State this past Saturday.

Wearing face paint over one cheek and half of his forehead, he looked like some sort of warrior ready to battle.

Lawson has come a long way in a year's time, from a third- or fourth-unit Husky receiver to rate as one of the nation's best.

In 2025, he appeared in just eight UW games and caught 10 passes for 115 yards.

He came ready to play this past spring, battling Kennesaw State transfer Christian Moss for Denzel Boston's vacated X receiver spot, with the latter now having a standout rookie season for the Cleveland Browns and bidding for rookie of the year honors.

A sixth-year player originally from Atlanta, Moss won a spirited battle with Lawson in fall camp to be named the starter for the season opener against Washington State. In one practice, one guy caught a 70-yard touchdown pass and the other guy came back with a 65-yarder moments later.

However, the hard-luck Moss tore a quadriceps muscle on the first offensive play against the Cougars in the Apple Cup and his season, if not his brief UW career, was over just like that, as he underwent surgery.

Lawson took over and hasn't looked back. He had 12 catches for 155 yards and a game-winning touchdown in a 17-10 win at Nebraska. He came up with 6 receptions for 103 yards in a 38-26 victory at Purdue.

If he chooses, Lawson has three more seasons to see what kind of numbers he can put up for the UW and how many times he can draw Biletnikoff attention.