Washington Preview
By Bruce Marshall
The Gold Sheet
Were we playing Jeopardy on TV, and Alex Trebek gave the answers "Roman, Ottoman, and Washington Huskies football" in the category World History, what would the correct response (question) be?
How about, "What are three crumbled empires?" And rest assured that Trebek would award $200 or whatever the value of the question for that response.
There is certainly no argument about the Huskies' descent into the abyss, one of the steepest downfalls of a proud program that we can recall in the 52 years we've been publishing TGS. Blame has been assigned everywhere, from past coaches Rick Neuheisel, Keith Gilbertson, and Ty Willingham to ADs Barbara Hedges and Todd Turner. For what it's worth, we think the most damage was probably caused by Hedges, who kept the overmatched Gilbertson, effectively an interim appointment, on board for a second disastrous year in 2004, a campaign in which the Huskies won just once. And if problems on the field weren't enough, venerable Husky Stadium has begun to crumble-literally, forcing current AD Scott Woodward to campaign for a $300 million renovation or consider a permanent move downtown to the NFL Seahawks' modern Qwest Field. Stay tuned for further developments.
Meanwhile, U-Dub's on-field fortunes have been entrusted to new HC Steve Sarkisian, whose coaching pedigree at least suggests big things. A protégé of legendary o.c. Norm Chow, under whom Sarkisian played at BYU and coached at Southern Cal, as well as the wildly-successful Pete Carroll, under whom Sarkisian coordinated the potent Trojan offense the past two seasons, "Sark" immediately sought to install as much of the SC system as possible in his first spring, specifically the Carroll-like uptempo practice sessions. Unfortunately, Sarkisian isn't working with SC's talent base, but there's still more optimism than you'd expect after last year's 0-12 debacle.
That's mainly because do-everything, Tim Tebow-like QB Jake Locker returns to the fold after missing the last 8 1/2 games of '08 with a broken thumb. Such is Locker's impact that it's safe to say U-Dub would not have been winless in '08 had he stayed in the lineup; ask BYU, which barely survived in a 1-point win at Seattle vs. Locker last September. Sarkisian is likely to retain some elements of the spread offense that Locker has run the past two seasons while also installing a portion of the SC pro-style attack. Most of the key RB & WR threats (such as they are) return; scouts say to watch RS frosh RB Demitrius Bronson, and that WR Jermaine Kearse (20 catches LY) has hinted he could supplant D'Andre Goodwin (60 catches LY, but out with injury in spring) as Locker's go-to target. Three of the eight returning offensive starters are along what should be a smaller but quicker OL.
Meanwhile, new d.c. Nick Holt, who moved to Seattle with Sarksisian after holding the same role at SC the past two years, will likely employ a similar 4-3 look and welcomes back 9 starters, plus impact LB E.J. Savannah, a force in '07 now reinstated after being suspended by Willingham. In spring, Holt seemed pleased with a front 7 that features high-pressure DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, and some upheaval in the 2ndary could be alleviated by the return of FS Jason Wells, a starter in '06-07 who missed all of '08 with a knee injury. But before getting too excited about the 9 returning starters, remember that LY's "D" allowed the most yards and points in school history.
Summary...Sarkisian ought to enjoy his brief honeymoon with the notoriously demanding Husky backers, who will soon enough be expecting bowl bids and contention in the Pac-10. For this year, at least, U-Dub supporters will be glad if the team shows progress, and to that end a healthy Locker ought to at least get the Huskies back in the win column by Game Two vs. Idaho (and, in a related development, eventually snap the current 10-game pointsread losing streak). But Sarkisian needs another recruiting class or two to elevate U-Dub's talent level to the point where serious bowl talk can resume.