Keith Gilbertson eventually will go down in Washington annals as possibly the worst coach the school has had in the modern era of football. While most people blame Rick Neuheisel for the current woes of the program it was Gilbertson who hammered the majority of nails into the current coffin of the program.
In 2004 Gilbertson contributed the only recruiting class during his tenure that was heavily influenced by the work done by his predecessor Rick Neuheisel. The following year he cut off recruiting early crippling the opportunities of his predessor Ty Willingham.
The 2005 class was even more crippled because of the time Ty had to work with, and the lack of scholarships available (may have been a blessing). UW cutting off recruiting early in September, followed by Gilby's early Mea Culpa to Turner just killed this class. You have two years with little to show for it on the recruiting front. The 2005 class may be small, but there are a lot more current contributors in it than the 2004 class. Nice job by Ty, and Tormey.
Significant contributors are in bold, poossible contributors are in italics.
2004 Class
QB M. TUIASOSOPO...Signed with the Huskies but never played a down and went the baseball route for the Mariners. Currently struggling at AA San Antonio.
RB KIRTON....Put on 45-50 lbs since he has been at UW and now is the 2nd string TE.
FB KRAVITZ....Has been on the scout team the past two years and will get his first meaningful playing time behind walkon Mark Palaita this year.
OL BULYCA...Has been injuerd since arriving but finally healthy and is expected to step up into a major back up role this season. As of this Fall has still not made a move.
OL FLOWERS.....The top guy in the class that was expected to contend for the starting job at LT with Ben Ossai flunked out of school during the Spring.
OL ASHBY....The Ballard standout wasn't able to get through the first quarter of school.
OL O'CONNOR....Has moved to the defensive line where he is is buried in the depth chart.
OL BUSH....The ready made center has not been able to put on any weight since he entered the UW. He will play a bit this year, but really needs a lot more work to be succesful. Very dissapointing so far.
DL LOBOS....Has been hurt on and off but has supplied some quality minutes. Will be in the rotation somewhat this year.
DL HENRY....Never played a down due to injury.
DL WHITE-FRISBEE....Was briefly considered the next Steve Emtman till stress fractures in the foot slowed him down. The return of a healthy JWF could really influence the outcome of the coming season.
DL RAYFORD....The classic tweener has hands like rocks, can't block, has proven to be too tall, and too light to make an impact at DE. Not exactly Dash Cruthchley, but close. Will continue to try to make an impact at rush end.
DL GOODRUM.....Never made it in at UW, ended up at SC where he did diddly.
DE GUNHEIM....Probable All American Candidate. The kid has come on to be the leader of the DL...too bad Gilby didn't redshirt him.
DE WINTER....The Army All American has never adpated to the DE position, currently in the depth at 3rd string but expected to contribute again this year.
LB T. TUIASOSOPO....A solid recruit who has been injured since he got here, now healthy and competing for a starting spot a ILB.
LB HOWELL....Has battled White to a standstill since he arrived in campus, now it his time to shine. Coaches are rewarding him for his dedication and attitude.
CB OKEOBOR....Great potential crippled by injury. Was the best CB at times last year despite being hobbled. Could come back for a 6th year.
S HARRIS...Back injury will sideline him this year and possibly forever. Never a starter, but provided quality depth. Future is uncertain.
CB GOLDSON....Has started since he got here, but will reach his true potential as a CB this year. Was originially a Neu guy out of HS who had to spend a year at a JC.
S SANDERS....Solid recruit who never lasted long enough academically to play.
S FORRESTER..... A more lightly regarded three star recruit who finally made a move for playing time this Spring but hasn't been heard from this Fall.
S BANKHEAD...Never made it in and likely will never play again due to his new career as a rapper, and flag football player. Guys on the Dawgman board swear they are now better and faster tha Bankhead. Aemery can run circles around him!
Not a lot of help for Willingham in this class which means it will take him, or any coach four to five years to get things back to normal.
2005 Class
QB Durocher....Transfer from Oregon has provided good depth and competition but currently is running #3.
TB Hasty....Almost played last year but was redshirted and didn't mke the cut dredit wise to play this year. Would have been a significant contributor if he had played this year, his loss has caused a reshuffling of talent in all the skill positions.
TE Williams....Getting the opportunity to grow naturally in a position that is suddenly back up to past UW standards.
WR Wood....Big play guy broke out at midseason and was subsequentially injured.
OL Rosborough....he hasn't played a down yet but I predict greatness starting next year.
OL Ossai.....Another guy who will do great things but starting prematurely this year.
DE Te'o Neshiem..., and another redshirt who will burst on the scene to start for four years.
LB Jones.....Forced into action early last year but lowed by injury at ILB. Will redshirt at DE this year. Will contend for a lot of playong time next year.
LB Savannah....One of this small classes marquee recruits will play a lot over the next four years.
LB Stevens....Broke into the rotation as a freshman and will share time at OLB this year with EJ.
K / P Perkins.....Redshirted last year then had a serious knee injury in the Spring.
CB Handy.....Never made it in which helped cripple the DB's last year,
CB Freeman....Never qualified at UW but actually made it in at Arizona but didn't contribute significantly.
DE Davis....did not qualify out of HS but still a recruit for next year as a JC.
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2 comments:
Yes, truly Gilby let all huskies down. I remember thinking how great it was when we got into the RN mess that we had a previous HC on staff, and was happy when he got the job. I reasoned that he would learn from his previous mistakes at Cal and build a winner. Now I can say what a disaster it was to hire him. we haven't done real well in HC football selections lately. It seems we haven't had an orderly succession plan Mostly the job falling to Lambo due to timing, an abbreviated search due to Christmas/New Years firing of Lambo between Pinkel, Tormey and RN, the Gilby hire due to the timing and then no search at all for TW by TT. Well, TW is our coach, hope we can show improvement to get him some needed breathing room.
Gilby was simply lazy, and he really never bought in that he was the right guy for the job. I saw a lot of quit in him early in the game. I will never forget his infamous halftime interview explosions. I knew right then that he was never going to be the right guy.
What can I say about the hiring succesions other than chaos breeds more chaos. Hedges wouldn't have known an opportunity if it bit her on the nose. Romar by the way was her 4th choice.
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