Ted Miller of ESPN Gets It

It was a sad day in the Pacific Northwest when Ted Miller hitched up the U-Haul to the back of the SUV and headed to Scottsdale to begin working for ESPN. What is the Seattle PI's and the Pacific Northwest's loss is the Pac Ten's, and the entire nations gain. Ted Miller is the best Pac Ten writer in the business, and he may just be its best college football writer.

I have to say I am a little jealous because Scottsdale isn't a bad place to live nine months out of the year when you are working from home. Take away the scorching summer months and you pretty much have paradise.

What sets Ted apart is that he knows what he is writing about. Miller is a keen evaluator of talent, he can gaze across the practice field and figure out who has been working out over the Summer, and who is just doing the usual posturing. In his time at the PI he never was wrong either, all his predictions pretty much were solidly nailed.

You can't put anything over on Miller because he knows the game as well as the coaches do. That being said he doesn't come off with a superior attitude, he just tells it like it is day, after day. If you email Ted with a question chances are pretty good he is going to get back to you on it. you have to like a guy that is in touch with the fans.

Most writers upon moving to Scottsdale would be spending most of their time on the golf course submitting articles from their Blackberry, not Ted, he is cranking out story, after story on his blog at a pace that is just frightening to the other writers who are trying to keep up with him. He wrote more the first week on the job than Molly Yanity of the PI has written during the entire off season. Ted is simply an animal, and it is obvious he has a passion for what he is doing.

The WSU Blog ran a pretty funny column on him the other day showing various photo's of Ted through the years with some hilarious comments on where they thought he was in life when the pictures were taken. The good boys over there were unabashed in explaining the man crush they have on Teddy Ballgame.

The most important thing about Ted is he has taken the time to understand the sports blogosphere. While most sportswriters ignore this section of the sports universe Ted has embraced it. Every day Ted gives out links to the credible stories being written on the West coast by veteran bloggers. It was just the other day that my friend Nestor at the UCLA Blog commented that most of the local sportswriters don't get it as far as blogs are concerned, but Ted on the other hand takes the time to peruse what is out there each day and gives us all a little credit when we write something decent.

Enjoy Ted while he is still assigned to the Pac Ten. A guy with his talent is going to keep climbing at a place like ESPN which has the ample ceiling he deserves.

If you haven't checked out Ted's blog yet just click on this line and you will be magically transported to his fantastic Pac Ten blog, it is a must read every single day.

Arizona State Preview

Dennis Erickson did what he usually does in 2007 and that is lead a college football team to victory. Arizona State wasn't exactly devoid of talent, but the new coach put together an impressive first season molding a fractured team back together officially ahead of schedule.

The biggest concern the Sun Devils have in 2008 is the offensive line. The unit allowed over four sacks per game and ranked 117th in the nation in that category. With both tackles and center Mike Pollak gone, the o-line has some huge holes to fill. They hope junior college transfer Tom Njunge and converted defensive tackle Jon Hargis can come in and quickly fix the problem.

Here is where the magic of Erickson comes in, he didn't have a very good offensive line in 2007, but he was still able to light it up through the air, and on the ground against the majority of the schedule. expect him to figure out a similar solution in 2008.

If the offensive line can improve, the Sun Devils will have an explosive offense led by quarterback Rudy Carpenter. The senior threw for 3,202 yards and 25 touchdowns last season and if he is not sacked 54 times again ...ouch, Carpenter will have a much bigger year.

Receivers Chris McGaha and Michael Jones were Carpenter’s top targets last year and both are back. McGaha will catch more passes, but it is Jones who is the big play receiver and will take more trips to the endzone.

In the backfield Coach Dennis Erickson has a nice crop of backs to choose from. Keegan Herring led the way last year rushing for 815 yards, but Dimitri Nance and Shaun DeWitty should earn some carries as well. It is most likely that Herring will be the workhorse with Nance and DeWitty coming in for certain situations.

The pass defense was not all bad last year. In fact, giving up 228.9 yards per game through the air is actually pretty good in the Pac-10, but the secondary will have to replace corner Justin Tyron and safety Josh Barrett. Corner Omar Bolden was impressive during his freshman campaign and should be starting once again and he will likely be joined by juniors Terrell Carr or Travis Smith. Bolden is a kid who could develop in to an All American pretty quickly.

At the safety spots, Arizona State has a little more experience. Troy Nolan, Rodney Cox and Jeremy Payton are all experienced seniors. If Bolden can improve and become the shutdown corner the team needs, the pass defense could actually be even better in 2008. Keep an eye on Nolan who is one of the best in the conference.

The front four of the defense was responsible for a lot of the success the DB's had in 2007. Luckily for ASU, three of four starters return to the line. Ends Dexter Davis and Luis Vasquez did a great job of getting into the opponents backfield and combined for 15 sacks and 25 tackles for loss and tackle David Smith is a fine clog up the middle. If the line can repeat its performance of 2007, the defense will shine.

In the end it really all comes down to the offensive line. If Erickson and his staff can improve on last seasons performance this could end up being a great team rather than a very good team.

How do you beat ASU?

First of all you need to out coach Dennis Erickson and his staff. UW played an excellent first half in Sun Devil stadium last year only to see it all fall apart in the third quarter when Erickson started making adjustments.

The one obvious thing that can be exploited is the offensive line. If you sack Carpenter all night and force him into bad decisions you can take advantage of that for awhile. A well disguised blitzing defense may be tough for this offense to handle.

The Devils can counter by simply handing the ball off to Herring who is a load to bring down no matter what the offensive line does, but if you can get a lead on them, force them to pass, and bring successful pressure you can beat these guys.

What do I think?

I think the Devils will be better in 2008, and will be one of the top three teams in the conference. That means Washington will not have the firepower to beat these guys at home in 2008. The ASU offensive line is a concern, but Erickson should be to make it adequate by the start of the season.

Defensively this will be one of the tougher teams in the Pac Ten. They had little problem with Washington is the second half last year in Tempe once they figured out how to contain Locker. That most likely will be the case in 2008 since the Devil defense should have the upper hand against the Husky offense.

I have to go with ASU even though this one is being played at Husky Stadium.

Pac Ten Alley

Lets take a walk down the coast to see what the neighbors are up to.

I wonder if Oregon's Kevin Garrett will miss the opener. Kevin was suspended indefinitely from the team last week.

Coach Mike Bellotti announced yesterday that linebacker, Kevin Garrett, is suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. No details were forthcoming about what rules were broken.

Notes from media day in the Bay Area.

Coaches and players from the three local schools joined a few dozen members of the Bay Area press corps Monday in San Francisco for the annual media day.

Jim Harbaugh wants to get the QB decision out of the way early.

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters he wants to know who his QB will be in "seven, eight, nine days." Tavita Pritchard and Alex Loukas are the leaders with Jason Forcier still in the mix.

The Arizona Wildcats are in good shape heading to camp.

The University of Arizona football team is reporting with a relatively clean bill of health.
While many of the other Pac-10 schools suffered key injury to a prominent starter during the 2007 season, the Wildcats escaped serious injuries, something they obviously would like to see repeated when the season starts Aug. 30 against Idaho.

Cal picks up a late JC addition to play tackle.

After orally committing in late June to attend UCLA, former Pinole Valley High School and Diablo Valley College offensive lineman Donovan Edwards has de-committed and instead accepted a scholarship offer to play at Cal for the upcoming season.

The Oregon State Blog is reviewing upcoming opponents.

Last season, Jim Harbaugh took over a struggling Stanford team that hadn't experienced a winning season since 2001 when Current UW coach Ty Williangham was the man in charge. Things hit rock bottom in 2006 when the Cardinal went 1-11, beating only the Huskies.

OSU coach Mike Riley thinks the offensive line will be his biggest challenge this fall.

"The (offensive line) is probably one of the biggest issues on our football team,'' said the coach, who is less concerned about losing his entire front seven on defense because of the likes of Victor Butler and Slade Norris - defensive bookends who combined for 19 1/2 sacks last season.

Some USC Trojan news with a Seattle slant.

Former USC defensive end and Seahawks first round pick Lawrence Jackson showed up to training camp on time, suited up and smile on. That's because Jackson just signed an $11.25 million, 5-year contract with a cool $6.2 mil signing bonus included. That's guaranteed money in the bank.

Pitchfork Nation isn't showing the Huskies much respect in picking them ninth in the conference. they even figure we will be 0-10 headed into the Apple Cup.

9) Washington Huskies. No team with a player as dynamic as Jake Locker will finish last in any conference. The problem is the rest of the team. No effective running back, their top returning receiver chalked up only 136 yards last year and the only defensive player worth a damn has a completely unpronounceable last name (Daniel Te'o-Neisheim). There's a significant chance they'll be 0-10 going into the Apple Cup with Oklahoma, BYU and Notre Dame on the NC docket and trips to Oregon and USC mixed in.

Bruin Nation comments on Ted Miller's blog report talking about the Bruins non conference schedule.

My guess is most folks assume Tennessee will beat UCLA. My guess is Bruins fans would utter a "drat" and move on. I don't think they'd react the same to losses to Fresno State or BYU. They'd immediately register their first pang of doubt over Rick Neuheisel. It might be the lightest of flickers, but it would appear.

My pals over at the WSU blog dream are desperately seeking Ted Miller.

You know, when we first started this blog (my uncle Sedihawk and me) we did so for two REALLY important reasons. The first really important reason? Sedihawk thought that a blog would be the perfect platform for writing about the Cougs all day without having the correspondence be traceable over our respective company e-mails. And he was right!!!! But the second reason was mutually understood, yet at times painfully unspoken: BOTH Sedihawk and I desperately wanted to be Ted Miller.

USC Preview

The Trojans finished last season at 11-2. The year was capped off by a blowout win against Illinois in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans lost a total of 10 players in the draft, but that’s nothing new for a team that has a B squad that could likely win 9-10 games a year. With 13 returning starters it will be interesting to see if Pete Carroll can take this team to yet another National Championship.

UW has been very competitive with these guys under Willingham, but while possible victory has been there, the more poised team has seized it in the fourth quarter. Carroll and the Trojans know how to finish, they win the fourth quarter, and they own November.

The biggest question on the offensive side of things is whether QB Mark Sanchez is going to be able to lead this team to another Pac 10 title, if not look for current backup Mitch Mustain to come in and get a shot.

The offense only brings back 4 starters, and only 1 on the offensive line. Guard Jeff Byers will see a whole new crowd of faces around him, but there is plenty of young talent ready to step up.

At wide receiver and running back there is a load of potential, and it just might be who emerges first this fall who gets the starting nod. It looks as though you will see another running back by committee attempt with Stafon Johnson, Joe McKnight, and C.J. Gable.

McNight was a pretty high profile recruit that most expect to compete for a Heisman Trophy before he leaves. He didn't dominate last year, but not a lot of freshman do. He could come out and really do some nice things in 2008.

At the receiving end of things look for big years from returning starters Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton, but don’t be surprised if sophomore David Ausberry steals the show. One of the most interesting thing to watch this camp will be the WR's because there is so much depth and talent at the positions. Pete Carroll predicts a real fight for playing time among this talented group.

This defense could be scary good this season even with the loss of DT Sedrick Ellis and LB Keith Rivers in the first round of the draft. Though the line might not be what it was in ’07, senior DT Fili Moala is a beast up front.

Many believe they have the best starting LB’s and DB’s in the country. Rey Maualuga is being considered the best inside linebacker and they are saying Brian Cushing just might be the best OLB there is.

The safety combination of Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison is top notch, and don’t be surprised if they both don’t end up All-Americans this year.

If this team struggles a bit it might be at the corner spot opposite of Sr. Cary Harris and in the middle of the defensive line. On offense they need to stop the scoring decline, and that means they need better production running the ball. Sanchez is the starter at QB, but if he doesn't make the wheels turn Mustain will step up and get his shot.

How do you beat USC?

The USC offense has been in decline since the Reggie Bush years, and even though it was USC, that was a once in 20 year type of squad they put together back then. If you stay close as Washington has done you get a chance to beat them in the fourth quarter.

The key to beating these guys is being able to run the ball, take time off the clock, and keep it close. The Trojans don't score as many points as they used to, and as we saw with Stanford they can lose when they make mistakes.

What Do I Think?

After the last couple of years you would figure we are about due for a victory against these guys, but it won't happen in the Coliseum this season. USC has the ability to shut down the Washington offense, and they probably only need around 2o points to win the game. I think the USC defense will be dominating this year.

Washington and USC always keep it close, if you look at the history of the series you won't see too many blowouts on either side, this year will be no exception.

Once again I have to give the nod to the Trojans who should be able to shut down the Husky offense.

The Monday Morning Wash

We are getting close to the opening of training camp which begins on August 3rd. No official word yet on if there are any academic, of behavioral casualties with the veteran players, but there are always a few things lingering out there academically, and behavior wise this time of year. Every school always has kids going through summer school scrambling for some extra credits, and some that run into problems off the field over the summer.

There is a possibility that incoming freshmen QB Dominique Blackman, RB Demitrius Bronson and DT Craig Noble may not be available this season, and could possibly delay their enrollment until January according to Ty Willingham.

Willingham points out that they did that with Devin Aguilar, and Anthony Boyles last season and it worked out fine.

Of the three the best bet at this point to make it in before school would be Craig Noble who has qualified GPA, and SAT wise, but only needs to pass the California HS exit exam. Craig could be here sometime in early August if he passes the test. Showing up late for camp pretty much guarantee's that he would redshirt this season unless he comes in and physically blows everyone away.

Molly Yanity of the PI has this snippet on Demetrius Bronson.

According to Bronson's trainer, Ryan Riess, Bronson is taking summer classes with the hope of getting to fall camp as soon as possible. However, if he can't get the results before mid-August, Bronson may end up enrolling in January.

From what we are hearing Jermaine Kearse, and Cody Bruns have been the most impressive freshman WR's during informal workouts since they arrived in campus. Chances are both will be in the rotation this fall and get plenty of playing time. Chicago walk on Sr. Charles Hawkins also figures to get some substantial playing time after continuing to impress. Things can change though once contact begins.

Coach Tyrone Willingham commented to Seattle Times columnist Bud Withers that linebacker E.J. Savannah may have more to worry about beyond his arm injury before he takes the field again. You never know exactly what anything means with Ty speak, but E.J. appears to be in the dog house again.

Ted Miller of ESPN put together a list of the ten best LB's in the conference.

It's not easy being a linebacker in the Pac-10 if you don't play at USC. From Lofa Tatupu, to Keith Rivers to, now, Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, the Trojans lead the charge at the position and receive the national plaudits.

Recruiting

Don Ruiz of the Tribune reports that Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham acknowledged Thursday that questions about his job security are causing high school recruits to delay commitments to the Huskies.

“We’re in good position,” Willingham said at Pacific-10 Conference media day. “But the key is, they’re waiting. They want to see how we do. Everybody’s talking to them about the situation with the head coach. They’re just waiting to see, that’s all. But the vibes are all there: They’re ready to go; they’re ready to jump.”

Season Tickets

Washington sold 43,516 season tickets in 2007, which represented a gain of nearly 1,000 over the previous season. The UW is currently sitting at 43,048 season tickets sold for the upcoming season. A healthy football program would sell close to 60,000 season tickets. It doesn't take much to get people back on the bandwagon, just a winning season, a bowl game, and the expectation of possible BCS contention in 2009.

In 2001, the program sold more than 63,000 season tickets, how the might have fallen.

Picture Day

Husky Picture Day has been set for August 9th! This annual FREE event will be held at Husky Stadium on August 9th from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. This is your chance to get on the field and get autographs from your favorite Husky Football players and coaches.

Ranking the Pac Ten by Positions - Defense

We continue our unit ratings of the Pac Ten Conference. The Pac Ten isn't really known for it's defense, the last great defensive teams in the conference were in the 1990's. The Steve Emtman led National Champion Huskies may have been one of the best defensive teams in the history of college football.

Since those days the conference has opened up. The West Coast formation, and now Spread offense variations have taken over from the days of the "I" formation, and student body right. The Pac Ten is a high scoring, free wheeling, pass the ball all over the field type of conference.

All that being said this may be the year that defense has a big say about who is going to win the conference. Oregon, USC, and Arizona State are all picked to be at the top of the conference this year, and one thing they have in common is the ability to slow the high speed offenses of the other conference teams down.

Team Defensive Ratings

Defense wins championships, and that is why USC will be most writers favorite to win the Pac Ten in 2008, and contend for a national championship despite declining offensive production.

The Trojans only concerns will be filling some holes at cornerback, and on the defensive line. Keep an eye on Taylor Mays who is a man among boys, and his backfield mate at safety Kevin Ellison. Oregon is going to be right behind these guys with what I think is one of the best defensive backfields in college football led by Patrick Chung.

Oregon State graduated a lot of their defense, but they have some quality experienced depth stepping in. California's LB's are second only to USC. Dennis Erickson at ASU is known for his offensive coaching prowess, but he also has fielded hard hitting defenses at all his stops.

Washington had one of the worst defenses in the country in 2007, but will improve significantly in 2008 with the addition of new DC Ed Donatell and the arrival of a lot more talent, experience, and depth.

Keep an eye on Stanford, the Cards one of the best young LB corps in the conference, and plenty of players who gained experience the hard way last year.

1. USC....The talented Trojans LB's give them a slight edge over the Ducks. This could end up being the nations best defense.
2. Oregon....The Ducks aren't that far behind the Trojans on this side of the ball. The cornerbacks could be the nations best, and while Patrick Chung lacks the flash of a Taylor Mays, or Kevin Ellison, he is just as effective.
3. Arizona State....The Sun Devils will continue to field a well coached and over achieving defense in 2008. Erickson teams know how to hit, go after the ball, and make adjustments that win football games.
4. California....The Bears are led by one of the top group of linebackers in the nation. They young and talented depth at DB. The question marks are up front, but they have the bodies to fill in.
5. Oregon State....One of the nations top defenses will be almost completely rebuilt in 2008 and still be potentially pretty good. The questions are mostly at LB. The DL is being rebuilt by some kids that played quite a bit last year.
6. Washington....The Huskies should be significantly improved with a new DC, and an influx of some good young talent. Expect a lot of growth from this unit in 2008 even though there are questions on the interior of the defensive line.
7. Stanford....Harbaugh is getting some good traction going. The Card's hung with a lot of teams early in the season, and as depth improves they are going to start winning some games.
8. UCLA....The Bruins have some holes to fill here and there. As usual they have great young talent on the roster, plus a very good DC, but there will be some growing pains.
9. WSU...The Cougs are installing a 4-3 defense that will attack and stack the box in order to stop the run. I think they will be pretty weak on the inside.
10. Arizona....Not a great year to have to rebuild the defense without many spare parts when you are going to sporting one of the more high powered offensive teams in the the West.

Defensive Line

Why are we picking USC in the top slot? They have some holes to fill but they do it with some of the best young players in the country. I don't see any Outland Trophy winners in this group as most of the Pac Ten is rebuilding the interiors of their lines, but there will be some very good DE's in the league this year led by Washington's Daniel Teo Nesheim, and Oregon's Nick Reed.

1. USC....DT Fili Moala and DE Everson Griffen return with the other spots being filled by the usual consumate HS All Americans. Griffen is a guy to watch because he had an excellent spring.
2. Oregon....DE Nick Reed is probably the best DE on the coast this year. He isn't fancy, but he gets the job done. On the inside the Ducks are filling some holes in the depth with JC's.
3. Arizona State...David Smith, Dexter Davis, Luis Vasquez have the experience and talent to be one of the better lines on the coast. Davis is one of the top DE's on the coast this year.
4. Oregon State....DE's Victor Butler and Slade Norris, played a ton last season. Pernnell Booth and a newcomer will man the inside. Keep an eye on Simi Kuli who could be a stud.
5. UCLA....Brigham Harwell is great when healthy. Brian Price is a rising star, but the Bruins are thinner than you like to see outside. Incoming freshmen Damien Holmes and Datone Jones probably will be in the rotation right away out on the ends.
6. California....The Bears are switching to a 3-4 to take advantage of one of the better LB corps in the country. Tyson Alualu and Rulon Davis will man the ends, and Derrick Hill, and Mika Kane will rotate inside. Keep an eye on DE Cameron Jordan who is ready to break out.
7. Stanford...The Cardinal returns five letterman to the defensive line, led by a couple of All-Pac-10 candidates, senior DE Pannel Egboh and junior DT Ekom Udofia. Egboh is just a stud and will be a very high draft pick.
8. Washington....Daniel Teo Nesheim could be an all league player at DE this year, but he will be flanked by three new starters led by DT Cameron Elisara, and DE Darion Jones. The Huskies actually could turn to a true freshmen to play beside Elisara at DT. The massive Fr Alameda Ta'amu could be the answer, but playing a freshman is a reach.
9. Washington State....Andy Mattingly moves to DE from LB and will be flanked by Kevin Kooymann. A’I Ahmu and Matt Eichelberger take over the middle. No word yet on DT Andy Roof who was suspended for assault charges, and alcohol violations. Keep an eye on Kooyman who could surprise.
10. Arizona....DE Jonathan Turner has been suspended indefinitely, no word on when he will return. Too bad because even though he is an underachiever he was the only kid with experience on this line. The interior is just a mess as the Wildcats struggle to fill the holes with position changes.

Linebacker

The Pac Ten is loaded at linebacker this season. Cal, and USC sport arguably the two best LB crews in the country. UW, Oregon, UCLA, and ASU aren't that far behind. Keep an eye on the young group at Stanford, those highly recruited kids can really play and may surprise in 2008.

1. USC....Rey Malauga and Bryan Cushing are both potential first round draft picks, and most feel the Trojans have the most talented group of LB's in the country.
2. California....Zach Follett, Anthony Felder, and Worrell Williams make up one of the better trio's in the country. In most years you would rate this group #1 in the conference.
3. Washington....EJ Savannah, Mason Foster, and Donald Butler are a solid crew of LB's. The Huskies also have the luxury of experienced depth behind them. Trenton Tuiasosopo is starter 1-B in the middle, and will be a plus when the Huskies rotate into a 3-4 at times.
4. Stanford...Clinton Snyder, Chike Amajoyi, Pat Maynor are the the strength of a young and improving Cardinal defense. This is a real promising group of young players.
5. Oregon....Kevin Garrett, John Bacon, and Casey Matthews are solid on the outside, but the questions are in the middle.
6. UCLA....Kyle Bosworth, Reggie Carter, and John Hale make up a solid group at LB.
7. Arizona State....Four players with starting experience return, headed by junior Travis Goethel at strongside. Gerald Munn's, Ryan McFoy, Mike Nixon, and Morris Wooten will all compete for spots.
8. Oregon State....Isaiah Cook, Bryant Cornell and Keaton Kristick have some big shoes to fill as OSU completely rebuilds one of 2007's best defenses.
9. Washington State....The Coug's will start three seniors, Greg Trent, Kendrick Dunn, and Cory Evans, nothing special going on here as Andy Mattlingly moves to DE.
10. Arizona....Ronnie Palmer is the lone returning starter. He will be flanked by Adrian McCovy and Xavier Kelley.

Defensive Backs

How many first round picks are you going to have out of this group? Mays, Ellison, Chung, Byrd, and Thurmond will all get that type of consideration in the spring.

1. Oregon....Corners Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond team with Safety Patrick Chung to lead one of the nations best defensive backfields.
2. USC....Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison are the two best safeties in the country and likely first round draft picks. Cary Harris will help the Trojans rebuild at CB.
3. Oregon State....Seven players who started a game last season are back in the secondary. The best of a strong group is 5-11, 182-pound CB Brandon Hughes. S Al Afalava, one of the most violent hitters in the Pac-10.
4. Arizona State....CB Omar Bolden is expected to have a breakthrough year as he develops into a lockdown threat. S Troy Nolan led ASU's tough defensive backfield in 2007.
5. California....The Bears return nine defensive backs who lettered last season. Syd’Quan Thompson, and Chris Conte will be at CB. Marcus Ezeff and Bernard Hicks will be the safeties.
6. Washington....The Huskies finally have some depth, and talent to work with at DB. Results looked pretty good this spring. A very physical Quinton Richardson and Sr Byron Davenport will start at CB. The Huskies are deep and talented at safety with Nate Williams, and Victor Aieywa emerging this spring. A very solid Jason Wells returns after suffering a knee injury early in 2007 to try to regain his starting job.
7. Stanford....The secondary returns seven lettermen from a year ago, including four defensive backs with starting experience. Junior Kris Evans and senior Wopamo Osaisai split time at one cornerback spot. Juniors Bo McNally and Austin Yancy are back at safety after starting all 12 games a year ago. This is a group that has some serious upside.
8. UCLA....Alterraun Verner has potential lockdown talent at CB, but the Bruins are rebuilding back here. Keep an eye on CB Courtney Viney, he might end up being a real good one. Brett Lockett, and Aaron Ware take over at safety.
9. Arizona....Marquis Hundley and Devin Ross take over at CB. Nate Ness and Cam Nelson are returning starters at safety. This isn't a marquee group at this point.
10. Washington State....The Coug's have problems with talent, and depth in the secondary. Xavier Hicks, and Chima Nwachukwu are the projected safeties. Alfonso Jackson and Markus Dawes will be the CB's. Nothing but shallow unproven depth behind the starters.

Pac Ten Media Day

Back in the day there used to be something called the Pac Ten Skywriters Tour. All the writers from the major papers on the West coast that covered college football used to go on a junket to visit all the schools in the conference to interview the coaches and take in a practice at the expense of the conference. It was quite the cocktail party, and it did a great job promoting the conference to kick off the season.

The following article is written by current Seattle Times "WSU" beat writer Bud Withers when he was working for the Seattle PI back in 1992. If you are too young to remember the Skywriters tour this piece gives you a great look at that slice of Pac Ten history.

Skywriters was born in 1961 to drum up interest in football back in the days of the five-school Athletic Association of Western Universities. Befitting the times, the conference paid for hotels and travel and the schools supplied the eats. The agreement was tidy: Eat our food, drink our drinks, fly our planes, just write nice things about us. The participants did.

The skywriters tour ended back in 1992, and the modern day watered down version is something called Pac Ten Media Day. The head coaches fly into LA with one of their top players and members of the media get to listen to a series of very boring press conferences during the morning followed by a buffet.

Gone are the days when the media used to party with the coaches to kick off the season. Back home the fans eagerly read every morsel written in the newspapers about their favorite teams since the media outlets were so limited back then in comparison to today.

As in the old days the press votes on how they think the standings will be at the end of the season and surprise, USC once again has been selected as the pre season favorite to win it all followed by Arizona State, Oregon, and California.

What is surprising to me was the predicted 5th place finish of UCLA. I think that one was a tip of the hat to the coaching staff Rick Neuheisel has put together rather than the holes he will have to fill in Westwood. The poll always had, and still has a strong California lean since four of the schools from the conference hail from the Golden State.

I have no idea who had the audacity to vote California as #1, but we know for sure it wasn't Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury. Cal has some good talent, but I think they are closer to Washington than they are Oregon, USC, and Arizona State.

Oregon at #3 is a little low when you realize how much talent that squad has. The Duck running backs, and defensive backfield are pretty scary.

ASU doesn't have as much talent, but they do have Dennis Erickson, and his game day coaching and adjustments make up for a lot of inadequacies such as a very average offensive line.

1. USC (38 first-place votes), 389 total points
2. Arizona State, 330
3. Oregon, 295
4. Cal (1), 274
5. UCLA, 204
6. Oregon State, 192
7. Arizona, 185
8. Washintgton, 139
9. Stanford, 76
10. Washington State, 61

Here is a snippet from Ty Willingham reported by Bob Condotta.

Willingham was also asked about the team's close losses last season and what UW can do to prevent them. He said the coaches looked at three things --- the team's conditioning, coaching, and the team's mentality in those situations. He said the Huskies "beefed up our conditioning a little bit'' to make sure that isn't a factor; will make sure that the coaches "clearly understand those situations, making sure that our guys understand how to handle those situations''; and will work on making sure the players look at those situations with a "glass half-full'' mentality and "that they are looking for great things to happen in those situations.''

He might have added that he fired possibly his two best friends in football, TE/ST Coach Bob Simmons, and DC Kent Baer during the off season to bring in some new blood to eliminate some of the mistakes that haunted the previous three squads.

Oregon State Preview

The Beavers are coming off a pretty impressive season where they finished 9-4 overall and 3rd in the Pac 10 at 6-3 with a strong finish. There is once again hope that this rebuilding version of the team can have another winning season under head coach Mike Riley, who is 47-38 in seven seasons at Oregon State.

Jake Locker was knocked out of the game and taken to the hospital the last time these two teams played. Despite that the Huskies were driving for the win deep in Beaver territory in the last minute only to squander the opportunity by not running hard inside the tackles. There won't be a lot of love between these two teams when they meet in Seattle this year.

The Beavers lost 10 starters from last season’s squad, and will only have 3 starters coming back on defense.

With seven starters returning on offense, this unit could be able to put up some impressive numbers this season. Lyle Moevao, and or Sean Canfield need to markedly improve for that to become a reality.

Whoever ends up at quarterback should have no trouble finding targets as Sammie Stroughter is a big time player and the team has young talent in sophomores Darrell Catchings and James Rodgers, and solid veteran talent in seniors Shane Morales and Chris Johnson.

The Beavers are high on redshirt freshman Ryan McCants at running back, but have some solid back up options in junior college transfer Jeremy Francis and true freshman Jaquizz Rodgers.

There are three returning starters on the line and on paper the team only needs to find a center and right tackle. The key is the return to health of guard Jeremy Perry , the Beavers are thin on the OL, and his healthy return will boost the unit.

Oregon State produced the best rush defense in the country last season, but all four starters on the line are gone. The team hopes that because it used a deep rotation that they will be able to produce another solid unit here. It looks like pass rushing specialist Victor Butler will get a shot at one of the end spots along with junior college transfer Simi Kuli. Pernnell Booth if healthy could be a solid defensive tackle, but missed most of spring with an ankle injury. Kuli is still waiting for word on his eligibility, but the Beaver coaches are optimistic.

All three starting linebackers are gone, but Bryant Cornell and Keaton Kristick should step in nicely, and there are a number of others vying for the other starting spot. This is probably the biggest question mark on the defense, can the new LB's make an impact in 2008?

The secondary should improve on its 72nd ranked pass defense, as it returns three starters including both corners from last season in Brandon Hughes and Keenan Lewis. Al Afalava should be a force at safety and it looks like senior Bryan Payton will get a shot at holding onto the other starting spot. It will be interesting to see how the Huskies greet Aflalava in 2008 after the cheap shot he took on Jake Locker last season.

OSU is also rebuilding their special teams in 2008. Graduated is Alex Serna who tormented the Huskies over the past four years.

How do you beat Oregon State?

Teams should be able to run on the Beavers better in 2008 since they are rebuilding their front seven. The defensive backfield provides good run support, but they don't exactly resemble a lockdown group. The linebackers are raw, and unproven.

Offensively the lack of talent at the QB position, and the depth of the OL could hold back a potentially explosive offense led by some great skill players at WR, and RB. Opposing teams will try to force the OSU QB's into mistakes that score points.

OSU's defense was a great equalizer in past years because it made up for less than stellar play at QB, this year the Beavers won't have that luxury.

What do I think?

We have these guys at home, and we should be able to beat them in 2008. If you want to get to the next level you need to expect to beat Oregon State. Just because you expect it doesn't mean it will happen. People keep trying to downgrade the Beavers each season, and the excellent coaching staff keeps coming up with ways to win.

This should be a pretty close game, and what Washington needs to do is show they can put some points up on the Beavers and make them play catch up for a change.

Whatever the outcome of the game bet on the Beavers to be bowling somehwere again in 2008.

Arizona Preview

It took awhile for Arizona’s offense to start moving under OC Sonny Dykes, but by the end of the year things started to click. During the Wildcats’ three game winning streak in late October through November, the offense hung 48 points on Washington, 34 on UCLA and 34 on Oregon.

Washington's loss to Arizona last year was just sickening, and it killed any chance of the Huskies attaining the goal of a bowl game. Washington was the better team for most of the day, but in the fourth quarter Arizona rallied and scored at will against an inept Husky defense.

With ten starters returning on offense, this is a team that could put up a whole lot of points in a hurry. Tuitama has just about all of his weapons returning. Tight end Rob Gronkowski, H-back Delashuan Dean and receivers Mike Thomas and Terrell Turner give Tuitama plenty of quality receivers. However, the addition of junior college transfer Derick Barkum could be the long threat the team needs. Barkum has terrific speed, but he needs to prove that he can catch the ball in camp before he will see much time on the field this fall.

With the return of four of the five starting offensive linemen, Arizona hopes the running game will improve a bit. Even though the team does not want to run too often, it is still nice to rush for more than 76.8 yards per game. Nic Grigsby could be the answer after a decent freshman campaign, but he needs to improve in 2008 for the Wildcats to be a credible running threat.

The Wildcat defense needs to fill some major holes, only 3 starters return to a defense that ranked 53rd a year ago. This team’s front 7 is fairly small and could have trouble stopping the run, but might be able to use its speed to get after the opposing team’s quarterback.

Former fullback Earl Mitchell will make an attempt at moving to defensive tackle, but is only 265lbs. Ronnie Palmer is the only returning linebacker who had 83 tackles last season, but will need to play a much bigger role this year. It looks like D’Aundre Reed and Adrian McCovy will be the other starters here.

The team does return both starting safeties in Cam Nelson and Nate Ness, with Ness being the guy who could end up being special as he had 5 interceptions last season, and didn’t even start till halfway through the season.

The most glaring need is at cornerback where all world Antoine Cason and Wilrey Fontenot have graduated. In their place will be Marquis Hundley, Robert Golden and Devin Ross who have talent, but certainly lack in experience.

Arizona has to rebuild it's defensive line in 2008. Just about everybody who saw any significant playing time last year was a senior. Jonathan Turner has some experience at end, but sophomores Ricky Elmore, Lolomana Mikaele, Brooks Reed and D’Aundre Reed need to step up and at least provide some depth. To help address the problem former H-back Earl Mitchell and linebacker Apaiata Tuilhalamaka will see time on the defensive line.

How do you beat Arizona?

You don't let Willie Tuitama beat you through he air like Washington did in 2007. The Huskies made Willie who they had beaten up the previous two years look like a Heisman Trophy candidate last season.

Arizona is this years "Jekyll and Hyde" team. The Wildcats boast one of the conferences most explosive offenses, and probably its worst defense. You beat Arizona by exploiting their defense with long time eating drives that result in TD's effectively keeping the ball out of Tuitama's hands.

Despite the problems on defense Arizona should win more than they lose this season thanks to an easy conference schedule. That should be enough to save Stoops job. The Arizona program was in shambles when he took over, and it seems they are finally on the right track.

What do I think?

I think this one will be a toss up on the road, and a must win for both teams. Stoops saved his job last year by beating Washington on the road, and Willingham picked up a big nail in the coffin for another close fourth quarter loss. Former DC Kent Baer went into virtual hiding after this game, and was fired soon after the season concluded.

I have to go with Washington in this one because we should beat these guys on most given days if our offense develops a strong running game behind that experienced OL. I think the Wildcat offense will be great, but they are going to have their work cut out on defense. Control the ball, build a lead, and keep it away from Tuitama, especially in the second half and you win the game.

The Evil "Notre Dame" Empire Strikes Back

The girls over at the Irish Band of Sisters Blog put together a little rebuttal to the Notre Dame preview I wrote this week, plus the extra comments I included to fill in anything the Irish faithful felt was missing. They open up with a couple of comments directed at your's truly.

Delusional?

Dropped on my head as a baby?

Little guy?

You must have forgotten eating the lead paint off my crib rails.

I am going to post the base of the article and include my comments in red. I have to tell you there isn't a lot of substance here, it is just the usual BS that we are Notre Dame, and because we are Notre Dame we are going to beat you because your Washington. Jake Locker can't even spell Tim Tebow let alone put on a Tim Tebow demonstration on the football field.

You have to like a guy that is loyal to his favorite team, but some of the comments, especially the one's about Oregon State, and Arizona lead you to believe he doesn't really know college football outside of South Bend, and it is very doubtful if he has ever even been to South Bend.

You either love Notre Dame, or hate Notre Dame. Once again here are some more good reasons to continue rooting against Notre Dame each week as the losses keep adding up.

Irish Rebuttal From Band of Brothers

There were a lot of responses across the ND message boards these past two days about John Berkowitz's preview of the Notre Dame - Washington game on Oct. 25. Although John put a lot of time and effort into his piece, I'm going to put my spin on this hotly contested debate.

Ok little fella, yes Notre Dame has a very strong contingent of Subway Alumni. Yes some probably have not had the chance to take in a glorious fall, football weekend in South Bend, but that doesn't mean they do not know a thing or two about football, especially Notre Dame Football! Also, Notre Dame is more like Northcentral Indiana, not Northwestern as he proclaims. Plus if he thinks the Huskies can beat BYU, then he's either, A) Dropped as a baby, or B) Very delusional.

(Since our family owns a summer home about twelve miles directly North of the Golden Dome we have a pretty good idea on the location. The Husky blog received around 40 posts from BYU fans who said I was spot on with the preview of their team, and quite few who felt UW would win the game. )

I definitely can think of a few teams that will be so-called "weaker" teams than Notre Dame that's on Washington's schedule. Arizona and Oregon State will definitely be down this season. Oh yeah, didn't the Irish beat UCLA last season? But what do I know, right?

(I don't think the Irish can beat UCLA, Oregon State, or Arizona in 2008. I'm not even sure if Washington will beat Arizona, and Oregon State. Arizona is actually up this season with one of the best offenses in college football. They do sport a defense that is almost as potentially bad as the Irish's. The Beavers have some holes to fill on defense, but they actually have the potential players to fill those holes, I wouldn't take them for granted with the players they have at WR, and RB. The point is the Irish will not be able to score enough points to stay up with the majority of Pac Ten teams in 2008.)

John's take is that Washington is this scoring machine. Yes the Huskies averaged over 4 touchdowns a game last season, while the Irish managed only a tad over 16 points per contest. On the flip side, Washington's defense was and IS a lot worse than the Irish! Kent Baer's stellar defense, which got him fired, gave up 31.6 points a game. ND's wasn't much better at 28.8, however a resurgence of talented Freshmen and Sophomores will be ready to make 2008 a season to remember. Oh yeah a guy named Tenuta should help too!

(You answered the question yourself, the Huskies averaged over 4 TD's per game against the toughest schedule in the country, and the Irish only averaged 16 points per game with a schedule that included such cupcakes as Duke, Stanford, Navy, and Air Force. Was Army, and Vanderbilt busy? Tenuta and Weis on the same staff....would love to be a fly on the walls during the meetings and at the all you can eat buffet. The chances those two inflated ego's are going to get along are pretty slim. Notre Dame's defense stunk in 2007, and there isn't much to indicate other than a new DC that they will be that much better in 2008. You lost your top DB this summer, and the national media thinks that your defensive line will regress this season, but what do they know, they just cover college football every week for a living. If 6-6 is a season to remember than the standards in South Bend are slipping. Make no mistake the Washington defense was the worst in our schools history in 2007, but there is reason for optimism that we can improve from absolutely terrible to simply average in 2008.)

The middle portion of his article is his little rant about Washington's offense and how unstoppable they are going to be. Fair enough, Notre Dame had a tough time of stopping the run. However, the Irish are going to be well tested before they face the Huskies. Also, Husky Stadium hasn't been intimidating to the Irish before, so I don't think it will be this time around too!

(Well tested, how about beaten down, and limping. This isn't your mother's Irish, this is a team full of doubt that had it's nose rubbed into the ground almost every weekend last season. They didn't lose close, they lost ugly, and when they lost ugly they figured out new ways to even look uglier the next week. You have to admit that game day coaching was pretty suspect in 2007, but hey, you rebounded against Duke, and Stanford.)

Lastly we'll go over John's infatuation with Husky QB Jake Locker:

I'll give John some credit that Locker is a good mobile QB. He did average 82 yards on the ground last season. In one of his responses to an Irish fan, John compares Locker to Florida's Tim Tebow. Yes, Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow. Ok, ok, ok, let's stop the man love and hippie dreams right there. Locker is no Tim Tebow. Locker has to be a good passer to be in the same breathe as Tebow. In fact, Locker is statistically the worst passer out of the O'Brien Preseason Watch List. Jake is one of two passers to have thrown more interceptions (14) than touchdowns (15). Wake Forest's Riley Skinner was the other QB in that category (12 TDs/13 Ints). Locker, however, has the worst completion percentage out of the entire group at 47.2%. There was only one other QB below 50%, Illinois' Juice Williams (48.4%).

(Ok, I admit it, most of the Northwest has a man crush on Jake Locker, and so do I. Jake had problems with accuracy in 2007, most first year starters do. He also had receivers that simply didn't hang on to the ball very well in 2007. We would usually count around six drops per game. that really skewed his average. Based on what we witnessed this spring, and over the summer Locker is improved, plus he will be throwing to an unsung bunch of young receivers who just may be the most talented group Washington has had in about twenty years.)

If you were wondering, Jimmy Clausen had 7 touchdowns to 6 interceptions, and completed 56.3% of his passes last season. Also I've heard plenty of folks complain about Clausen's age saying he wasn't a true freshman because he was 20, blah, blah, blah! Well I hate to break it to Washington folks, but Locker wasn't a true Freshman either. This will be his third year in Seattle, as he redshirted as a freshman. So technically Locker had the better advantage of being in practices of a entire season of the college game under his belt.

(I wasn't impressed with Clausen, in fact nobody was impressed with Clausen last year. He didn't make a good impression either when he reported in to Notre Dame camp last summer either. I think the kid has good potential, but he is going to spend a lot of time on his back again this season lining up behind the weak Irish offensive line. Everyone expects him to improve, and he better because 6-6 is a lofty expectation for this bunch of pretenders. Hey Jimmy the phone is ringing, and Damiel Teo Nesheim is on the line, and in your head.)

Finally, the media think the Irish will do better than John's perception of 6-6. In fact I've seen plenty of definite 7 or 8 win predictions. Just look at the video below to prove my point. There will always be doubters and haters of the Irish; but whatever way you slice it, Notre Dame has never lost to Washington and they'll definitely not let this happen this year either! I guess John and Husky nation just can't handle the truth!

(Anyone can pull a pro Irish video report out of their rear end. The season will be decided on the field, not by pre season media predictions. It is true Notre Dame has never lost to Washington, but the streak will end this year in Seattle. It is Irish fans that can't handle the truth, and the truth is your team isn't very good and is going to be stomped into the field turf by Jake Locker and company. Bring plenty of holy water, rosary beads, and bandages, you are going to need them.)

Huskies Secure First Verbal

Highly touted Bellflower, California QB Keith Price announced his intentions to attend Washington today becoming the first member of the 2009 Husky recruiting class.

Price is one of those kids who came in and lit up camps up and down the coast this summer to move up the ladder past higher rated recruits. Price is a mobile QB who will fit in well with what the Huskies are doing in the future. Price had offers from Nevada, and Utah, but other Pac Ten teams were also considering making offers. Scout considers Price a three star recruit, and the #66 QB in the country. Based on how well he did in camps this summer that rating could go up a bit because he seems to be peaking at about the right time.

Pac Ten Alley

Well as predicted the Notre Dame fans who read my preview over on Bleacher Report were less than impressed, in fact one of them thinks I should be permanently banned. Just last week I predicted Washington would beat BYU and over 40 Cougar fans thought my pre season analysis of their team was spot on. That didn't mean they didn't hope, or predict a different outcome which is fine.

Notre Dame fans are a completely different breed. The majority of them never attended school there, never have seen a game in person, and even haven't set a foot on the storied campus in Northwestern Indiana. Subway alumni as they call them have no problem defending their favorite school's football team even if they tend to ignore the fact that the current team is rebuilding. You have to admire the loyalty, and it is a big reason why the Irish have their own national TV contract on NBC.

One point of criticism about the article was fair, and that was the fact that I gave little information except for Jake Locker on why I expected Washington to beat the Irish. So I posted a reply which clears that up and hear it is. Since the blog is being nationally syndicated I am going to have to be more thorough, and not take for granted that everyone read the articles leading up to the next one.

Bleacher Report Response

When I wrote the article I expected this reaction from some of the Notre Dame fans. What can I say, I call it like I see it, and I think Notre Dame, Stanford, and Washington State are the weakest teams Washington plays this year.

I pick Washington because they simply have the ability to put up a lot of points on Notre Dame. On the flip side I don't see the Notre Dame offense being able to keep up. It isn't so much an improved UW defense, it is simply lack of faith in the Irish offense. I watched almost every ND game last year, and was just surprised by how bad they were. I know they will improve in 2008, but they have a lot of work to do to catch UW who actually had a good enough offense to win last year if there defense hadn't have been so horrible.

Another item is this preview was written about Notre Dame, not Washington per se, so if you want to read about what I think about the 2008 Washington Huskies visit the blog at http://uwfootball.blogspot.com/ and you will be able to find quite a bit of balanced information in articles written over the past six weeks. Think of this article as part of a continuing series that has been going on for six weeks. this is just the Notre Dame chapter. When it shows up unattached on Bleacher Report I can understand how it may not stand completely on it's own.

As far as Notre Dame in 2008 goes I haven't really read anything different out there in the national media that says anything different than what I am saying. Most people think that a 6-6 finish is possible, but the best years of this program are ahead of them.

I read some interesting posts here regarding the recruiting of Weis, and he has had nothing but extremely highly ranked classes since he arrived at Notre Dame. Recruiting hype however is very subjective, and you really can't figure out how a class will pan out for 3-4 years. Take Tom Lemming for example, everyone knows he is a ND homer who over rates every player ND recruits. Add an extra star, deserved, or undeserved for every player ND recruits.

Rick Neuhesiel had some very highly ranked classes at Washington, and in retrospect it meant nothing because his later classes simply didn't pan out and perform to expectations for various reasons. The current 5th year seniors at Washington were recruited by Neuheisel, and signed by Gilbertson. That class was highly rated and for most intents and purposes it has been a bust. Let me give you another example, Paul Hackett's tenure at USC, you Irish fans remember him? He had highly ranked classes that lacked balance, didn't perform, and he lost his job.

Weis has recruited well on paper, but he has to prove he can win with his own athletes. Remember he did quite well with the kids he inherited, and not so good with his own guys last year. Whose fault was it that he didn't have a QB ready to go after Brady Quinn?
Recruiting is much more than rankings from Scout/Rivals. It has to do with evaluation, and picking the right type of players to fit your system. That is why a team like Boise State went undefeated a couple of years ago and whipped Oklahoma in a BCS bowl game. How many of those BSU players were recruited by the Pac Ten?

As far as this years game goes Washington is going to run all over Notre Dame in Husky Stadium. UW has an impressive veteran offensive line, and that line is deep, and experienced. The Huskies also have one of the best fullbacks in the nation in Paul Homer, this kid is devastating blocker. The skill players are unproven, but they are extremely talented. RB/WR Chris Polk is being called the next Reggie Bush, and RB Brandon Johnson is a very good inside type of runner who racked up 100 yards in the second half against Cal last year when Rankin was sidelined by an injury.

UW is also rolling out a couple of TE's who will play for the first time in 2008 who were rated among the very best in the country coming out of HS. Remember this name, Kavario Middleton, the kid is an animal, and he should be seasoned to make an impact by the time the Irish roll into town.

Let's talk about Jake Locker for a second, this kid is for real and is built like an absolute horse. He is incredibly mobile. His accuracy, and general comfort running the offense has dramatically improved since last Fall. When running the ball he hits like a linebacker, and his speed would allow him to start at RB for most BCS teams. You can't control him, you can only hope to contain him. With the added touch and accuracy he is going to be load to handle for any team he plays against. Locker is one of those rare players who can take over a game, and raise the level of everyone around him.

Finally lets talk about the Husky defense. Do you Irish fans remember a guy named Kent Baer? Were you impressed buy him at all? Probably not, and at Washington he was villifed by not only the fans, but by former players, and coaches. He was simply a bad fit who also lacked the depth and talent to compete in the Pac Ten.

The new DC is former Falcon DC Ed Donatell, and he represents a significant upgrade. He is also arriving at the right time because for the first time since Willingham has arrived UW has depth and talent in the defensive backfield. UW also has one of the better linebacking groups in the conference. The Huskies are solid at DE, and Daniel Teo Nesheim has the potential to leave early for the draft and be first team All Pac Ten. Washington like almost every team in the Pac Ten is rebuilding on the interior, and if you want to pick an Achilles heal for the defense it will be here unless a couple if highly touted recruits can play right away.

Pac Ten Alley

Let's take a walk down the coast to see what the neighbors are up to.

Oregon lost the battle of the helmet clash to Texas A$M

ESPN is having a "Helmet Clash" competition and the Oregon vs Texas A&M round will end today. Oregon leads by a small margin at the time of this post.

California judge lifts the injunction, but the tree sitters winn continue to appeal.

After 19 months and more than 40,000 pages of documentation, a judge ruled to lift the injunction preventing the construction of an athletic center near UC Berkeley's Memorial Stadium. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara J. Miller ruled Tuesday that the injunction will be lifted in seven days, when the judgment officially takes effect. The university has battled lawsuits brought by the city of Berkeley, the Panoramic Hill Association and the California Oak Foundation over the construction of the center and the removal of 44 trees at the proposed construction site since December 2006. Miller postponed the dissolution of the injunction for a week in order to give the petitioners time to file an appeal. The petitioners can ask an appeals court to issue another injunction to halt construction. Not all of the parties may choose to appeal.

Oregon State will be rebuilding it's special teams in 2008.

Heading into 2008, the Beavers lose Serna, lose long snapper Joel Cohen, and still do not have a proven punter on the roster. We redshirted Kyle Harper last year, well, I thought we did, until I looked at this year's media guide and didn't even see HIM on the roster. According to our "two-deep" depth chart, Sean Sehnem is the punter. But there's another guy, Johnny Hekker, who's also listed as a punter. So we'll see how that goes.

Even USC is being shafted by it's Fox regional sports network.

Let's see if we can get this straight: Fox Sports cancels the Trojan Rewind show (30 minutes) and replaces it with a new Monday night show that will devote one-third of its hour to USC (20 minutes). That's progress? And we didn't even include the Pete Carroll press conference show that was also canceled.

ASU wins the Pac Ten in simulation.

IGN writer Bill Barnwell conducted a simulation and analysis of the 2008 football season, conducted on EA Sports NCAA Football '09. It looks like ASU wins the Pac-10, apparently beating USC in the process and clinching a Rose Bowl Berth. Apparently, we lost to Oregon State at Corvallis in the simulation and finished the season ranked 5th. Since I haven't actually manned up and paid the $59.99 plus tax for the game, this is the closest I'm getting to the action right now. Interestingly enough, preseason favorite Georgia goes 7-5 on the year. This would be quite the season if it were actually to happen, even though the Rose Bowl doesn't turn out as we'd all hope.

UCLA talks about the proliferation of sports blogs in the newspapers and how they fail to interact with the fan blogs.

Achilles gave us a lot to think about in his post on blogs and traditional media coverage of UCLA. I agree with many of his points concerning how the newspapers in Southern California still hasn’t figured what to do with blogs. They – as in the main beat writers – who cover UCLA and other major athletic program in town still haven’t shown the ability to understand college football/basketball blogsphere and how to engage it both indirectly (by interacting with us) or directly (by launching their own effective blogs).

The WSU blog contribute's 133 reasons to love the Pac Ten.

With summer flying by and only 40 DAYS until the Cougs and the rest of the Pac-10 kick of the 2008 season, I thought we’d take a peek at how the conference schedules look this year. There are a couple things that jump out at me when I look at the 2008 Pac-10 schedule. First is that the non-conference schedules are looking tougher than in years past. That’s not to say that every school’s schedule is loaded with tough matchups – there are still some real softies on tap – but overall, I’d say the Pac-10 has stepped up the level of non-con competition.

Since nobody is writing about the Stanford football team lets's check in with the band since they are off double secret probation.

Spring Band is the LSJUMB's mercenary faction. Spring Band has no sporting event obligations, so it is free to wander around the Bay Area, playing for birthday parties, weddings, wakes, gun shows, and more. Fine weather (practically guaranteed) and Fun (guaranteed, or your money and Open Bar back) abound. It's an exciting time to be playing an instrument in tacky, awful clothing. We never know what's going to happen. For every game of downhill bowling outside a birthday party in San Francisco (true story), there is getting locked inside the fence during the lunch hour at a construction site (also a true story).

The classy team at the BYU Blog breaks down the Quarterbacks.

Hall returns for his junior season. Hall started in every game last year, and only missed time during a couple of short plays due to injury besides stepping out when games were well in hand. On the year, Hall had 298 completions on 496 attempts, a 60% completion rate. 62% or higher seems to be the real standard of excellence at BYU in terms of accuracy, so Hall has some room to improve. Those passes were good for 3,848 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on the year, the #10 season all time for a BYU quarterback.

The Irish Band of Brothers is going to rebut yesterdays preview Notre Dame preview.

Tomorrow I'll post my rebuttal to this piece on why and how the Irish will prevail over the Huskies. So without further adieu, here's John's preview of the Washington game seen through the eyes from a delusional Husky fan. Sorry John I had to put that in there.

Hey, only my wife can call me delusional ;)

Notre Dame Preview

Washington has never beaten Notre Dame in a series that stretches back to the late 1940's. The series was renewed the last decade after the retirement and death of former Notre Dame AD legend Moose Krause. Krause swore that the Irish would never again schedule Washington after the Huskies paid off the refs to keep it close in a game at Husky Stadium back in 1949.

Time heals most things, and the Irish and the Huskies are now starting to play each other regularly. Since the series was renewed Washington has been outclassed by the Irish at home, and on the road. This year may prove to be different since both programs are trying to rebuild from one of the lowest points in their storied histories. UW just may have the edge going into this one.

Most Notre Dame fans blame Tyrone Willingham for most of the teams current problems. It is no secret that Ty didn't recruit that well at Notre Dame. It is also no secret that Weis did pretty well his first two years using Ty's players. The Irish fans are not enamored with Weis anymore after last years pathetic season. Notre Dame demands victories, and BCS bowl games every single year, there is little margin for error in South Bend.

Notre Dame is coming off one of its worst seasons in history and Coach Weis is on the very hot seat after being sainted his first two years as head man at ND. It’s hard to imagine the Irish repeating last year’s 3-9 campaign in 2008. They were blown out in their first five games, crushed 38-0 by rival USC, and lost to both Air Force and Navy, but 6-6 in 2008 is a more likely scenario.

The Irish, like Washington figure to field a better team in 2008. A much better team, in fact because of all the talent Weis has been stockpiling. Like Washington, the strength of the team is in the last two recruiting classes, so there is a major maturation process going on. Young talent aside, there are still major questions about this team on defense, along both lines, and most importantly from a psychological standpoint. This Irish have to figure who they are, what they represent, and how they are going to get there.

The Notre Dame offense was so bad last year that the defense's troubles sometimes escaped notice, but the fact is, this is a very average defensive unit. Notre Dame gave up 30 or more points in each of its first five games, then let Navy score 46 and Air Force score 41 before finding a groove in its last two games, but those games were against lowly Duke and Stanford.

The lone bright spot for the defense appeared to be in the secondary where three starters were supposed to return. Safety David Bruton had a great junior campaign and will be looked to as a leader during his senior season. The pass defense was ok last year and corners Terrail Lambert and Darrin Walls seemed adequate enough to handle just most receivers.

Walls unfortuantley left the team this summer to head home to deal with undisclosed personel problems which means the Irish defense is going to have another big hole to fill in 2008. Jr. Rasheon McNeil will try to fill the void left by Walls at CB.

Without tackle Trevor Laws, who is now in the NFL, the defensive line could be even worse than they were last season when they gave up nearly 200 yards a game on the ground. Linebackers John Ryan and Maurice Crum need to have big years if the defense is going to get a lot better.

Coach Charlie Weis has nine starters back from last year’s offense, including a couple good skill guys. You know the guy is on track to get it turned around because he has a top five recruiting class each season. The talent will be there, but Irish fans are questioning whether Weis can coach or not.

Leading the way for the Irish offense will be quarterback Jimmy Clausen (1,254 yards passing, 7 touchdowns, 6 interceptions) who almost certainly will be better this season than he was in 2007. Clausen has all the talent in the world; he just needs a little confidence, and some time to throw the ball.

Clausen's biggest hurdle this season is going to be wiping out the memories of 2007. The kid played way before he was ready, and only time will tell if he can recover psychologically from the beating he took last season.

Clausen loses his top target, reliable tight end Jon Carlson, so he will likely rely on promising receiver Duval Kamera, who caught 32 passes and scored four touchdowns in 2007.

Running back is a position of mild concern, though Robert Hughes showed some promise late last season, when he rushed for 110 yards against Duke and 136 against Stanford. The offensive line, which was quite frankly horrible in 2007 (Clausen alone was sacked 34 times), will be anchored by right tackle Sam Young.

How Do You beat Notre Dame?

You let Notre Dame self destruct and you punish them with Jake Locker all night. No way can the Irish defense deal with Locker at Husky Stadium. The Irish can't stop the run, and the defense still will be weak this season. UW just needs to hammer it all day to pick up its first W in the series.

What do I think?

I think Notre Dame will be one of the weakest teams we play all year. The Irish are down, and they were much worse than us last year. I am not buying the Jimmy Clausen hype, I will take Jake Locker, and our defense any day over this squad. The Irish have a lot of young talent, but until they get a years experience under their belt they will still struggle in 2008.

So Husky and Irish fans, that's right, I am predicting a Washington win over Notre Dame which means the Huskies win two out of three non conference games in 2008.

The Monday Morning Wash

We have two weeks to go till camp opens up and until then don't expect a lot of news to come out of Montlake even though most of the freshman class is here taking summer bridge program classes.

I will be filling space over the next two week with more opponent previews, in fact I will be previewing Notre Dame tomorrow. Expect plenty of Irish fans to be visiting the blog, and some of the comments might not be so great because I think the Irish may be one of the weaker teams we play this season.

I also plan on finishing up the Pac Ten defensive ranking predictions later this week as time allows. I was reading some of the comments on the offensive predictions over on Bleacher Report and the UCLA fans weren't that thrilled with my appraisal of their offensive expectations in 2008.

I think the Bruins have a really strong coaching staff. The combination of Neuheisel and Chow is going to pay some serious dividends over the next few years, and don't forget that if Walker stays around as DC the Bruins will continue to be a strong defensive team. I just think the Bruins have way too many holes to fill on offense in 2008, and no matter what type of miracle workers Chow, and Neu are they still need the talent to work with.

Ted Miller is reviewing the kickers today on the ESPN Pac Ten blog. He rates UW's Ryan Perkins #6 in the conference. Ryan has pretty much stated that because of chronic knee injury he is going to hang it up early, and retire at the end of the year. I watched him struggle this Spring, and it seemed like he wasn't as good as last fall. Maybe he ends up doing PAT's, but I think kickoff's, and FG's will be done by Folk, or Ballman. Once again, if you are not reading Ted's blog you are missing out, nobody knows the Pac Ten, and can accurately evaluate talent like Ted Miller.

You may have missed this but Ernie Kent and Oregon have agreed to a contract extension. I find it interesting because Kent on the hot seat the last couple of years even though his teams have performed well.

University of Oregon Director of Athletics Pat Kilkenny and Head Basketball Coach Ernie Kent have agreed on terms for a new contract. The agreement constitutes an extension for Kent, and will also help ensure the stability of the program in the future. The terms of the new agreement extends the provision of a rollover clause in previous deals and runs through the 2012-13 season.

Dick Baird is at it again over at Dawgman. This week he comments on how college football has become a full time job even though the NCAA has cut way back on the time players and coaches spend together.

Years ago they (the dreaded NCAA) instituted the 20-hour work week for all student-athletes. It essentially limited all enrolled student-athletes to no more than that amount of time per week to include all practices, games, and any meeting or activities involving their coaches during their set seasons.

I am sure that there are plenty of things going on behind the scenes in recruiting as Washington is trying pretty hard to get the first recruit on board to get the ball rolling. As far as news goes nothing has been coming out the last few weeks over at Dawgman. There are plenty of quality kids interested in Washington, but at this time nobody on the list seems inclined to pull the immediate trigger.

The natives in Seattle are starting to get restless, and Seattle Time's beat writer Bob Condotta wrote about it last week. He interviewed WR recruit Gino Simone who said that he and many recruits are waiting to see what happens with Willingham. One thing keeps ringing clear and that is the recruits like Willingham, and they want to play for Willingham.

I just have a gut feeling that Washington is going to be a much better team in 2008 despite the lack of experience at the offensive skill positions, and on the defensive line. I am betting that the Huskies finish with a winning record, go to a bowl, and Willingham is rewarded with a rollover type of extension which will help recruiting.

Ranking the Pac Ten by Position - Offense

Ranking the Pac Ten, or any conference by position in the pre season is one of those less than meaningful pursuits that most of the media goes through as we approach the college football season. The teams with the most returning talent get ranked higher than the teams with the less experienced talent. Not a lot of brain surgery salad going on here.

The joy of college sports is change, and change happens every season. USC always gets rewarded because it is a given that they are refilling spots with HS All Americans while a team like Washington gets penalized even though they are currently replacing lesser talent with greater, but less experienced talent in the skill positions. To get the respect of the media you need to win some games.

The kids with no experience are always discounted, and rightly so, but they can be the difference makers that turn losers into winners. It really doesn't matter in the pre season because it all shakes out as the season goes on.

Overall Offensive Team Ratings

The team with the best defense will win the conference title in 2008, but having the fourth best offense could hurt the Trojans in 2008. I put Washington in the middle this year with Jake Locker at the helm surrounded by an unknown cast of talented newcomers. The Ducks may have a new QB, but they have the best offensive line, and debatedly the best stable of running backs in the Pac Ten. I think everyone is over rating California by prior reputation, the Bears are very similar to UW, and behind at QB. Nate Longshore really has to rebound in 2008 for the Bears to excel.

1. Oregon....The Ducks have all the tools if Costa clicks at QB.
2. Arizona....Tuitama has a decent offensive line, great recievers, and an All American Tight End.
3. Arizona State....Erickson is an offensive genius, and he has the best QB in the Pac Ten. The offensive line is the Achilles heal of this outfit, and it will hurt in big games.
4. USC....The Trojans have have been declining in offense, and a suspect offensive line could stifle the running game. Despite that they have exceptional skill guys and good depth at QB.
5. Washington....You have Jake Locker, a very good offensive line, and talent at the skill positions that needs to mature. The key to the UW offense is Locker raising the level of the young players surrounding him.
6. Washington State....The Cougs are loaded at receiver and on the OL, but they are breaking in a new QB. Tardy can be one of the best backs in the Pac Ten.
7. California....Longshore is in a slump, and the Bears are rebuilding. I am not buying into the Bear rebound hype even though the OL is pretty good.
8. Oregon State....Problems at QB will knock the Beavers out of a bowl this year. I also think they need a year to rebuild the OL.
9. UCLA....The Bruins have questions at QB, and a potentially poor offensive line. The coaching of course is improved, but it will take a year or two to gather the right talent.
10. Stanford....The Cardinal needs to put up some points this year to climb out of the basement.

Quarterback

The Pac Ten QB class is average this year with ASU Sr. Rudy Carpenter leading the bunch. UW So. Jake Locker has the most potential and could have a breakout season that could lead to a Heisman campaign in 2009.

1. Arizona State....Rudy Carpenter is the top Pac Ten QB coming in to start the year. With Erickson as a tutor he will only get better this season. I really like his makeup, and he has plenty of guys to throw to if he can stay off his back.
2. Washington....I don't think it is going out on a limb to pick Jake Locker at #2 since he has the more talent than any other QB in the league. His increased accuracy is going to pay off in 2008.
3. Arizona....Willie Tuitama has the potential to put up some big numbers in 2008. He has a great stable of receivers to throw to.
4. USC....The combo of Sanchez, and Mustain have some things to prove. USC offensive numbers have been going down, and neither of these guys is better than Booty. I am not bullish on the USC offense.
5. California....Nate Longshore had a poor year in 2007, but most expect him to rebound under Tedford in 2008. I am not so sure. I think Cal is rebuilding and on an even par with UW this year.
6. Oregon....I think Nate Costa is going to surprise some people in 2008. If he can stay healthy he may be one of the better QB's by mid season. Oregon has a machine that tends to reload, and the RB's are going to take pressure off the new QB.
7. UCLA....Ben Olsen has experience, but if Cowan was healthy he would be #2 at UCLA. I don't expect Ben to last the season. Expect him to be knocked out early. I expect when UW plays UCLA they are down to a walk on at QB.
8. Oregon State....Moevao, and Canfield are simply mediocre.
9. WSU....Not much known about Rogers till he gets a game or two under his belt. Gary could surprise because he has a lot of talented skill players around him.
10. Stanford....Pritchard beat USC, but will have to fight to keep his job. The QB situation won't sort itself out till the opener.

Running Backs

As usual the Pac Ten has some real studs that will be lining up in 2008. USC, and Oregon are loaded on paper. I actually favor the Ducks since I know what Crenshaw, and Johnson can do, but the addition of the power JC Blount puts them over the top. Joe McNight at USC could be primed for a big year, but SC hasn't been rushing well lately, and a rebuilding OL could hurt them. I rank Cal, and UW somewhere in the middle. the young kids they have are talented, but they need experience.

1. Oregon....Jeremiah Johnson, LaGarette Blount, and Andre Crenshaw add up to one of the best backfields in the nation in 2008, in fact they may be as good as the Trojans on paper.
2. USC....There is a possibility that every RB on the USC roster could start at any another Pac Ten school not named Oregon. The Trojans are loaded and will headline with Stafon Johnson, and Joe McNight in 2008. If they go down no problem, the Trojans are eight deep in quality TB's.
3. ASU....Keegan Herring and Dimtri Nance are very solid, and they put up great numbers in 2007 running behind a less than stellar offensive line. The less than stellar OL returns, but Erickson is a miracle worker.
4. UCLA...Kahlil Bell, and Raymond Carter will carry most of the load for a Bruin offense that will be challenged in 2008. Bell pounded UW last year in the fourth quarter.
5. WSU....Dwight Tardy can be a money back for the Coug's, and they are going to need that with a new QB coming in. The key for WSU is keeping him healthy.
6. Cal....I like Jahvid Best, and if he can stay healthy he may go over 1000 yards in 2008. The Bears have plenty of young talent waiting to prove itself.
7. UW....I think Brandon Johnson will do very well between the tackles running behind a veteran offensive line. Add in the dimension and speed of Chris Polk and you have a changeup that may surprise teams. Paul Homer is the best FB in the league. UW also has some decent unproven depth that will come to light this season.
8. Oregon State....Ryan McCants is a bruiser, and don't forget slotback James Rogers who can break some big ones. The question is can the QB create enough of a diversion, and will the OL open some holes.
9. Arizona....Nic Grisby doesn't really impress me that much, but he gained 700 yards last season. Arizona will live on the arm of Tuitama. The Wildcats run enough to just keep you honest.
10. Stanford....Anthony Kimble was very average in 2007, and I expect him to post similar numbers in 2008.

Wide Receiver

There is always plenty of receiving talent in the Pac Ten every year, but the team with the best bunch of receivers may struggle at QB. The best QB may end up with the best bunch of receivers by the end of the year.

1. Oregon State...Darrell Catchings, James Rodgers, and Sammy Stroughter are proven commodities. The only problem will be a QB good enough to get them the ball. The quarterbacking at OSU is very suspect.
2. Arizona State.....Jones and McGaha return with plenty of depth behind them. Erickson always has kids that can catch the ball, and with the conferences best QB they will put up some numbers.
3. Arizona....Mike Thomas leads an experienced crew catching passes from one the better QB's in the West. Wth Tuitama at the helm UA can do some damage.
4. USC....The Trojans are deep, young, and populated by HS All Americans who need to show us they can compete, chances are they will. Keep an eye on Hazleton, and Turner.
5. Oregon...Jeff Maehl and USC transfer Jamere Holland look good on paper, but the Ducks have some rebuilding to do. Jaison Williams needs to stay healthy in 2008, and if he does he will be special.
6. Washington State...Gibson and Willis looked good this Spring, but they need more depth to develop behind them. Gibson may be the best in the Pac Ten. We all discount the Cougs with a new coach, but Wullf will get some production with a veteran OL.
7. UCLA....Offense is going to be a problem for these guys, and they are going to need to to develop some talent behind Everette. Neuheisel and Chow will get it done eventually, but the problems at QB, and OL are going to hurt this season.
8. Washington....D'Andre Goodwin was the only sure thing to come out of Spring. He will be the go to man for Locker. Don't discount the addition of Chris Polk, and the other young guys, UW has as much talent as anyone, they just need experience.
9. California is very much like Washington, they are rebuilding the entire unit, but they have the young talent to make considerable progress in 2008.
10. Stanford....Richard Sherman is a stud, but the other young guys are going to have to come on in 2008 for Stanford to be respectable.

Tight End

You have the big three of Gronkowski, Dickson, and Paulsen followed by a complete crapshoot after that.

1. Arizona....Rob Gronkowski is probably the best TE in America going into the 2008 season. He is another big reason why the Arizona offense is going to win enough games in 2008 for Mike Stoops to get an extension.
2. Oregon....Ed Dickson is right up there with Gronkowski, and with a new QB who will rely on him in 2008 he is a very good bet to put up some big number.
3. UCLA....Logan Paulsen will put up big numbers if he can shed the injury bug, his injury last season really hurt the Bruins.
4. Oregon State....Howard Croom is a kid that I liked in 2007. He is a dependable receiver that blocks well.
5. USC....The Trojans are starting over, but whatever they have on there bench is usually better than most of the starters in league. Keep an eye on Blake Ayles.
6. UW....Washington has been in a serious decline at TE. Sr. Mike Gottleib who is simply average is the only serious returnee. Fr. Kavario Middleton, and RS. Chris Izbicki are going to emerge onto the scene and change all that. The TE position is back at UW if the new kids can block.
7. WSU....The Cougs have serious blue collar depth in addition to Sr. Devin Frischknecht.
8. California....Cameron Morrah should have a good year bailing out Longhshore.
9. Stanford....Ben Ladner looks like he could make some noise as the Cardinal garbage man.
10. Arizona State....The Sun Devils are starting over at this position in 2008. Look for them to go with the kid that can block the best to offset their OL problems.

Offensive Line

You can't win without the big uglies, and Oregon has done a great job developing the kids they recruit. If you ever watch them up close check out the lower bodies on those guys, it is just scary. Mike Denbrock has done a great jog rebuilding the offensive line at Washington, and the Huskies have plenty of depth and experience.

1. Oregon....The Ducks have one of the better offensive lines in the country. Unger, and Tupou are the anchors of a strong, and agile offensive line. Are they as good as Oklahoma? The Huskies will find out early.
2. Washington....If Garcia recovers early this line could be pretty damn good. Even if he doesn't the Huskies have the depth to make up for it. UW has lots of experience and depth in 2008. Remember these guys protected Locker well in 2007, and they opened up enough holes to produce a RB who ran for over 1300 yards.
3. California....Alex Mack is one of the best Centers in the nation, but the Bears need to replace a tackle and a guard
4. Arizona....The Wildcats bring back four starters from an offensive line that made modest strides, particularly in pass protection. The big void is at left tackle, where all-star Peter Graniello was a four-year starter.
5. WSU....The one position of strength for the Cougars will be their offensive line, where they return four starters. Leading the way up front are the junior Kenny Alfred, a member of the Rimington Trophy watch list and the senior Vaughn Lesuma, a junior college transfer a year ago who is just tapping into his potential as an offensive tackle.
6. USC....Jeff Byers is the only returnee in 2008, but the Trojans have the usual HS All Americans to plug in. USC's offense has been declining in production since the Leinhart days and rebuilding the offensive line is priority one at USC.
7. Oregon State....The Beavers need to replace a center, and a tackle, but have been one of the better coached units on the coast under Riley.
8. Stanford....It takes 4-5 years to develop an offensive line. Harbaugh is starting on year two but is making progress. Keep an eye on Alex Fletcher who is a rising star.
9. Arizona State....This unit allowed four sacks per game last season. The Devils will be relying on JC's and position changes to fill the gap.
10. UCLA....Micah Reed started eight games at guard last season and will shift to center. Tackles Alexis Landis, who was bothered by knee problems, and Micah Kia, who had troubles with consistency, are the only other linemen returning who started a game last season...ouch!

Stanford Preview

Jim Harbaugh did a great job in his first year on the job getting his team ready to play each week. Depth being what it was the Cardinal wore down quickly as a large number of injuries hit the team.

Rebuilding the program at Stanford is a huge job, but the new stadium they opened last season is a big step toward getting the program back on its collective feet. Harbaugh needs to pick up some wins so the fans start returning to the farm. Husky fans who were in attendance last season probably outnumbered the Cardinal faithful.

Starting with offense ex Clover Park HS QB Tavita Pritchard led the Cardinal to a victory over USC, but the quarterback will have some competition from Alex Loukas and Michigan transfer Jason Forcier.

So who is the quarterback going to throw to? Bradford and Moore were great receivers when healthy. Junior Richard Sherman led the team with 651 receiving yards and four touchdowns, but the experience behind him is pretty much non-existent. Sophomores Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen and incoming freshman Chris Owusu will have to be ready to play big roles for the offense.

While the passing attack sorts itself out, running back Anthony Kimble will have to carry the offense. He only rushed for 509 yards last season, but Kimble could have a decent season behind an experienced offensive line. The return of Toby Gerhart, who only played in one game last season due to injury, will give the backfield some more weapons.

The defense has nine starters returning to the unit in 2008. Linebacker Clinton Snyder is coming off a great year in which he tallied 96 tackles, eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. The junior is expected to become even more of a leader on the field now that he is an upperclassman.

With Pat Maynor and Chike Amajoyi also back, the linebacker corps will be in pretty good shape. Amajoyi was a kid that Washington really wanted, and he is going to mature into a pretty good player.

Safety Bo McNally will lead the secondary. Corner Nick Sanchez needs to be replaced, but Stanford has Kris Evans, Corey Gatewood and Wopamo Osaisai who are more than capable enough to hold down the two spots.

The defensive line returns three starters, but inexperience at tackle could cause some problems down the road.

How do you beat Stanford?

You knock them out of the game early and don't let them hang around. It also helps if you schedule them in November when they are running out of players. UW didn't exactly dominate the Cardinal last year on the scoreboard, but a W is a W.

Most teams in the Pac Ten should beat Stanford because they have more overall talent and depth. Harbaugh has been recruiting extremely well and over the next couple of years the Cardinal should be back to full strength.

For Stanford to surprise in 2008 they need to avoid the rash of injuries that have plauged them over the last couple of years. Harbaugh has them playing inspired ball, but they simply keep running out of players by mid season.

What Do I Think?

Washington should never lose to Stanford, especially at home, but Willingham and company did exactly that two years ago when the Cardinal pulled off an unlikely upset during the worst season of their history. That loss started the negative drum roll on the shores of Montlake for Ty's head, and it prevented Washington from finishing the season at .500.

Jim Harbaugh is on the right track, and can steal a win from anyone as we saw when they upset USC last year, but Jake Locker isn't going to allow that.

Washington will have no problem scoring on these guys, and the Stanford offense will continue to sputter until they build a competent running game. Going into the season I would predict the Huskies to be a 17 point favorite in this game.

Hopefully it won't end up being our first victory of the year after opening with Oregon, BYU, and Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Preview

The Oklahoma Sooners opened the 2007 with a 79–10 win over North Texas. They continued their powerhouse offensive performances and strong defensive performances with wins over Miami (51–13), Utah State (54–3), Tulsa (62–21), Texas (28–21), Missouri (41–31), Iowa State (17–7), Texas A&M (42–14), Baylor (52–21), and Oklahoma State (49–17). Oklahoma lost only two games in the regular season, Colorado (24–27) and Texas Tech (27–34).

The Sooners played against the Missouri Tigers in the Big 12 championship game and came away with a 38–17 win over the then #1 ranked Gary Pinkel led Tigers. Oklahoma then played in the Fiesta Bowl game against the West Virginia losing 48–28, to end the season with 11 wins and 3 losses.

I took the time to list the scores because my gosh, that is a lot of offense! Look for the Sooners to continue that high powered offense in 2008 because this team is loaded with returning talent, and perhaps the best offensive line in college football.

The Sooners averaged 6.4 yards per play on offense in 2007, the most for the team since 1987. QB Sam Bradford finished the regular season with the nation's No. 1 rated pass efficiency as just a freshman. Bradford threw for 3,121 yards and 36 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. With a talented and experienced offensive line in front of him and an army of weapons at his disposal, Bradford should continue to improve in his sophomore season.

The Oklahoma offensive line is led by future NFL players like Duke Robinson and Phil Loadholt. In fact, all five senior starters are back this season to create an offensive line that is most likely the best in the country.

The Sooners also welcome back wide receivers Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson. Iglesias led the team last season with 68 catches for 907 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Jermaine Gresham steps into the starting spot at tight end and appears to be someone to watch.

The TB tandem of DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown combined for 1,375 yards and 22 touchdowns last season. Murray is just a sophomore, but he possesses great speed and elusiveness. He could very well have a huge season.

The defense only returns six starters, but three of them are along the defensive line. Oklahoma will have to rely on the front four to control the line of scrimmage; at least until the back seven get settled. The front four were equally successful at stopping the run and the pass in 2007.

The defensive line returns most of the starters, as 3 of the 4 are back. With defensive tackles like senior DeMarcus Granger and sophomore Gerald McCoy its going to be tough getting any kind of push against these guys. Junior defensive end Austin English is a beast on the outside and his 9.5 sacks was the best on the team a year ago.

The team only returns one linebacker in senior Ryan Reynolds, but it looks like he is ready for the spotlight. Redshirt freshman Austin Box will start on the weak side with junior Keenan Clayton taking over the strong side.

The secondary is probably the weakest on this side of the ball, but they do have some pretty good talent coming back in senior strong safety Nic Harris and fellow senior Lendy Holmes at free safety. It looks as though junior Brian Jackson and sophomore Dominique Franks will team up at the two corner spots to start the season. Both played well in the spring, but it remains to be seen how that translates into the season.

How do you beat Oklahoma?

You need to slow down one of the nations best offenses, and take advantage of the back of the Sooner defense which is rebuilding. It helps that Washington is playing these guys at home. Husky Stadium isn't an easy place to play in, just ask USC, and Cal. Washington can beat anyone on a given day in Husky Stadium. UW is also due for a major upset!

Obviously Oklahoma will will have more experienced talent on the roster than Washington in 2008, but the Huskies have shown that they can hang tight with teams like USC, and Ohio State. Washington will be improved, and the Sooners can't take Washington for granted on the road. This game will be closer than most people think.

The key for Washington won't be the legs of Jake Locker, it will be his arm, UW needs to strike deep in this one to stay competitive.

What Do I Think?

Last time we played these guys in Norman we gave them a game. We broke out to an early lead, but just like last years Ohio State game overall talent, and depth began to take over in the latter stages of the game. I predict the same thing will happen this year at Husky Stadium. Oklahoma has a lot more experienced talent than Washington, and just like USC they are a recruiting powerhouse. The Oklahoma kids know how to win, and as the game goes on they tend to wear you down into making mistakes like Ohio State did to UW last year. I have to pick Oklahoma by ten points, but the game will be decided in the fourth quarter.

On a side note it would be great if Jim Owens is healthy enough to make the trip over for from Whitefish, Montana to see the game. JW hasn't been back since the statue dedication, and it would be great if he could make the trip to see his alma mater play against the team he coached for seventeen years.

If you look at the game on paper it is absolutely no contest, the oddsmakers will favor the Sooners by over twenty points no matter what the Huskies do in the first two games. You have what will probably be the best offense in the BCS going up against what was last year the worst defense in the entire country.

I think the UW defense will be much better in 2008, in fact you won't even recognize it, but Oklahoma will present the toughest test for the UW defense this season and will prevail in the fourth quarter.

A Bruin Response, and a Husky Apology

Sometimes when I am churning out the content for Pac Ten Alley I miss the true inflection, and in this case the true source of what is being said, and who is saying it.

So it makes sense to post the response from the great gang at the UCLA blog. The UCLA blog as you all know is one of the very best in the country, and they have been very supportive of my blog.

Obviously I was clipping and posting before work and didn't take the time I needed to read through everything. In my defense it takes a lot of work to get this stuff posted every day, and sometimes I make mistakes. It doesn't happen every day, but when I do it gets pointed out pretty quickly.

So here goes...., and I apologize to our good friends at the UCLA blog who do a fantastic job, and have a very keen, and balanced eye when it comes to college athletics.

Hey John,

You are doing a great job as always. However, we think you missed our takes when you wrote this:

The Bruin Blog has this tidbit about the Washington game. What Nestor and the gang are forgetting is that UCLA isn't going to be very good this year. They have no offensive line, and by the time they play UW they probably won't have a QB. No way does UW lose to UCLA this year unless Willingham is totally incompetent. I can understand the half empty glass scenario, an 0-3 start could mean big trouble. By the way Nestor, Jake is Tebow good!

Unless Jake Locker really is the Tim Tebow of the West, this game should be one of the most manageable for UCLA in 2008. Despite playing all three out-of-conference games at home, Washington will be punished by a schedule featuring Oklahoma, BYU, and Notre Dame. Immediately prior to the UCLA game, the Huskies are facing potential blowout losses to USC and Arizona State. Morale could reach epic depths.

Please note that was written by Adam Rose, a USC alum who writes for the LAT's "What's Bruin" blog (very screwed up and just one reason why we call LA Times, the Trojan Times). We totally disagreed with that take and wrote this in response

(http://www.bruinsnation.com/2008/7/15/571476/roundup-from-bn-walk-news):

That was from Adam Rose, the Trojan alum who runs LAT's "What's Bruin" blog. In his analysis Adam misses the central point that is going to be the backdrop in this game, which is emotion. I guess Adam missed the 13-9 (or 9-13 from his pov) score from two years ago, when emotion (along with good defensive schemes combined with some opportune/courageous QBing from Cowan) enabled UCLA to preserve its unmatched 8 game winning streak. Adam writes up about Huskies difficult pre-season schedule, completely ignoring UCLA's pre-season schedule which is just as tough as UDub's featuring Tennessee, Fresno State and BYU on the road (while UDub is taking on the Cougars at home).

Adam also conveniently forgets to mention how UCLA has had a difficult time playing up in Seattle losing 2 out of its last games up there (would have 3 straight losses if not for MJD's breakout game in his sophomore season). So, we hopel Adam will stick to sharing links and just reporting on news on "What's Bruin" instead of sharing his analysis/commentary which seems to be tinted from a Trojan pointed view (not sure what else to call it since he is a Trojan).
Anyway, we will see how it turns out. If Neuheisel finds a way to pull out a victory in that game, it will be a huge boost for UCLA. However, it's a little ridiculous to call the game "most manageable" for UCLA completely discounting the emotional storyline that has the Huskies circled this date as their game of the year.

Moreover, we also wrote this last weekend

(http://www.bruinsnation.com/2008/7/12/569853/drooling-over-a-hate-a-pal):

Well … we will see how it goes … when we get to that game week. I am sure the reporters based in Seattle (and probably in LA) have already have their templates written up for their stories reiterating about those 50 alleged violations in Washington, the interviews with Notre Dame and Forty Niners, replete with one pot shots after another about March Madness pool. Sure there will be few here and there giving Neuheisel's side of the story, but majority of the MSM (and the New Media) will go with the easy storyline, especially of the Bruins come into that game with a very average W-L record (as we along with many others are expecting). Simply put people will look to pounce on Neuheisel and the Bruins and that's fine.So while we are not conceding defeat, we agree with you - Washington will be the favorite to win this game.

We hope you can note our real impressions because currently the way it appears it totally misrepresents what Nestor et al wrote.- BN Eds

Pac Ten Alley

When the Rick Neuheisel era began at Washington one of the first things he did was redesign the uniforms which had been previously changed under Jim Lambright.

Lambo had gone back to purple helmets, and the fans hated it. I love Lambo the coach, but if you look at films of what he wore on the sidelines in those days he wasn't exactly a fashion hound.

The first item on Rick's agenda was the return to the traditional gold helmets of the James era. The next thing he did was change the pants to match the helmets. Both changes were applauded by the Husky populace who never really understood why the Huskies yellow gold pants never matched the helmets.

The jerseys redesigned by Nike were less popular as the font for the numbers was changed up. All in all it was a pretty good looking uniform which has a little bit of Colorado, a little bit UCLA, and a lot of traditional Washington.

The next thing on the agenda was freshening up the Husky logo. The W was not tampered with too much, but the Husky Dawg was slimmed down, and streamlined to resemble what many Husky fans began calling the Weasel. Despite the Neuweasel look the new line of apparel developed by Nike outsold the older look by an extremely wide margin.

Ty Willingham hasn't been too concerned with the uniforms since he arrived at Washington. His signature piece was removing the names off of the jerseys for the first two years to build team unity. Husky fans hated it because they could never tell who was playing without a program to check the numbers. UW went back to names on the back of the jerseys last season to help out their middle aged fan base.

Husky fans also began to complain about the affiliation with Nike because Phil Knight the Chairman and founder of Nike is an Oregon alum. Not only is Knight an Oregon alum he is also the schools largest booster, and is credited with helping turn the program around in the 1990's with lots of cash, and free marketing help from the pros's at Nike.

Nike dominates the market for athletic uniforms because they traditionally have given the schools the most money, innovative design, and free equipment over the last twenty years. Working with Nike was good business for Washington, and other schools because Adidas, Champion, and Russell were giving out much less compensation, and frankly their equipment wasn't as good. Like interim Scott Woodward says, whoever gives the school the best deal is acting in the best interest of the University, Nike was giving the best deal.

As we enter 2008 things are changing in the world of college uniforms, firms like Under Armour, Nike, and Champion are stepping things up again to be legit options to Nike, and athletic administrators around the country are taking notice, especially on the West Coast where Oregon/Nike envy reigns supreme among the fan base.

Word on the street is that Washington will have a new supplier in 2009 when the present Nike contract ends. When that new supplier is selected expect the retirement of the Weasel logo after a decade of service to UW.

Ultimately the coaches have the last say on uniforms. Most want a look that is attractive to inner city youth. Oregon has gone this route with lots of success sometimes playing in as many as four different uniforms in a year to pick up style points with recruits. You may not like Oregon, you may think their uniforms look goofy at times, but the kids love them.

Changing things up at Oregon hasn't been that big of a deal because the team nickname is a water fowl for crying out loud, and for years the Walt Disney rendition of Donald has been the logo. Nothing against Donald, but Oregon was a school with little tradition before the 1990's and was a perfect laboratory for change.

I for one like most of the Oregon uniforms they have come up with. I think the home uniforms with the green jerseys, and the tire marks are pretty impressive. The helmets which UW fans call Zero's are a work of art. The automotive enamel they use is just out of this world. Oregon has it going on.

Schools like Washington, USC, Michigan, and Notre Dame for example have lot more tradition going on. You aren't going to see tire tracks on the shoulder pads, it just doesn't fit in with the long tradition established at those schools. They have nationally recognized uniforms, and tradition with minor tweaks, changes over the years. What works usually keeps on working.

One problem at Washington over the past 100 years has been the color purple. The regal color is one of the very toughest to work with, and that by the way is one reason it was reserved for royalty. Purple fades, purple oxidizes, and dark purple works poorly with modern textiles.

With the advent of modern stretch fabrics it has become extremely difficult to master the traditional dark Husky purple. Washington has actually used a lot of Navy over the years to combat that. The Husky teams of the early sixties were in Navy for example. Purple on cotton just wasn't very color fast in the washing machine.

When you look at a current Husky jersey before it is stretched it looks like the purple of the later Jim Owens, and Don James squads. Once it stretches out it becomes much lighter, and Husky fans hate the more lavender like look. Hopefully the new vendor will be able to find a way to return to that darker color that Husky fans crave.

Who is going to be that new vendor?

According to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times Under Armour is the leader at this point in the battle to clothe the Husky Athletic department. Under Armour is the new hot kid on the block, and is extremely popular with the current crop of kids getting ready to attend college. My nephew wears it for various sports and says it is just incredible stuff.

Under Armour which started off making sports underwear has caught on big and is now entering the lucrative athletic shoe market which has been dominated by Nike. The strategy of course is to get colleges and pro teams to start using their products, once kids see it on the feet of their favorite players they go to the store and buy it.

Don't count out Nike just yet, if they want the UW business they will write a big enough check.

Impressed with BYU Fans

I did the BYU preview yesterday and we have around 40 responses to the article, and most are from BYU fans. That is really impressive, and it just shows you how excited a fan base can get when you start winning some games. I want to thank all the fans that have responded, and have to say that the BYU crew is a classy bunch!

Pac Ten Alley

Let's take a walk down the coast to see what the neighbors are up to.

Tragedy strikes the Oregon community as Todd Doxey drowns after jumping off a bridge into the McKenzie river. Details are still pretty sketchy at this time. Our hearts go out to our friends in Oregon, and the Doxey family.

You hate to hear about things like this, but it happens in lakes, and rivers across the country each summer. Every day you hear about another kid drowning for one reason or another. You need to respect the water, especially rivers which are very dangerous to swim in.

Back in the days I used to jump off about any cliff, or bridge that I could find. I wasn't one of those maniacs that jumped off the Montlake bridge, but when I jumped at the Arboretuem, or from cliffs on Orcas Island I didn't go head first.

U of O redshirt freshman Todd Doxey, only 19 years of age, lost his life yesterday in a tragic accident on the McKenzie River.

Ted Miller of ESPN interviews Oregon QB Nate Costa.

I feel good. The knee is real solid. My focus this summer is to get back to the level I was at and I'm getting back to that point right now. I'm almost there. I'm 95 percent right now and by fall camp, I'll definitely be 100 percent.

Here is a look at some BYU traditions.

Another tradition is going to LaVell Edwards Stadium--the house that LaVell built. From a 30,000 seat bush league stadium, LaVell inspired the fanbase to build a 65,000 seat stadium that lets us rank in the Top 25 in attendance every year, and Top 5 (sometimes Top 2) in attendance in the West. Further, it is in a setting that is so gorgeous that Mike Tirico said during the Syracuse game in 2002: "[LES] is my favorite place to broadcast a game".

I have to agree with the Oklahoma blog for it's nominee of idiot of the summer. I have a feeling that this guy is going to be coughing up most of his net assets once the lawyers get through with him.

Mr. Idiot is a 36 year old Nebraska fan who lives in Austin, TX, but that isn't what makes him the idiot. No my friends, Mr. Idiot is now Mr. Idiot because after some Sooner fans were talking some smack on a Nebraska message board, Mr. Idiot decided to take drastic measures to show those Sooner fans what's up. Mr. Idiot used his tech savvyness to lift a template of News OK.com, then he wrote and posted a bogus story about how Sam Bradford & Landry Jones were arrested on cocaine distribution charges, then went back and posted the story on the message board.

The ND Domer Report tells us why they are ND fans, and why losing a key player is no big deal.

I'm Irish-Catholic, I went to college and played football at a small Division III school in VA, so my childhood allegiance to Notre Dame remains intact, no one in my immediate family went to college, so I have no family allegiances, Rutgers is a North Jersey school, I hate Temple, and as I get older, Penn State annoys me more and more. Most importantly, though, the place is just special. There's no other place that can offer such religious and football tradition, matched with a mystique that you just can't explain. Plus, their athletes aren't dummies. It isn't like USC, where you can take ballroom dancing (*cough*, Matt Leinart, *cough*) and coast through to the NFL. You have to be a good person and good citizen to make it through."This, my friends, is why I root for and love Notre Dame.

Stanford Preview from USA Today.

Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard is still being remembered for sparking the Cardinal's big upset of USC last year, but that has not guaranteed him of a starting job when the season opens against UCLA.

Arizona needs to get over the loss of Brandon Jennings. I mean c'mon people!

Before the anger comes let me be clear. I feel strongly that what Emmanuel Negedu did was wrong, but a part of me understands it. I think what Brandon Jennings did is also wrong but more foolish than anything and moot if he does not get his test score.

It is ex Cal QB Aaron Rodgers time in Green Bay. Brett Favre is burning some bridges in Packerland.

The Packers now are Rodgers’ team, and the fourth-year passer literally can’t wait until the July 27 reporting date for the team’s training camp at St. Norbert College. “I’m going out there a week early, if that tells you anything,” Rodgers told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday in his first extended interview since Favre requested his formal release in a letter the Packers received Friday. “I’m just excited about that first night’s sleep in the dorms, going out and practicing the next day and all the things that will follow. I knew at some point my time would come, and it looks like we’re getting close to that.”

The Oregon State blog needs to start thinking football, enough baseball already.

Jacoby is having a great second "rookie" season with the Boston Red Sox. Out of all the professional players we've covered, he's probably getting the most attention from Beaver fans. He's hitting .278 on the season with 5 home runs, 27 RBI, and all in 209 at-bats. The most impressive stats, however, are his stolen bases. Jacoby leads the American League in stolen bases with 35, one ahead of Ichiro. Willie Tavarez of the Rockies leads the MLB with 39.

ASU selects Field Turf for new indoor practice facility.

Arizona State University has selected FieldTurf as the playing surface for its new football indoor practice facility. Ground was broken on the state-of-the-art complex this past May and it is expected to be completed by early August. The announcement regarding the FieldTurf was jointly made by ASU Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love and FieldTurf CEO Joe Fields. The new indoor practice facility with FieldTurf will further enhance ASU's reputation as having outstanding athletic facilities. The facility will include 103,500 square feet with a 75-yard practice field (with an end zone) and a 45-yard practice field (with an end zone). The cost for the facility is $8.4 million. Besides giving the Sun Devils football team a climate-controlled venue for practice, the facility will also be utilized by the ASU Marching Band, ASU intramurals and for university summer football camps.

Meaningless answers to meaningless questions at USC. Isn't it about time these guys went on double secret probation?

USC is envied and admired nationally because of its success. More people are aware of USC because of its tradition and the last six years have made this one of the most glamorous programs. When USC plays back east or in the south, the fans have always had respect for the program, whether they base it on the past or the current era. That said, more people also like to see one of the top dogs get knocked off. In the Pac-10, even when USC wasn't great, schools like beating the Trojans because of their years of dominance, so it always meant more to beat USC.

The Bruin Blog has this tidbit about the Washington game. What Nestor and the gang are forgetting is that UCLA isn't going to be very good this year. They have no offensive line, and by the time they play UW they probably won't have a QB. No way does UW lose to UCLA this year unless Willingham is totally incompetent. I can understand the half empty glass scenario, an 0-3 start could mean big trouble. By the way Nestor, Jake is Tebow good!

Unless Jake Locker really is the Tim Tebow of the West, this game should be one of the most manageable for UCLA in 2008. Despite playing all three out-of-conference games at home, Washington will be punished by a schedule featuring Oklahoma, BYU, and Notre Dame. Immediately prior to the UCLA game, the Huskies are facing potential blowout losses to USC and Arizona State. Morale could reach epic depths.

The WSU blog is always an excellent read, and they have lots of great stuff this week, plus a butt kiss to ex PI writer Ted Miller. Ditto from the Husky blog, we love Ted too! We added a link to Ted's blog, and it is recommended reading.

So, with that in mind, Ted, I offer you a one-of-a-kind cyber deal. We finish tenth in the PAC as you predicted and I will perform any reasonable act of self-humiliation and/or homage as you desire on this blog or through any feasible media outlet.

BYU Preview

The "Quest for Perfection" is the goal in Provo this year as the BYU Cougars are primed to make a run at an undefeated season and a BCS Bowl game. Bronco Mendenhall is a name to remember because his name is going to come up next time Washington hires a new football coach.

In 2003 Mendenhall accepted the job to serve as defensive coordinator at Brigham Young University under then-head coach Gary Crowton. After three straight losing seasons, Crowton resigned. After a windmill of events, including the job being offered to former Cougar linebacker and current Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham the Cougars ended up settling on Mendenhall.

In 2005, his first year at the helm, the Cougars finished the regular season with a 6-5 record. They appeared in the Las Vegas Bowl, their first bowl game since 2001, falling to Cal 35-28.

In 2006 Mendenhall altered the 3-3-5 defense he brought from New Mexico, changing to a more conservative 3-4-4 in order to take advantage of BYU's traditional strength at linebacker and to minimize the traditional lack of depth at defensive back. This change resulted in the top-ranked scoring defense in the Mountain West Conference and one of the top scoring defenses in the nation.

Mendenhall also coached the Cougars to their first victory in five years over arch rival, the University of Utah. The team finished the regular season with a record of 10-2 and were ranked in the top 25 of the AP and Coaches polls as well as the BCS standings. The Cougars faced Oregon in the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl on December 21, pitting Mendenhall against Crowton, who then was the offensive coordinator at Oregon. BYU won easily, 38-8.

In 2007 After avenging a loss in 2006 to Arizona, BYU stumbled out of the gate losing two close games to UCLA and Tulsa, both on the road. BYU then ran the MWC table going 8-0 to win their second straight outright MWC Championship. BYU accepted an invite to the Las Vegas Bowl against UCLA. BYU won the game on the final play when BYU's Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt. BYU's final rankings were 14 in both the AP and USA Today polls with an 11-2 record.

Washington recently seems to be scheduling all the top mid majors at the wrong time. Over the last couple of years they have scheduled the likes of Fresno State, Boise State, Hawaii, and now BYU. Each of those teams have come into the Washington contest harboring legit BCS aspirations.

The BYU offense is led by Max Hall who had a good debut season as the starting quarterback for the Cougars, throwing for 3,848 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. If he makes the progress that many signal callers make heading into their second year running the show, the BYU offense will be very hard to stop.

Receiver Austin Collie returned from his mission last year and immediately became Hall’s favorite target. This year should be even better for Collie, but Hall will have plenty of other options. Tight end Dennis Pitta is a superb pass catcher and a nice target in the redzone and Luke Ashworth and Spencer Hafoka both had great springs after coming back from their missions and should compliment Collie at the wideout spots quite well.

On defense replacing a majority of the secondary and a few starting linebackers is tops on the list of things to do for BYU. Corners Brandon Howard and Scott Johnson have some experience, but can they help the Cougar’s play with the likes of UW, and UCLA?

Making matters more disheartening is the loss of linebackers Kelly Poppinga, Bryan Kehl and Markell Staffieri. Those will not be easy guys to replace and that will put a lot of pressure on some inexperienced players. Former tight end Vic So’oto might find himself in a starting role and Matt Bauman has to prove that he is ready for a full time starting position.

While the back eight has some issues that need addressed, the defense has its leader with Jan Jorgensen. As a sophomore, Jorgensen tallied 14 sacks and 20 tackles for loss. As an upperclassman, and one of the more experienced players on the team, he will be asked to be a leader as well as a sack machine. And as long as the front line can get pressure, the secondary will have some time to adjust.

If BYU is going to beat Pac Ten teams and make a run at a BCS bowl they are going to have to fill in the holes on defense.

How do you beat BYU?

You utilize Jake Locker to give an inexperienced defense fits all night. The Cougars haven't seen anything like Jake, and they are going to have a lot of problems with him. Washington should also be able to run the ball on these guys and take up some time of possession. The BYU offense is explosive, but if you keep the ball out of their hands and kill them with long drives you are going to win this game at home.

What do I think?

This is a winnable game, in fact it is a must win game if this team is going to do anything this season. I think Locker will have his way with the BYU defense and UW will win a high scoring game. The BYU offense can put some points up in a hurry so it will be a good test for our young defensive backfield. My opinion has always been that Pac Ten teams should beat MWC, and WAC teams, especially at home. Mark this as a "W" for Washington.

The Monday Morning Wash

Just like Rodney Dangerfield the 2008 Washington Huskies are not getting any respect in the national media. Most of the prognosticators are picking the Huskies to finish anywhere between 10th, and 7th in the conference. The opening lines from Las Vegas have the Huskies starting out the season as a 10 1/2 point underdog to Oregon even though the Ducks are less than settled at QB. Bob Condotta of the Times reports that the spread is likely to be bet up before the game because bettors usually pick the favorites at home to begin the season which makes plenty of sense.

Winning breeds respect, and Washington hasn't won very much since Rick Neuheisel left the program. Washington hasn't beaten Oregon in five years, and what makes the losing streak even worse is that they really haven't gotten fired up to play the Ducks in five years. I have been to every game, and Washington has come out lacking emotion each time. How can you lack emotion when you are playing Oregon?

Last years game was typical, but a RS frosh by the name of Jake Locker willed the Huskies to stick with the Ducks throughout the game till they ran out of gas in the 4th quarter. Locker single handedly picked up the team and made them competitive or it could have been one of the biggest blowouts in Husky history.

You might have noticed that whatever gets written here in the blog now gets edited, and posted over at Bleacher Report. The Oregon preview got an interesting response. One poster responded that UW had to be crazy to schedule the Ducks for opening night in Autzen even though it meant UW was able to pick up a much needed bye during the nations toughest schedule.

I want to know who the idiot is that scheduled the UW vs. Oregon game as the season opener ? I know it was done to obtain a much needed bye during the season but to play the opener against a pac ten team on the road a team of Oregon's caliber is just plain silly . This loss could ruin the whole season . Ty you're sticking you're neck out on this one . As most people think you need some W's and this is a bad place to start . Good luck to you and the 2008 Husky football team ! I have been a Husky fan for 50 years and yes U dub has had some tough season openers but this one takes the cake !

They rescheduled it for two reasons, one for automatic TV money, and two to give the team a much needed bye week later in the season. You would rather open with Idaho, but with a non conference slate of BYU, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma there were not a lot of options. The question should be who was the idiot that put together that brutal non conference schedule?

Thanks for the opinions, but I for one don't agree that opening with Oregon hurts Washington, in fact it is better than playing them later in the year. The best chance Washington has to beat Oregon in 2008 is in the opener when the Ducks are breaking in a new quarterback. The best chance Washington has to be fired up is for an opener on national TV when everyone expects them to lose.

Take away Dennis Dixon from the 2007 Ducks and they went from BCS Championship contenders to the consolation bowl participants. It is a given that whoever starts for Oregon in 2008 will do a better job than Brady Leaf who was ill suited to run the spread offense, but there will be growing pains at Oregon since breakig in a new QB, and new WR's is never easy to do.

Nate Costa is the likely starter for Oregon in the opener, and like Dixon he is a dual threat QB. He would have been Dixon's replacement last season if he hadn't have gone down with a knee injury. Some Oregon fans even think that the Ducks wouldn't have missed a beat on the way to the BCS championship game if Costa was available.

I think Costa will develop fine, but I think it is a stretch based on what we saw this Spring that he is going to step in and run the Duck offense with the efficiency that Dixon did on opening night.

I still am predicting a Duck win, and a ten point margin doesn't seem to be too far out of the realm of possibility, but if the Duck QB makes mistakes UW could surprise. What Bellotti needs to do is control the game on the ground, but his ego is such that he may just have his team come out throwing which would be a mistake in my opinion.

Bridge Program Absentee's

Three incoming players will not be participating in the bridge program. RB Demetrius Bronson, QB Dominique Blackman, and DT Craig Noble all have work to do to qualify for Fall.

Noble needs to retake his California High School Exit Exam. He has passed his SAT, and has the required GPA. Bronson is taking some Summer courses from BYU, and is awaiting results. Blackman's GPA slid this Spring which means that he either has to take a course to raise his GPA, or retake the SAT. All three kids have a great chance of being here later this Summer if they get the work done.

Noble is the only kid who had a realistic shot at playing this year, but the chances are diminished since he may not be here till mid August. If you miss the first two weeks of drills chances are it means a redshirt season which in Noble's case may be a blessing even though he will be disappointed.

Conditioning and Drills

Molly Yanity from the PI has an in depth article on the Huskies off season conditioning program.

Football practices are still more than a month away on this bright June morning. The Huskies don't have a game for 69 days. Yet, here is the majority of the team, scattered between the humid weight room and the adjacent Dempsey Indoor practice facility -- and it's not even 8 a.m.
College football is a 365-days-a-year endeavor -- particularly for a team coming off a 4-9 season -- and for players, getting bigger, stronger, faster and smarter must happen year-round.

Bob Condotta from the Times also had a chance to watch some off season drills at the invitation of Trent Greener.

The conditioning started with about 10 minutes of stretching, then a lot of sprinting and agility drills under the supervision of trainers. One set consisted of 10 different exercises -- 40-yard sprints, 10-yard sprints, backpedals, lateral shuttle-type drills, etc. --- with brief breaks in between.

Both of the beat writers came away with the impression that Washington was making progress in this area, and they feel that this team may be in the best shape of any that have competed for Willingham during his tenure. Take that with a grain of salt because we hear this stuff every year. It was good to hear that Kelani Aldrich has put on some weight because we need the depth at DE.

Ted Miller of ESPN, and formerly of the Seattle P-I is probably the most knowledgeable college football writer in the Northwest. Ted is usually spot on, and this is what he has to say in his blog.

Will Washington and Arizona win enough games to earn Tyrone Willingham and Mike Stoops another year on the job?

The odds are better for Stoops than Willingham for one reason: schedule. Arizona's nonconference schedule -- Idaho, Toledo, at New Mexico -- is set up for a fast start that should help Stoops get to 6 or 7 wins and the program's first bowl game since 1998. Willingham's Huskies, meanwhile, start the season at Oregon, then play BYU and Oklahoma. An 0-3 start could severely damage a team trying to rebuild its confidence.

Who wants to trade schedules with Arizona?

AD Search

The AD search isn't going very well, in fact Scott Woodward will probably stay on as the interim guy through the Winter with a chance of taking over the position permanently.

A couple of things are complicating the search.

1. AD's at other BCS schools are not interested because the job does not pay more than they are currently making.

2. A new AD isn't really interested in coming in to take care of the dirty work required to fire Willingham. When Willingham goes it will make national noise no matter what his record is.

3. Many AD's don't like the way the firing of Todd Turner went down. Don't think for a minute that Todd hasn't been bad mouthing his former employer, this was not a graceful parting.

4. Who wants to start a new job with a mandate to raise $300 million to renovate a stadium for a 4-9 program?

5. UW wants to hire a guy around 50 years old, the viable candidates they have that are interested are in their mid 60's.

Recruiting

Washington is in on some very good athletes, but they do not have a single verbal as of yet. Blame most of it on the lack of a strong in state class, the lack of a local headliner, and a coach who needs to win some games to keep his job. Washington is the only Pac Ten school that has not gotten a verbal yet.

Site Updates

We welcome some new site links this week as we get ready for the 2008 season. You might notice that we added Irish Band of Brothers, and Domer Report to the lineup. Win, or lose the Irish have one of the largest fan bases in the country so there is no lack of information about what is going on in South Bend. We have also added a new blog on Arizona football, and one covering the Oregon Ducks. The House of Heat which was very entertaining last season has not published a new article in quite some time, so I am still looking for a replacement if they don't start publishing again in August.

Oregon Preview

Opening up against the Ducks in Autzen Stadium at night on national TV is not exactly the way you want to start the season with a young team. The Huskies hung with the Ducks by the grace of Jake Locker in Husky Stadium last year, but just plain ran out of gas in the fourth quarter as Oregon played one of their best games of the season. I really thought at that point that Oregon was headed for the BCS championship game, but an injury to Dixon scuttled the season.

Dixon, and Stewart aren't back this season, but the Duck's have plenty of firepower to take it to the next level. Jeremiah Johnson returns and is teamed up with a JC animal RB by the name of LeGarrette Blount. Don't forget Andre Crenshaw who is also more than capable of taking over the position. The Ducks aren't really going to miss JS too much.

It all starts at quarterback, and this is one of the two only real question marks on the team. Will the starter be Nathan Costa, a dual-threat like Dixon, Justin Roper or BYU transfer Cade Cooper? Once the position has been settled, the team should get back to some stability, but look for them to stumble a bit early as the QB gets experience.

The wide receiver unit is a little iffy, and really dependent on how consistent Jaison Williams is. It's that simple. Well, that, and remaining injury-free. Last year Williams' stats were down from the previous year despite being thrown a lot of passes by Dennis Dixon. The Ducks get a possible boost from USC transfer Jamere Holland, another projected starter, and TE Ed Dickson returns as one one of the better TE's in the country this year.

On the offensive line Center Max Unger, an All-American candidate, is back, as well as LT Fenuki Tupou and RG Mark Lewis. The Ducks as usual will have a solid offensive line.

Oregon’s defense could be the strength of this team, as they are returning 7 starters which is surprising for a team that is more concerned with outscoring you, than stopping you.

The secondary will probably be one of the better in the country. They only lost two free safeties, which sounds like a big problem, but it's not, thanks to Rover Patrick Chung. He's First Team Pac-10 and the heart of the D. Throw in Walter Thurmond and Jairus Byrd, the two best corners in the Pac-10, and you have a solid ourfit that will play on Sundays.

Senior DE Nick Reed who led the Pac 10 in sacks with 12 will anchor the defensive line. The team will have two seniors stepping in at the tackle positions, and they will probably go a long way in how this team performs on this side of the ball. While the Ducks look secure on their ends, there is a depth issue on the line. Two JUCO's have been brought in to solidify the tackle positions.

At linebacker the team is pretty set as you will have returning starter John Bacon and junior Kevin Garret on the outside. Where things get interesting is if senior John Bacon can hold off sophomore Casey Mathews in the middle, either way the future is bright with Mathews.

How do you beat Oregon?

You exploit the inexperience at QB, and WR and force them into mistakes that give up some points. Oregon can be beaten, we saw what happened to them when they lost Dixon last season. Well Dixon isn't around, and it is going to take some time for Costa, or whoever to get to that level of proficiency. Oregon's strength on offense is obviously going to be running the ball, you want to get them out of the mode by seizing the lead early and making them play catch up and making mistakes.

What Do I Think?

We are going to have our hands full with these guys, they have the talent to shut our WR's down on opening night which means we have to depend on the legs of Jake Locker, Brandon Johnson, and Chris Polk. I really have to pick Oregon in the opener because all they have to do is hand the ball off and keep it simple on offense. If they keep it simple for Costa to eliminate mistakes they are going to win this one.

The key is Costa, or whoever Bellotti goes with at QB. Washington was able to pace the Duck offense last year for most of the game, if the new QB slows down the Duck offense it could be a close one. UW needs to force the young QB into making mistakes. Getting points off those mistakes is essential.

Special Teams

Special teams have not been very special under Tyrone Willingham, and he did something about it this off season when he fired his special teams coach. To be fair there was improvement last season, and a lot of the improvement that comes from special teams has a lot to do with quality depth that is ready to play and contribute.

Kicking

The Huskies kicked the ball just OK last year. Perkins was good from short range in the FG/PAT department, and Ballman had the best year most of us remember from a punter in quite some time.

This Spring the kicking game was troubling. Perkins is in obvious pain every time he kicks the ball, and every kick is a tick against the clock of his career. If the Huskies are going to improve this season Erik Folk needs to make a move to take over the position. While Perkins proved to be accurate at short distances last season, his range is even more limited this year. It is time for Folk to step up and put the 40 yard or longer FG back into the Husky lexicon.

Ballman didn't look great this past Spring, but it seems to be a trend for him, he didn't look good last year until the games started. He responded by being one of the better punters in the league last year. We have had guys that have kicked longer, so long that they out kicked coverages, but Ballman did a great job of putting the ball almost exactly where you wanted every single time. You have to love that consistency.

The Huskies hope walk on Kiel Rasp from Nathan Hale continues to develop behind Ballman so they can use the scholarship elsewhere.

P Ballman Sr
P Rasp RS
PK Perkins Jr
PK Folk Rs

Return Game

When it comes to returning the football from the goal line Washington was unable to find a new stud last year, so Louis Rankin took the job back over despite being the full time tailback. Rankin was one of the better return men in the conference, and replacing him won't be easy. This spring Curtis Shaw, and Chris Polk, were among the favorites to earn the job in 2008. Both are among the fastest most wiggly guys on the team. Polk has even been compared to Reggie Bush. Husky coaches want to get the ball in Polk's hands next season in as many ways as possible.

Anthony Russo was the guy returning punts last season. He had sure enough hands, but he lacked that extra step to be a consistent return threat. This season the job is wide open once again, and will be missing experienced hands to field the football. Polk, Shaw, and Goodwin seem to be the guys that will compete for the spot. Goodwin had the best hands coming out of Spring, so with his blazing speed perhaps he is possibly the guy.

All of our return guys have the ability to take it to the house, and it will be exciting to see more of that dimension return in 2008.

KR C. Polk Fr
KR Shaw So

PR C. Polk Fr
PR Shaw So
PR D'Andre Goodwin So

Stopping the oppositions return game has been a total thorn in the side of this team under Willingham. If you can drop punt returners in their tracks, and make teams start from inside their 30 yard line when you kick off you are doing your defense, and team a favor.

One thing that really helps in this area is fresh players going up against the oppositions tired players. Washington has been on the opposite side of that equation for most of the decade, and if they are going to achieve the goal of making a bowl game they need to make dramatic improvement here.

Quality depth, and team speed is the key here, and Washington has been developing some quality young depth to help out. The second year players who sat out last season, and the newcomers that play this year are going to be counted on to shore up this area.

When your special teams start making big plays everything starts turning around for you.

Micro Specialties

What do back up QB's do when they are not holding a clipboard? Well the good hands guys are holding on FG's. Ronnie Fouch assumes the role this year from the graduated Carl Bonnell. Bonnell was a very good holder, while Fouch still has some work to do to get his proficiency up. Snapping to him will be a kid that will play on Sundays in Danny Morovick. the NFL puts a premium, on kids that can snap, and Morovick who continues to muscle up is one of the best.

H Fouch RS
S Morovick Jr

Consensus

Don James said Special Teams play contributes nearly one third to the total outcome of any game. UW hasn't been winning many special teams battles, and it shows in the W-L column. Last years fourth quarter loss to UCLA was precipitated by special team collapses brought on by exhaustion, and inexperience which has a lot to do with depth. Gassed players don't make great plays in the 4th quarter.

Quality depth, team speed, and coaching are the three factors that makes special teams special. Washington has improved in all three area's since last season, so I expect a better overall performance in 2008. Experience is lacking at all skill positions despite the overall talent upgrade. Some young guys are going to need to step up to the plate in 2008.

The Future

Willingham is still a year away from refilling his cupboard. He only has 19 players from his first two classes on the roster. The majority of talent the has stockpiled has been in the last two classes.

If Locker is around for his senior year UW will seriously contend for a BCS bowl in 2010.

What we have in 2008 is Jake the sophomore surrounded by better talent, and almost no game day experience at the skill positions. It is year four and this team is still rebuilding. Next years class, and the experience the previous two classes get this season will make this team seriously start contending in 2009.

It all comes together with experience, and this years young players are going to get plenty of it in 2008.

2008 Roster Breakdown

Bob Condotta profiled the 2005 class in the wake of JR Hasty leaving the team last week in his blog. I am following it up with a look at all the classes to give everyone an idea of just how young this team really is despite four years of rebuilding.

One thing I have been saying ever since the blog started is that you win with your third, fourth, and fifth year players.

The Huskies are very young, they only have thirty players that fall into this experienced category.

Fifty-five of the scholarship players on the roster are in their first or second year in the program!

The future obviously started when Jake Locker entered the program, but the 2006 class is now down to only 12 players.

The thorn in Willingham's paw has been the lack of numbers from his first two recruiting classes, and of course the talent, and confusion he took over from the Gilby/Neu era. Make no mistake, he did take over at the lowest point the program has ever been at.

That being said, it is year four for Ty, and all coaches know that they have to win by year four to keep their jobs no matter what the circumstance.

If you want to point to one reason why he may not be around next season take a good look at his first two recruiting classes. Obviously there is talent left, but the overall numbers are way too low. This team won't be mature, and fully rebuilt for another couple of years.

That doesn't mean they can't win, young teams under the right coaching can win, but typically it is your older players that get you there.

Bold type indicates players who have started games at one time of their career, or are projected as a starter in 2008.

2003 Recruiting Class (1) Neuheisel

C Garcia ....Back for a 6th season because of injuries, and he should be ready to play after the first bye week. The prognosis on his foot right now is pretty good which is good news for Husky fans. Expect to hear some good news regarding Juan after the 4th. Observers say the cast is off, and he is walking without a limp.

2004 Recruiting Class (10) Gilbertson

DT Kirton....Mike Belotti recruited him as a DL. Ty recruited him as a TB, and even though after a week it was obvious it wasn't going to work they kept him there. The move to TE seemed like a good fit, but he didn't run very good routes, and had trouble blocking. Kirton is a guy to keep an eye on this summer because if he makes the succesful transition it will really help the DL.
DL O'Connor....Has never seen the field, but started the spring as the #1 DT beside Elisara. After a week he fell back to #3.
FB Kravitz ....A solid #2 FB wigh a history of dings. I would like to see him catch the ball out of the backfield more in 2008. Ty wasn't happy he took off winter conditioning to go to South Africa and demoted him to #3.
OL Bulyca .....Finally hit his stride last season as a starter, but is being pushed by those behind him. He has a bit of nasty, but the coaching changes have obviously stunted some of his development. Weight is always a problem for Casey, we will see what he reports at in August.
OL White Frisbee ....JWF is ready to make an impact this season. Was an amazing DT with Emtman potential till he broke his foot. Could play on Sundays if he can stay healthy. Will be #1-b at one of the guard positions unless Tolar moves to center.
TE Winter .....Been at LB, DE, and TE but has rarely played.
LB Tuiasosopo .....Expect a solid season, as #1-B at MLB.
S Harris .....Was the best Safety left standing last season. Will be a reserve this year and provide some solid depth.
CB Forrester .....Will be in the rotation at CB. Didn't look good at Safety last year.
TE Gottleib .....Nobody has beaten out this former walk on, but Kavario Middleton should move past him by mid season. A solid blocker, who would be a #3 TE for most past Husky teams, but UW has been very lucky to have him.

2005 Recruiting Class (7) Willingham

OL Rosborough .....May not make an impact till year five. Very big, very agile, but something didn't click last year when he had a chance to enter the rotation.
DE Jones ....After injuries have slowed him down is now ready to be an effective starter. He played right away as a frosh MLB, redshirted the next season becuase of injury, and then was dinged up again last year. the only question about Darion is health.
OT Ossai .....This will be his third year as a starter, but he was pushed pretty hard by Habben last year. Ben will be a fixture at tackle for the next two seasons.
LB Savannah ....C'mon, put down the beer, get healthy and stop screwing around. So much potential, and way too many problems. This kid could be very good if he ever gets his head screwed on right.
LB Stevens .....This utility LB is very effective when he is inserted at the right time. I think he should have been a safety, but look for him to rush the passer at times from DE. Donatell will probably play him more than Baer, and with EJ out to start the season he is going to get his chance.
PK Perkins ....May not make it much longer because of one of the worst knee injuries of all time. Too bad because he came in with a terrific leg.
DE Teo Nesheim ....Daniel has NFL written all over him and may be the best player on the defense. He could have a good enough season to leave early. the Huskies are really counting on him to have a great season.

2006 Recruiting Class (12) Willingham

QB Locker .....Can you say All American and potential Heisman Trophy winner? So much has been written about Jake what more can you say? Like Tui he elevates the play of those around him. Look for Jake to be markedly improved in 2008 with a full season under his belt.
FB Homer .....One of the most complete FB's ever at UW. A devestating blocker, and special teams demon. It must be comforting to Jake to have Homer back there protecting him.
WR Goodwin .....Mr "Go-To-Guy" in 2008! D'Andre is the only kid who proved to me he was ready to catch the ball this past Spring. The Flea can make the big play, but when he runs into the likes of Patrick Chung, and Taylor Mays it could get pretty ugly.
OL Tolar .....Ryan will be playing on Sundays, count on it. He also could open the season at center. Great motor, and always improving.
OL Habben .....Will be a full time starter in 2008 after splitting time in 2007 with Ossai. Cody had a nice debut year, and will be a solid starter for the next three years.
OL Sedillo .....The center heir apparent in 2009 may start till Garcia comes back in 2008. The coaches like the way Matt is progressing.
DT Elisara ....The former four star recruit needs to start showing it in 2008. He is a workout warrior with a great attitude, but he hasn't broken out yet. Hard work usually pays off, and the team may not have a harder worker than Cameron.
DE Matthews ....They moved him inside this spring, but his future is at DE. If Matthews is your starting DT than we are going to be very small inside. Hopefully he can move back outside hwere he is obviously best suited, but like any kid he will play anywhere to hit the field.
LB Butler ....Keep him healthy 12 games and you have one of the Pac Ten's best LB's. UW was really hurt by his injury even though Tui did nice job filling in. He drops back better in pass coverage than Trenton.
LB Houston ....This is Matt's year to get into the rotation, and he had a decent Spring. He has good speed, but we really haven't seen him play much till this past Spring.
CB Mosley ....Started a bit last season as a RS. I am not sure if CB is his best position, but that is where he is. His grandfather is Husky great Luther Carr. Not sure how many of the Carr family have been Husky athletes, but it is probably around 20 or more! UW stole him from ASU at the last minute.
S Wells ....An injury cut his season short, and the Huskies really missed him. A coaches favorite who will likely start in 2008, but is going to face a stiff challenge from the young studs.
Snapper Morovick ....He makes it a lot easier to punt and place kick, a very smart pick up by Willingham.

2007 Recruiting Class (25) Willingham

QB Fouch ....A decent spring, and enters as the #2 in 2008. The coaches like his makeup, and he will have plenty of time to mature behind Jake.
RB Griffin ....Offensive player of the game in the Spring with most of the TB's out.
SB Shaw ....Converted to receiver at midseason and gave us some great glimpses of talent against OSU. Will play SB, TB, and WR in 2008.
RB Johnson ....100 yards against Cal subbing for Rankin. We all liked what he brought to the table last year, but is he durable enough to go 12 games, and 30 carries per?
FB Sylvester .....The heir to Paul Homer is biding his time as the #3 FB.
WR Aguilar .....Will be in the rotation in 2008. Gatorade player of the year in Colorado. I thought he looked good in the Spring game.
WR Boyles ....Not ready for prime time in the spring, but his mouth was. This kid was the star of the 2007 class, but he needs work to polish the potential.
WR Logan .....Will surprise in 2008 as a solid possession receiver that can lay some lumber. I think this kid will be an awesome downfield blocker. A Husky receiver that can block? Maybe I am getting ahead of myself.
TE Izbicki ....Had a solid spring game and will be in the rotation in 2008 at TE. He came in with a lot of hype, but needed to bulk up. Seemed to be getting it at the end of Spring, but needs to work on his hands.
OL Schugert ....Best of the young offensive linemen, and the coaches considered playing him in 2007. Has a chance to push for time in a crowded OG rotation.
OL Fancher ....Will be a #2 OT in 2008. If Ossai, or Habben go down we are going to be real green at tackle unless they move a guard over here.
OL Armelin ....Will be a #2 OT in 2008. Had a good RS year, and the coaches are happy with his development so far.
DT Duncan ....Way too early to tell on Tyrone. Hurt his shoulder in 2007, and saw action this Spring. Was starting for a bit till they moved Matthews over.
DT Wood ....Way too early to tell on Nick. He was injured in 2007, and Spring was really his first action. Needs some more time, and was moved to DE this Spring.
DE Aldrich .....Not keeping the weight on, but has good speed, and potential. We will see what he looks like in August. Don't pass the poi Kelani!
LB Dennison ....Scout team player of the year. Lightly recruited kid with a great attitude.
LB Foster ....Mason will be an All American before he leaves. Best looking Husky LB I have seen in years. He was good in 2007, and will be very good in 2008.
CB Persley ....The coaches love this kid. He has great size, but was pretty raw coming in. It will be interesting to watch him develop in year two. Comes from the same HS as Ronnie Fouch, and Chris Polk.
CB Davenport ....Will start opposite Richardson if he can stay healthy. Hamstrings seems to be a problem with him.
CB McDowell ....Started right out of the box last year way before his time. He seems to have gotten bigger, and regained his confidence this past Spring.
CB Richardson ....We all thought he would grow into a LB, but his surprising speed will give him a shot at starting as a big physical corner in 2008. He won the job this past spring, but I won't be completely sold till I see him against some opposition this Fall.
S Williams .....The nickle back in 2007 moves into a starting role in 2008. I expect great things from Nate. He played well last season learning the ropes and had a great Spring.
S Aiyewa .....Mr Nasty emerged this Spring and it will be tough for Wells to get his job back. This kid knocks the snot out of people like Patrick Chung. I think it is going to be hard to keep him on the bench even with Wells coming back healthy.
K Folk .....With Perkins hurting Folk needs to produce in 2008. He had a back injury in 2007 that cost him the season. His brother kicks for the Cowboys.
P Ballman .....Had a great year punting in 2007, and can help out place kicking. didn't look great this spring.

2008 Recruiting Class (26) Willingham

QB Blackman ....A big QB prospect sort of reminds me of Jermey Stevens. Will RS, and could be a future TE. UW will give him every chance to play QB, but he may need to mature a bit before he becomes a leader of men.
QB Leonard ....A mobile QB with a cannon who is still very green. Will RS, and could be a future Safety. Luther is a great kid, and a very good athlete. I wouldn't be surprised to see him stick at QB.
TB Bronson ....Top back in the state in 2007, will start off at TB with the potential to move to defense. UW was his only Pac Ten offer till WSU came in late in the game.
TB Freeman ....Lots of speed and moves. Charles Mincy was very high on him.
TB Dailey .....The coaches project him as a Richard Thomas type FB.
TB Fogerson ....I think the kid special, real special, and I think his future is at Safety.
WR Kearse ....Will get a shot in 2008, but may not be ready for prime time.
SB C. Polk ....The next Reggie Bush?
WR Bruns .....Has a great chance to start immediately.
WR J. Polk .....Speed kills, and he will get a shot in 2008.
TE Middleton ....We haven't had a kid with this type of talent since Stevens left, and I think he will be much better.
OL Thomas .....Like all big guys he needs to RS, but you have to like a snow boarding OT.
OL Schaeffer .....Will be a solid cog for five years.
OL Ikehara ....Will start off at center.
OL Carroll ....One of the top OL in the Bay Area.
DT Taamu .....The kid is a monster and will play right away ready, or not.
DT Kelemente ....The most polished of the young DL.
DT Noble ....Top Cal recruit could use a year of seasoning, but depth will force him to play right away.
DE Thompson ....We are thin at DE, so look for him to jump into the rotation right away.
LB Rousel ....I loved his film, glad he made it in. If he was two inches taller he would be at LSU.
LB Mangum ....Was here this Spring, has some work to do on his speed. A real big Arizona kid who was not heavily recruited.
CB Long ......Fast, Fast, Fast!
CB Gobern ....Another converted TB with great speed.
CB Glenn .....We have been watching this guy for a few years now, he is ahead of where McDowell was last season when he started.
S Taylor ....An excellent athlete who could find a home on either side of the ball.
S Walker ....Was a stud LB in HS.

The kids I think that will have a chance to play in 2008

WR Bruns....He runs precise routes, has sure hands, and if there is anything that gets you on the field early it is that type of discipline. Think of guys like Steve Largent, Paul Skansi, and Chris Juergens when you are looking for a comparison.

DT Kelemete....This kid may be one of the great ones. He has a great body, and a motor that does not quit. I think he is the most polished and ready to play of the young kids. He is extremely athletic, and was an excellent wrestler. He will come in at around 290 lbs..

DE Thompson....I would like to see him RS, but numbers at DE may not let that happen. He would be equally at home at DE, or TE. I would hate to see him end up like Rayford and miss his potential impact year if he has problems putting on enough weight.

DT Noble....Big bodies on defense will get a shot this year, and Craig was supposed to be one of the best in California. The DM crew is not quite convinced and thinks he needs seasoning. We will see where he is at in August.

DT Ta'amu....This kid is big, very big, and he is strong, very strong, so he will play from the get go if his feet are in order. The Huskies haven't had a true NT in quite some time, and his build fits that bill. He wasn't as dominating as you like in HS, but the tools are there. We need to see how nasty he is when he arrives.

SB C. Polk....The next Reggie Bush showed us some intruiging glimpses this Spring as he was learning the offense. The coaches are counting on him to bring big play impact to the team in 2008 which means he will help fill the void left by Rankin, but be used differently like Rodgers at OSU. UW talked Chris out of going to USC, that doesn't happen ever day, or every year.

WR J. Polk....Speed kills, and Jordan has a lot of speed and the ability to make exceptional catches if you have watched his film. Ty stole him out of Portland!

TE Middleton....One of the top recruits in the nation last year at TE, and DE. He should be starting at the end of the first bye week. This kid will be special if he keeps his head screwed on right.

WR Aguilar*.... He took awhile to qualify, but he made a decent impression this Spring. I think he makes the rotation at WR since everything is wide open.

WR Boyles* ....Like Aguilar he took awhile to qualify, but even though he is a year older than the rest of the frosh he may need some time to bulk up.

WR Kearse .....With all the holes at WR Jermaine will get a shot, but he probably needs a year to season. One of the top recruits in the West last year.

CB Long ....Speed kills, and he may be the fastest kid on the team this Fall which means they will find a place for him to play. The coaches are grooming him for action right away which means special teams until he is comfortable with the defense.

S Fogerson ....If he sticks at TB chances are he will not play this year, but if he moves to Safety, and if there are holes to fill he could play right away. He wasn't highly recruited if you believe the recruiting services, and not him, but he might have been the best player in the state at the end of the year. I saw a highlight film of his greatest defensive hits and it was impressive. Willingham offered very late, but after watching him in the state championship game could not resist.

* 2007 Class

Pac Ten Alley

The bridge program has started, and the incoming frosh started informal workouts with the team yesterday. In other words the football season has started, and the countdown begins for camp which starts the first week in August.

Over the past few weeks I have been going over the team by position going into the Fall. I conclude the series with a couple of articles tommorow. First we will go over special teams which is a component of the Husky team that you hope improves this year.

The second article is a breakdown of the team by classes going back to 2003 when Juan Garcia caome into the program. Juan by the way is last Neuheisel recruit left standing. The article should give you all a pretty good look at where we are in the rebuilding process.

After that I start a series on Friday that previews all the Husky opponents in 2008. We start off with the Oregon Ducks who will be a major hurdle to overcome on the road to start the season. The series will conclude with the WSU preview on August 8th. The Monday Morning Wash, and Pac Ten Alley will continue to come out Monday, and Wednesday respectively each week.

Once practice starts the "Purple Curtain" will be lifted and I should have some sort of coverage here every day. Reporters only get to watch the first 20 minutes of practice which is usually just stretching. After practice Ty usually holds a news conference to answer questions. I watch the press conference every day, and you can too at the UW Athletic Department website.

The season begins early in Autzen, and finishes late in Strawberry Canyon. We have twelve games, and I feel that eight are winnable. That doesn't mean we can't beat USC, Oklahoma, ASU, and Oregon either, but I feel there are eight games in this schedule we should be able to win. As usual I will have plenty of commentary during the week, and after each game.

This is going to be a very interesting season because it will start with a new Athletic Director, and a head coach that is on the hot seat. The mandate this season is to finish with a winning record, and go to a bowl game. This team is entirely capable of doing that, if they can't they need to go in a new direction.

Pac Ten Alley

Defensive Line

Cameron Elisara and a player to be named later are going to be manning the inside of the UW defensive line this season. Elisara is a work out warrior, but that hasn't translated into immediate success for the third year player. This is the year the coaches look, and need for him to have a break out season.

Deshon Matthews moved over from DE this Spring to help out, and he did a good job, but he is pretty undersized for the position. Kirton is big enough, but can he make up for lost time after switching over from TE this past Spring? Tyrone Duncan played some for the first time this spring but didn't make a move, and O'Connor probably won't play a down in 2008.

What all this means is three true frosh are going to get a chance to play right away at UW. Taamu is a 340 pound man beast who has nose tackle all written over him. Kelemente is the guy I like the best, incredible body, good speed, size, and strength. Noble is a 300 pounder that may need more time to develop, but will get his shot at the rotation if ready this year.

DT Elisara So
DT Matthews So
DT Kirton Sr
DT Duncan RS
DT O'Connor Sr
DT Taamu Fr
DT Kelemente Fr
DT Noble Fr

Over at DE things are a lot clearer with Daniel Teo Nesheim, and Darion Jones. Teo Nesheim is an all league player who could go early to the NFL. Jones is a journeyman who has bided his time to earn his position. Both of these kids had excellent springs.

Backing them up will be Kelani Aldrich who may need another year of fattening up before he is ready to go, and Nick Wood who really didn't impress much this Spring. Wood seems more suited for inside, but because of numbers shifted outside. The coaches would love to move Matthews back to DE if a suitable partner can be found for Elisara.

Everette Thompson could really use a RS year, but numbers and need are most likely going to get him early playing time. Thompson is a talent, but you always like to RS your linemen.

Chris Stevens will see time as a stunting DE as usual this season as Washington tries to mask its inexperience in the DL with help from a deep LB corp.

DE Teo Nesheim
DE Jones
DE Aldrich
DE Wood
DE Thompson

Consensus

The future is now for the defensive line, and that means all four DL recruits are going to be thrown into the fire this Fall to see if they can play immediately. How well the new guys do will go along way in determining if the Washington defense will improve in 2008.

The only job that is locked down going into camp is Teo Nesheim's, everyone else, including Elisara is going to have to scramble for the a starting job. That means staying healthy, picking things up fast, getting to the QB, and taking up some space.

I think most of us were impressed by how well the defense played in the Spring game, but take it with a grain of salt, they pretty much knew what was coming next, and UW was using very little of their offense.

The Future

We are young, talented and fairly deep at DT looking towards the future, but we need to bring in a couple of stud DE's for the future.

Look for UW to recruit at least one DT, and a couple of DE's if they can.

I think Thompson, Kelemente, Noble, and Taamu have a bright future, but think about Ceasar Rayford for a minute. Wouldn't we all of liked him in purple and gold for one more season rather than playing on th epractice squad for the BC Lions? When you play linemen early you run the risk of not getting the use of their full potential and development.

The Monday Morning Wash

The University of Illinois football program has undergone an amazing rebuilding process since Ron Zook took over. There are lots of possible parallels between Washington and Illinois. A few experts feel that UW has the potential to be the surprise team of 2008 despite a murderous schedule.

It only took Zook three years to get the Illlini back in a BCS bowl which is the kind of performance that Washington fans expect out of their coaching staff. Willingham in year four has the talent on the squad to make a run, it is just a matter of getting that talent to mature, and perform as a team.

In 2005, the University of Illinois hired Zook to replace Ron Turner as the head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini football team. Zook inherited a program which had become a disaster since winning the Big Ten championship in 2001, finishing 1-11 in 2003 and 3-8 in 2004, including Big Ten records of 0-8 and 1-7, respectively. In Zook's inaugural season of 2005, Illinois finished with an overall record of 2-9, and a record of 0-8 in Big Ten games.

Despite his team's past struggles, Zook has improved the ability of Illinois to recruit top football talent. According to one source, the 2006 recruiting class was one of the 30 best in college football.

Despite this, they finished the 2006 season 1-7 in the conference and 2-10 overall. While the record did not improve, the play on the field did as the Illini nearly upset top ranked Ohio State in Champaign before losing 17-10. Additionally, the Illini played well against Iowa, Wisconsin, and Penn State (they lost 63-10 the year before; Penn State led 56-3 at halftime) but ended up losing close games (they were down 15-12 at Penn State until Penn State broke open the close game to make it 26-12).

The 2006 recruiting class included Isiah "Juice" Williams of Chicago Vocational High School, considered to be one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. They also signed Arrelious Benn, one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2007 class. More recently, Zook has also won over Simeon High School standout Martez Wilson along with Florida prospect D'Angelo McCray. This class is one of Illinois' best in recent memory, being rated within the top 25 nationally by some experts.

The Chicago area is a high school football hotbed, and there is no reason that the Illini shouldn't have great talent every year, but so much of it bleeds out to Notre Dame and the rest of the Big Ten. Zook is the first Illinois head coach in years that is starting to keep that talent home. Part of the problem at Illinois is that every time they do well they get caught cheating, and that sends the program back into a dark hole for a decade. The same sort of rumors started flowing again during Zooks tenure, but nothing substantial has come out as of this time. Most feel the rumors are sour grapes from South Bend, and Ann Arbor.

Zook's recruiting success finally began to pay dividends during the 2007 season. After losing a close game on neutral turf to a Missouri squad which would go on to be ranked as high as #1, the Illini ran off five straight wins, including back-to-back home wins over Penn State and Wisconsin. Illinois' 5-1 start gave them a #18 ranking in the AP poll. This was Illinois' first ranking in the AP poll since the end of the 2001 season.

However, the ranking would prove to be short lived after consecutive losses to Iowa and Michigan. A homecoming win over Ball State gave the Illini bowl eligibility and a blowout win at Minnesota all but assured Zook's first bowl appearance as coach of the Illini. On November 10th, the then-unranked Illini defeated #1-ranked Ohio State in Columbus, ending the Buckeyes' 28 game home winning streak. The Illini finished the 2007 regular season by defeating Northwestern to finish 9-3 overall, 6-2 in the Big 10.

Because Big Ten champion Ohio State played in the BCS National Championship game, Illinois received a bid to play in the Rose Bowl as the second ranked team in the Big Ten. The Illini's improvement of 7 wins over the 2006 season was the largest such increase of any Division I team.

Washington historically has been much stronger than Illinois on the gridiron despite the fact that the Illini have steady support from a loyal fan base, and a larger local talent base to draw from.

Washington has lacked administrative support, and cohesiveness since the national championship year. Thirteen years under Barbara Hedges were a slow death, and it is actually amazing that the machine held together that long.

President Mark Emmert has stated from the beginning that he is pro athletics, and believes that the football team is the front porch of the University. His first steps were to hire Willingham and Turner whose jobs were to restore respectability, and ethical behavior to the athletic department and football program.

Perhaps both were the right guys at the right time, but Turner was fired last Winter, and Willingham barely escaped the same axe. The problem was simple the team was not winning. Even though the program was clean there was a complete disconnect with fans, boosters, alumni, and media. With over $300 million needing to be raised to rebuild the stadium it became evident that Turner and possibly Willingham were not going to be able to sell it to the state, and the public.

I have always felt that Ty was the guy that would stabilize things over 4-5 years, and whoever took over from him would have some good building blocks to take advantage of if it didn't work out. Going into year four his program is at a crossroad

So here we are headed into year four wondering if Willingham is going to be able to take it to the next level like Ron Zook did at Illinois last season. I think the pieces are in place to win as many as eight games this season even though the schedule is less than kind.

Jake Locker has a year under his belt, and that makes a big difference even though his skill players need to step up to the plate immediately. This team is going to be very young in places, but overall the talent has improved at almost every position. It's time to win at Washington, and it is time to produce an Illinois type turnaround at Montlake in 2008.

Tidbits

It looks like a couple of recruits are missing the start of the bridge program today. RB Demetrius Bronson could be delayed a couple of days and is meeting with coaches to go over whatever requirements he is missing. Bronson is confident that he will be eligible for Fall since he is picking ups some credits from a BYU extension course.

QB Dominique Blackman is waiting for results on his ACT. His GPA slid a bit since he took his SAT which means he has to raise his score a bit to qualify. Blackman reports that he is down to 240 after playing volleyball this past Spring which means if he makes camp he should be around 235 by the time the season begins.

Both of these kids were expected to redshirt this season, so if it takes a little extra time I guess it is ok, but they do fall behind the rest of the class since the kids that are in school will be going to informal workouts starting on Tuesday with the rest of the team till practice begins in August.

One thing to keep in mind is the kids are always positive up to the minute they don't qualify to get in, so keep your fingers crossed on both of these guys.

Linebackers

Will UW run a 3-4, or a 4-3 the majority of the time in 2008?

The reason we ask is Washington is pretty deep at LB, and very shallow on the defensive line. This Spring from what we could see the Huskies stuck with the 4-3, but that could change a bit if Taamu, and Noble arrive ready to play and become viable candidates at NT. Donatell seems open to running what ever works in the right situations. Look for him to be a breath of fresh air calling the game compared to the very predictable Coach Baer.

Washington has a lot of talent and experience at linebacker going into 2008. Unfortunately the best of the bunch, EJ Savannah may miss the first three games with a broken upper arm he suffered while supposedly arm wrestling. I am sure there is a lot more to the story, but I like the arm wrestling angle, it is very creative.

EJ started off the Spring sharing the doghouse with JR Hasty for missing some Winter workouts. when he returned to the field he showed why he was such a coveted recruit when he led the LB's in tackles during the Spring game. Look for the defense to kick it up a notch when EJ returns, but they could also be 0-3 when that happens. With EJ out look for Sr Chris Stevens, and So Matt Houston to split time at the position.

Don't count out walk ons Jonathan Gage, and Fred Wiggs, both of these kids will play a lot this year on special teams, and Gage was actually starting while EJ was running stairs.

So Mason Foster is going to be a very good player before he leaves. He saw the field immediately last year and worked himself into the starting rotation at the end of the year. Jr Donald Butler returns healthy this season, and when this kid is healthy he is a pretty good player. Backing him up, and playing besides him at times will be Trenton Tuiasosopo who is primed to have a pretty good year after getting back to full strength from a bicycle accident that nearly killed him.

SO Matt Houston, and RS Cort Dennison are going to see the field quite a bit this year along with walk on Jonathan Gage.

The Huskies add Bradley Roussel from Louisiana who had good film, and Kurt Mangum from Arizona who was practicing with the team this Spring.

OLB Savannah Jr
OLB Houston So
OLB Stevens Sr
OLB Wiggs* Jr

ILB Foster So
ILB Dennison Rs
ILB Roussel Fr
ILB Gage* Jr

MLB Butler Jr
MLB Tuiasosopo Sr
MLB Mangum Fr

Consensus

Butler, Foster, Savannah, Tuiasosopo, and Stevens are pretty good building blocks for Ed Donatell to utilize in his first season at Washington. The Huskies have pretty good depth at LB, and it will allow UW to buy some time while a very young defensive line develops.

The injury to Savannah hurts because the kid has the potential to be a difference make when healthy. He will be back early in the season, but the lack of conditioning could be a factor due to loss of upper body strength.

Butler and Tuiasosopo are #1-A, and #1-B in the middle. We haven't seen what Butler is capable of yet, but we all have a good idea what Tui can do. Tui is great against the run, but struggles a bit in pass coverage.

Mason Foster will graduate as one of UW's greatest LB's. The kid has a lot of upside, and will continue to grow in 2008. He is very athletic, and can play sideline to sideline.

The Future

UW graduates two, and that means they will bring in two in 2008 unless someone gets moved here from another position.

Mangum is a big kid, but he needs to work on his speed from what we saw this Spring. Roussel is a kid that would have been a blue chip if he was a couple of inches taller. If he had those extra couple of inches he would be at LSU, not UW.

Sonic Reaction

It was really no surprise that the Sonics are moving to Oklahoma and the city accepted a $45 million payoff from Clay Bennett. The court case really was nothing other than posturing, and a waste of more taxpayer money since a similar settlement offer had been on the table previously.

It was pretty obvious in the early going that the poison pill defense was going to work for Bennett because for the most part it was true. The cities plan all along was to bleed the guy with losses if he didn't play ball with them.

A lot of people blame Howard Schultz, and Wally Walker, but who can blame somebody for selling a team for double it's book value? You would have to be crazy to pass that one up when you are losing millions of dollars per year.

The real blame should be put on the politicians in Seattle, and Olympia who never put together a viable solution even though that solution was always within their grasps. The obvious point was that Key Arena was not financially viable anymore for an NBA team even though it was previously remodeled in 1995. The venue was the smallest in the league, and lacked the revenue producing amenities needed to be successful in a changing market.

The previous owner Barry Ackerley almost got it right when he almost built a new arena in the SODO area where Safeco Field now sits. That arena was going to be big enough for hockey, be able to control parking revenue, and have a footprint that could be extended to take care of future needs.

The remodeling of Key Arena was more of a stop gap move designed to give an aging building, city park, and the businesses around it an extra 10-15 years of meaningful life. That model started to fail when Safeco, and Qwest opened because they took away the market for luxury boxes from the Sonics which was a big piece of the economic equation for the franchise, and the building remaining successful.

Key Arena was originally designed as a temporary venue for the 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair. It was never supposed to be around fifty years later even if it was remodeled time and time again.

A 300 million dollar project to remodel it once more is another stop gap measure if the building is unable to host the NHL, and the surrounding campus may be too small to control all the revenue needed to support those franchises in this day of age.

The NBA wrote a nice letter on the way out of town which says the city has 18 months to get it's act together on building a new arena, or remodeling the Key if they want to have a chance at getting an NBA team in the next five years. Spend the money and wait with no guarantees to a city that supported the league for 41 years.

If you are going to build a new arena, or remodel Key Arena you need to make sure that it is going to be able to host an NHL franchise. If you don't, by the time the NBA comes sniffing around again the new arena may be hopelessly out of date and you have to start all over again.

Commisioner Stern is not a friend of Seattle, and he feels he owes the area nothing after Clay Bennett pays the city $45-$75 million over the next five years. There are no guarantee's, no conditional promises, only a cordial letter wrapped with cash, and an empty hope on the way out of town.

Line of the Day

As for the additional $30 million due in 2013 if Bennett hasn't helped get another franchise for Seattle -- please. Bennett being forced to help Seattle scrounge a team is like hiring Yosemite Sam to be an anger-management counselor.

Defensive Backs

Defensive Back has been an Achilles heel for Washington ever since the bombardment by Texas back in the Holiday Bowl when Neuheisel was here. Who will ever forget Chris Massey getting burned all night by the Longhorns? Who thought it would continue for the rest of the decade?

Hard to believe, but things have continued to get worse since that fateful day. The main problem has been recruiting, retention, and development. UW has not recruited enough numbers at the position, and is only now getting back to the point where they have enough athletes back there to at least practice with. Willingham upon his arrival tried to address the problems by bringing in JC's, but that backfired on him when only a few of those guys were able to get in to school.

Washington's biggest problem has simply been running out of guys to put back there. Without much of a rotation guys get tired, and tired guys get burned. Most of the guys they have had have not improved either which points a finger at coaching, development, and talent.

The last two recruiting classes however have fully addressed the need for numbers and talent. Development and experience need to start taking over for the Huskies to take it to the next level.

Cornerback

Washington went young this Spring. RS Quinton Richardson who came in faster than most thought has been moved from Safety to Corner and is slotted to start opposite of Sr Mesphin Forrester who also moved over from Safety. Sr Byron Davenport will challenge Forrester for a starting spot if he can stay healthy. The transfer from UCLA played well last year when healthy, but he suffered from nagging injuries most of the year. Behind those three you have So Matt Mosley, So Vonzell McDowell, who both started a few games last year in their first year of action. RS Marquise Persley also looks like a potential stud to build with in the future.

True Frosh Justin Glenn, Anthony Gobern, and Adam Long arrive this Summer, and all will get a shot at getting into the rotation if they are ready. Long is a guy the coaches will take a particularly long look at, no pun intended, because he may just be the fastest kid on the team when he gets here.

CB Forrester Sr
CB Richardson RS
CB Davenport Sr
CB McDowell So
CB Mosley So
CB Persely RS
CB Long Fr
CB Gobern Fr
CB Glenn Fr

Safety

While we have lots of questions at CB, the Safety position looks pretty good going into Summer. Sr Jason Wells returns after suffering an ACL injury early last year. Wells is a player, and when he went out the level of the defense fell a couple of notches.

So Nate Williams, and So Victor Aiyewa were that starters this past Spring. Both are beginning to remind me of the Husky Safeties of old such as Tim Peoples, Lawyer Milloy...etc... . Both of these kids can run, and lay some lumber.

Sr Darin Harris returns for his final campaign, and he has played a lot during his career starting, and backing up. He may not be the most talented Safety we have ever had, but the kid gives a solid effort every time he hits the field. Also in the depth you have Jr Tripper Johnson who walked on after ending his baseball career. Tripper had a good Spring and rose to second string on the depth chart.

The Huskies also bring in three new true Frosh Safeties in Johri Fogerson, Greg Walker, and Vince Taylor. All three are very good athletes, and Fogerson will most likely get a good look at RB before moving over to DB. Walker was a LB in HS, and Taylor could play WR, or DB. Vince has the potential to develop into a specimen.

S Wells Sr
S Williams So
S Aieywa So
S Johnson Jr
S Harris Sr
S Fogerson Fr
S Taylor Fr
S Walker Fr

Consensus

Ed Donatell's background is as a DB coach, and he will change the look of this unit this season with the help of Coach Williams. As a group I think play will improve dramatically due to better teaching, schemes, and play calling. Coach Baer looked brain dead most of the time, don't expect the same performance from Donatell who is an excellent coach. Enjoy Ed the one year he is at UW because chances are he will rejoin Jim Mora when he takes over as coach of the Seahawks next season.

Overall I love our potential at safety, but CB frightens me a little. Our two top corners are converted safeties which means we should be able to attack the run better, but will these kids be able to provide adequate pass coverage in a throwing league like the Pac Ten?

I thought they played well this Spring, but that was against our young, and inexperienced WR corp. The Oregon game will test this group right out of the gates. We will know what we have by halftime.

The Future

The future looks pretty good since UW now sports a young and talented group with lots of talent and depth. Look for the next recruiting class to include 2-3 more DB's to keep building depth. Experience is what will make this young group better, and they are going to get a lot of it this season playing the nations toughest schedule.

Pac Ten Alley

We shift to basketball to open this week and say a fond farewell to Joel Smith who is moving on with a season of eligibility still remaining. Smith was supposed to be the next Bobby Jones, and looked the part early in his career until an injury slowed him down. Smith was never quite the same after that, and even though Romar would love to have him on the roster another year there simply wasn't room. You hate to see a kid with a great attitude move on with eligibility left, but that is how the game is often played with the small numbers involved in college basketball.

Observers who have been watching Isaiah Thomas in open gym on the UW campus are coming away very impressed. The kid has put on some muscle and looks ready to assume the role of the next Nate Robinson. By the way, he shoots a lot better than Nate did at this point of his career.

Venoy Overton has been working on improving his shooting touch, and seems to be doing pretty well hitting three's. With Appleby moving on Thomas, and Overton are going to need to pick up the slack from the outside.

Bridge Program

Bob Condotta is hearing that the entire football recruiting class is going to qualify and be on campus by July 7th which is very good news. Scott, and Chris over at DM are saying not so fast, they still think there are a couple of kids that are going to be cutting it very close. No exact word on who those players are, but it won't be Lakes HS Kavario Middleton who is now fully qualified. It is very tough to figure out what is happening ahead of time because of the Purple Shroud of silence.

Then There Were Seven

Bob Condotta takes a close look at the 2005 class which was Willingham's first at Washington. When that class came in most of us gave Ty a mulligan, but with hindsight being 20/20 it seems his lack of immediate urgency may end up costing him his job.

Most critics of Willingham point to his first two classes as being very sub par. I am reserving judgement on the second class, but the first one was a program killer. You can put a lot of the blame on Gilbertson who closed down recruiting in September of that year, but Ty didn't hit the road the day he was hired, he chose to wait till after the dead period, and that was a major contributing factor. Jonathan Stewart was the prize of that class, and Ty did make an effort to recruit him, but when he headed to Oregon the fate of this small class was sealed.

UW had major holes at DB which were never filled because the transfers didn't make it in. Same thing happened the following year. Only now is Washington back to the numbers they need to be productive in the defensive backfield.

The departure of running back J.R. Hasty further depletes Washington's Class of 2005, which was generally considered to be the worst in the schools history in decades and is living up to that, uh, hype.

Pac Ten Alley

It's time to take a walk down the coast to see what the neighbors are up to. A lot of the blogs are still in hibernation but we fill in with interesting bits and pieces from the newspapers.

Have you ever seen a copy of the Oregon recruiting comic book? Pretty darn creative, and this week we have a link to the one they put together to recruit Jonathan Stewart.

Back in 2005, Oregon coaches enlisted students to design custom comic books for the Ducks' top 20 recruiting targets. Each comic portrayed the recruit as a hero who leads the Ducks to a national title. Oregon sent each prospect one page per week during the recruiting period. Here is the entire comic made for running back Jonathan Stewart, one of the nation's top recruits at the time.

Stanford has a bridge program of their own.

Padric Scott is one of 14 Stanford freshmen football players - out of a class of 18 - enrolled in summer classes that started last week. He's living in university housing, three months before the start of the fall quarter and what used to be considered the beginning of life as a college student-athlete.

Bowl game needed to save Mike Stoops job? People need to remember that Stoops took over from Mackovick who ran the program into the ground. The situation was even worse than the one at Washington when he arrived. That being said you still need to win, and you certainly need to win by your fifth year.

Mike Stoops' job security and a more explosive offense should be the top story lines for the Arizona football team. At least that's what the college football preseason magazines are saying.
Stoops, entering his fifth year with the program, has a 17-29 overall record and has yet to reach a bowl game.

It was year to remember at Arizona State, and they are just getting started.

Try to think of a single moment that captures Arizona State's year in sports. You can't. There are too many.The Sun Devils just concluded their best season of the Pac-10 era, with contributions stemming from nearly all teams.

Mike Montgomery is finalizing his contract at Cal.

Winning might not be everything, but it's becoming much more important at Cal. The university is about to sign another large long-term athletic contract, this one with new basketball coach Michael Montgomery, who will take in at least $1.7 million annually over the next six years. That's 61 percent more than his predecessor, Ben Braun, received last year. And it follows the seven-year contract renewal UC Berkeley inked with football coach Jeff Tedford that paid $2.8 million last year.

OSU picks up a QB that Washington was looking at.

Stockton, Calif. QB Cody Vaz (6-1, 200) had a great camp in Corvallis and quickly said "I do'' when offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf offered him a scholarship. ... Vaz was first-team all-State as a junior, throwing for 3,265 yards and 33 TDs.

Whe you put Norm Chow and Rick Neuheisel together you are going to be able to attract some pretty talented QB's. If UCLA has a current Achilles Heal it is at QB.

Quarterbacks Richard Brehaut of Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos and Josh Nunes of Upland are throwing passes with so much power and accuracy this summer that some UCLA and Tennessee fans probably wish they'd skip their senior years and enroll immediately at their future colleges.

The Cougar Blog takes a look at Hawaii.

In what is looking like a potential vacation for many, Cougar fans will head to the warm November weather of Hawaii after the 101st Apple Cup is in the books this year. Will it be a welcome change to dreary northwest weather on 11/29? Will the Cougs have anything left in the tank? Can they get up for one last game, playing a regular-season game after the Apple Cup for just the third time since '88?

Carroll steals one away from Neuheisel, and you will see this scenario played out many times over the next couple of years.

Byron Moore, a wide receiver/safety from Narbonne High School in Harbor City, changed his verbal commitment from UCLA to USC, according to his father. Moore (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) committed to UCLA in April but switched to the Trojans on Sunday night. One of the reasons for the switch was because Moore grew up a USC fan. "He's been going to their camps since he was in the seventh grade. There was something in his heart that said he wanted to go there," said his father, Byron Moore Sr. "At the end of the day, he felt in his heart he wanted to be at USC."

If you look at the top talent in the Northwest part of the country this year you will find quite a bit of it in Utah this year. This may be the top year ever for Division One talent in Utah.

A blurb on a Web site advertising coach Kyle Whittingham's Utah summer football camp for high school-age players pretty much says it all: "Last year, 15 camp attendees are now members of the Utah football team." Not to be outdone, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall told The Tribune last week, "If you don't come to a team's camp - and there are exceptions, but in general - you are going to have a very hard time being recruited or being offered [a scholarship] there." Get the point? If you have any desire to play for the Utes, Aggies or Cougars - unless you are a rare, blue-chip recruit - you better get yourself to one of their camps.

Boys will always be boys at Oklahoma.

There has been no official release on this and I really wouldn’t expect one until the week of August 30th if at all but look for offensive lineman Phil Loadholt to receive a suspension for last weekend’s DUI arrest. I’ve heard from a source that "Big Phil" is going to be suspended for the first two games of the season. Honestly, they could suspend the entire offensive line for the Chattanooga game and be alright but the Sooners could feel his absence against Cincinnati.

When we were talking about potential DC's last Winter the name of Georgia Tech DC Jon Tenuta kept coming up, but he ended up finding a home at Notre Dame. The words outspoken, and Ty Willingham don't really go together.

Jon Tenuta, Notre Dame's newest coaching addition on defense, recently spoke at a Notre Dame golf outing this past Friday. What did the famously out-spoken coach have to say for himself, as well as the program?

Rakes of Mallow also has a preview Jake Lockner in the "Profiles in Fear" section.

If Washington was a few games better in the win column last year, the Jake Locker Phenomenon would have been an even bigger deal. He was Tim Tebow West, the Great White Hope of the Pacific Northwest, a savior to a Washington program under the merciless golf gloved thumb of Ty Willingham. The 85th ranked recruit on Scout and 68th on Rivals, Locker was behind only Tim Tebow, our old friend Demetrius Jones and Jevan Snead as a "dual-threat" QB.

Running Backs

Washington actually had a thousand yard running back for the first time in over a decade in 2007. Louis Rankin had a decent year despite the fact that he still danced around too much at times. Louis is gone now, and the Huskies will replace him with young group of largely untested young tailbacks.

Brandon Johnson seems to be the heir apparent after winning the back up job as a true frosh in 2007. Brandon even came in and rushed for over 100 yards in the second half against California. Johnson isn't as fast, and shifty as Rankin, but he is a better inside runner with good speed. It was tough to get a good read on Johnson this Spring because he was dinged up the last week of practice, and during the Spring game.

Lining up behind him are RS Willie Griffin, and RS Brandon Yakaboski. Griffin is a good looking inside runner who reminds many of Willie Hurst. Yakaboski is a kid who loves contact, but hasn't stayed real healthy since he arrived at UW. Yak has good hands, and the coaches like the way he catches the ball out of the backfield.

Sophomore Curtis Shaw, and Fr Chris Polk are listed as slotbacks, but you could see both of these kids lining up at TB, SB, and WR. Polk had extended time in the Spring game at TB. Both of these kids are multi talented utility players that can be inserted where needed, if Johnson gets dinged they are a great insurance policy at TB.

The Huskies are bringing in 3-4 kids in the freshman class who could possibly see some time this year if they impress this summer. Demetrius Bronson, David Freeman, Johri Fogerson, and Terrance Dailey will all start off at TB. Dailey could be a future FB, and Fogerson's future could be on defense. Freeman has a lot of moves, and speed and was coached by Husky great Charles Mincy. I could see him returning kicks in the future.

TB Johnson So
TB Griffin RS
TB Yakaboski RS
TB Dailey Fr
TB Bronson Fr
TB Freeman Fr
TB Fogerson Fr

SB Polk Fr
SB Shaw So

Fullback

The Huskies are blessed with three excellent Fullbacks who I would love to see get the ball more in 2008. Jr Paul Homer is a throwback blood, and guts type of player that would fit in with any Husky team in any era. He has great size, adequate speed, and is a good blocker. Sr Kravitz is the backup, but has been troubled by injuries the last couple of years. he has good hands out of the backfield and is starter 1-B. So Austin Sylvester is in the same mold as the previous two and is the FB in waiting after starting out at MLB.

Homer is efficient in short yardage situations, he is rarely knocked backwards and always seems to pick up needed yardage.

I would love to see Lappano utilize these guys more as receivers out of the backfield. With an extremely young group of receivers coming in the FB's could help Locker quite a bit by becoming a viable receiving option in 2008.

FB Homer
FB Kravitz
FB Sylvester

Consensus

Is Brandon Johnson a better TB than Louis Rankin?

That is what it all comes down to for UW since most of the same cast of characters return this year to clear the way for Washington running backs.

Brandon Johnson has a solid hold on the position going into the Fall, but he isn't exactly coming off a stellar Spring because of injury. If Johnson is going to be the go to guy he is going to have to prove his durability during the first three brutal games of the season.

Willie Griffin was the star of the Spring game, but if Johnson falters look for the Huskies to turn to Fr Chris Polk who may be the most exciting player to wear a UW uniform since Napoleon Kauffman. Polk has been compared favorably to former USC star Reggie Bush, and UW was able to take the highly coveted player away from USC last Winter.

I think the coaches would rather plug Polk in as a SB, WR, and occasional TB till he gains some muscle to withstand the pounding you can take carrying the ball 30 times per game. That is the advantage Johnson has, good size, adequate speed, and he rarely fumbles. What Polk brings to the game is what Johnson lacks, and that is break away speed, and moves which is something Rankin brought to the table last season.

Fullback is very solid with Homer, Kravitz, and Sylvester. The Huskies have rebuilt the position with some nice depth and are contemplating adding the change up of Terrance Dailey to the position this Fall. At first glance Dailey seems to be too small to be a FB, but the coaches feel he will bulk up enough, and still retain speed to become a hybrid weapon back there.

Will there be a 1000 yard RB at Washington in 2008?

The chance is there because most of the UW offensive line is returning, and they have another year of experience under Denbrock which means they should be improved. Rankin picked up a lot of yards on big plays last season, the knock on him was he wasn't a pounder who picked up the third and two you needed to keep a drive alive at the end of the game. Perhaps that attribute will be more important in the backfield in 2008 if Johnson can provide it. Controlling drives, and keeping the heat off of Jake Locker when everyone expects him to run it will be Johnson's main goal in 2008.

The Future

Always look for UW to take at least a couple of RB's each year. Like shortstops in baseball these kids are usually the best athletes on their HS teams and can be moved around the roster to plug holes, and add speed.

Freeman, Dailey, Bronson, and Fogerson are the newcomers this year, and all four of these kids could end up being moved around with Freeman being the most likely to stick at TB.

Fogerson to me looks like he has the makeup of a dominating Safety. The kid has the ability to knock the snot out of people, and has the necessary nasty you like to see on that side of the ball.

Bronson was the elite back in state last season, and he will get his first shot at TB, but he is another kid that could move to defense. His brother was a LB at Penn State.

As I said earlier Dailey may end up at FB which leaves David Freeman. I loved the film I saw on Freeman and I think the kid has a chance to contribute early returning kicks if needed.

The consensus though is all four will RS this season if they remain at RB, Fogerson has the ability to play early if he moves to Safety, but don't discount this kid as a RB, he was dominating in the state championship game.