The Weekend Before Christmas at UW
by John Berkowitz on Dec 19, 2008 9:01 AM PST
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PrintIt is the week before Christmas and this is the last weekend coaches can recruit before the dead period begins which extends through the holidays. Steve Sarkisian is back in LA recruiting the Southland and in his spare time helping the Trojans get ready for the Rose Bowl. Come Monday the Trojans will be a full time job for him on until that final goodbye on January 2nd.
What we have noticed over the past week is a lot of excitement that has translated well on the recruiting front. Washington currently has the 77th ranked recruiting class according to Scout.com but expect that to rise to somewhere to the middle 30's before it is all said or done.
Washington should always have a top 15-20 recruiting class. Expect the Huskies to always be there once Sarkisian gets the ball rolling. Willingham on the other hand only had one class in the category the four years he was at UW. Sarkisian's low water mark represents the norm of what Willingham did for the most part while at UW.
Molly Yanity of the Seattle PI shares what she knows about recruiting this morning in her blog and came up with a couple of names I had forgotten to mention the other day that she received from U Dub Sports which is the Rivals site. The focus of that site is usually basketball but every once in awhile they do something on football to attract new membership. For my money I prefer Dawgman which frankly is the best Husky recruiting site on the planet.
On the coaching front a couple of names emerged on offense. The first is Kennedy Pola who is rumored to be in line for the RB coach job. Pola almost came to Seattle with Neuheisel but decided against it because his wife didn't like the weather. They have reportedly divorced so that hurdle should be out of the way. Pola and Sark coached together for three years at USC and they are pretty good friends so that rumor probably has some legs. Pola is a very good coach and a strong recruiter.
The other rumor coming out of the Southland is that former Michigan QB coach Scott Loefler has accepted an offer to join the staff at Washington in the same capacity. This would be a really solid hire that leaves us relieved after all the talk about Trojan GA Yogi Roth joining Sark in Seattle. Once again you are talking about an experienced coach who can help elevate the play of Jake Locker.
On the DC front we should have an answer as soon as today. I have been rooting for Rocky Long but I heard last night that UW hasn't been in contact with him. He commented to a newspaper that he had been amused while reading the Internet to find out where he is going next. As of last night it looked like Tulane or Fresno State. Once again the speculation turned to current Louisville DC Ron English who may be more interested in the head coaching job at Eastern Michigan.
No word yet on Charlie Camp who media outlets insisted had been hired to coach LB's at UW. That didn't happen last week which makes me think that they are waiting to see what the DC's specialty is before making that final hire on the defensive side of the ball.
No official word yet on the WR position but it is known that Sark covets former UW coach Eric Yarber who is currently with Dennis Erickson at ASU. UW could offer him more money but it would be tough for him to leave a man he has coached with most of his career for a few more dollars. When you factor in the coast of living in Seattle compared to Phoenix those dollars don't really add up.
California TE/ST coach Pete Alamar is a name that keeps coming up. Word out of Berkeley is that he will be staying at this point. We haven't heard any other names yet for this position but expect something to surface over the weekend.
As far as timing goes expect the bulk of the staff should be finalized before January 2nd when full time recruiting resumes and UW starts having some big recruiting weekends on campus.
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don't know if you meant it ...
… but that comment on Pola’s “hurdle” was down-right hilarious. I’m still laughing.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Shaw is back
I just saw Condotta report on Shaw re-enrolling. Concerning his eligibility, does he get four to play three since he played as a true freshman or did the year away turn it into a three to play three?
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Shaw
Shaw never redshirted so he has three years to play three. LAst season counts as his RS year.
by John Berkowitz on Dec 19, 2008 11:48 AM PST reply actions
Really glad to see Shaw coming back
This team needs more speed, and Shaw has speed. I also like the trend that Sark is creating, under Willingham players left the team, under Sark players are returning to the team. By not letting Blackman join the team he is also sending the right message, you have to work hard if you want to be here.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Agreed. I think Ty tried to rebuild this program through integrity. But integrity only gets you so far. Sarkisian is going to come in here and wash his hands with Ty’s boring and unpopular policies. He is going to unbotton his collar, role up his sleeves, and coach this team in a way that it is it should be coached. The word “fun” needs to be back within this program. The kids have worked hard and diligently under Ty’s rigid regime and it got them nowhere. Let’s bring back some good ole fashioned FUN and excitement.
I think Sarkisian will get us a top 30 recruiting class this, his first year. But it’s not the recruiting class rank that makes you or breaks you. It’s what you do with the kids you do recruit. Boise State doesn’t win too may recruiting wars outside the WAC but they knocked off Oklahoma on the big stage and whooped Oregon at Autzen this year. Don’t rely too heavily on recruiting rankings. They are just as biased as any thing else in college football. Notre Dame continues to have top 10 recruiting classes and what has Weis done with it in South Bend?
All we need are football players. We don’t need anymore athletes. Look at USC, Boise State, Utah, Texas Tech and what do they have? They’re winning because they’ve got football players louded on their rosters. An athlete is code word for “talented prospect, but has issues”. We need to get after recruiting real football players at every position.
Integrity
I agree integrity ALONE only gets you so far. I believe we can have integrity, fun, and excitement all at the same time. Integrity was not Willinghams short fall, lack of excitement and emotion was. Just like we can have integrity and academic excellence and win all at the same time, they are not mutually exclusive.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
in all fairness, I think we can all agree that Ty didn't have anything to do with Shaw's situation.
it is great to have him come back. Interesting log jam forming at RB again.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
I didn't say he did
I said that many players left the team under Willingham, and they are returning under Sarkisian. I really think Willingham had some sort of a problem communicating with players. I don’t know how else to explain all the “misunderstandings” and all the players not knowing where they stand.
Log jam – It should be interesting to see how it shakes out. I’m even more curious to see who ends up at a new position. We obviously have too many running backs, many of which have a lot of potential. I’m betting some will end up in the secondary.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
I'll take Log Jam
Hopefully you are not saying “log jam” is a bad thing. Our depth has been depleted for about 5 years. If Log Jam translates to decent depth. I’ll take it at any position on the field at this particular time.
What would be nice is to have a log jam on the offensive line, defensive line, and at linebacker. But as stated if we have log jam at runningback or in the defensive secondary that suits me just fine. It tells me we don’t have to pursue recruitment in those two areas. Therefore our recruiting efforts can go for need. OLine, DLine, and linebackers are always needed!
Go Dawgs! WOOF!!!
Some RBs also translate well to LB. We need speed at LB, we have some warriors there, god bless em, but our speed at LB is atrocious.
Need True-sized LBers
206- I honeslty don’t think we need speed at LB. We’ve had decent speed at the 2nd level the last couple of seasons. What strikes me comparing our linebackers to rivaling linebackers is the size comparison.
How big is our MLB? How big is Cushing and Mallega (spelling)? SC has a safety bigger then our linebackers. Having speed is something you recruit defensively across the board for. You recruit speed at DT, DE, LB, S, and CB (basically everywhere on the defense).
Defensively we need to get into top notch “football shape” and Sark knows this and hired a guy to get that done. At LB? We need to recruit true-sized linebackers who have the speed to enhance great defensive team speed.
Go Dawgs! WOOF!!!
crazidawg – Decent speed isn’t going to get it done in an attacking defense. Baer and DontAskDontell are gone, so we’re not going to be sitting back anymore.
I can’t argue with your LB “wish list” but that type of size & speed lb is a 5 star recruit automatically! We’re not USC….yet.
Also, both Cushing and ray maualuga have SPEED. 4.5 range in the 40!!
Safety Taylor Mays might be the most perfect football specimen since Herschel Walker. He has LB size with elite CB speed, good luck on finding another one of him ever!
Sorry but it’s a new day and size at LB doesn’t matter more than speed and technique!
Take a look at Florida’s top-rated defense their LBs are smaller than USC..hell who’s aren’t…
6’3" Brandon Spikes fits the mold of a USC LB but Florida has at least 3 sub-Six Foot LBS and I think no other LB is taller than 6’2’’. One is even 5’9’!!
EJ Savannah is only 6’1" 219 prior to his 30lbs of muscle(??!)
Now take a look at some of these RBs on the UW roster
Curtis Shaw is 5’10" 218lbs (so he says)
Brandon Yakaboski is 5’11", 205 lbs.
I’m just using them as examples not saying they should be the ones to move. Competition should decide everything.
Another source of LB candidates, once everyone’s healthy and we figure out who’s who is safety. We’re going to have a logjam.
Hell, Tripper Johnson is 6’1’ 210 , and he damn sure can’t play safety!
I agree we still go after the all-everything LBs in recruiting but those guys are tough to get. In the meantime get speedy, tough nose guys that you can convert to LBs for depth and situational purposes at least. Go Dawgs!!
I don’t think speed is a major problem for our LB’s. Foster has good speed for the position, and I’ve seen Butler when healthy show great speed sideline to sideline. Tui isn’t too fast, but that’s why he’s in the middle. Savannah has pretty good speed for the position.
I think what you’ve been seeing isn’t so much a lack of speed, but poor play. Guys that don’t know their assignments or who bite on fakes and misdirections are going to look slow. There’s a difference between a guy that plays slow and one who really is slow. I think our problem has been the former.
kirkd Gets it!
Absolutely kirkd. To be quite honest with 206, 4.5 speed in the 40 isn’t that fast anymore in major college football. I completely and totally agree that speed is the key to the defense, without question. But here is my point, defensive team speed is so much more important then individual speed. Why? Because it allows the defense to play the field horizontally as well as vertically. Ever wonder why we continue to see our defense get burned time and again on the perimeter? Our overall defense is very slow in pursuit. We can’t close down the multiple attacking alleys. Having great defensive team speed is VERY critical in order to play great defense. Look at USC’s and Florida’s defenses. One common element of the two defenses is that they have the team speed on defense to run you down both horizontally and vertically in relation to the field.
The linebacking positions (Mike, Sam, Will) have different defensive responsiblities. But make no mistake our Mike is not the ideal specimen to play MLB. He would be more suited for the Will or Sam positions. Size does matter tremendously vs. the vertical run. If you don’t have size at 2nd level then you get pushed back on your heels by stud linemen from USC and Oklahoma. Vs. both the Trojans and Sooners our 2nd level linebackers were basically kicked back as far as the secondary. We need to be able to take on these 2nd level blocks. Running around the block gets us out of position thus we’ve lost our defensive assignment. This would ultimately explain why we looked out of position quite a bit on defense this past season.
Recruit towards defensive team speed is a MUST. Was Dave Hoffman a 5 star LB recruit? Did he have brilliant speed? I’d say the overall speed of the defense made him appear to be faster then he actually was. But he also had the size to take on the 2nd level block and bubble the running play.
I like your post
but 4.5 speed is still fast. Rey M (not even going to try to spell his last name) at 260lbs running a 4.5, is VERY fast. Now you have to remember that a players speed it only relative to his position. 4.5 at Linebacker, fast…4.5 at Cornerback, not so much. Another thing we have to remember is there is 40 yard dash speed and playing speed. Everyone on here should know what I am talking about. There are kids that can run 4.4 straight but couldn’t play football at that speed. As much as you want speed, you also have to have quickness. Lateral movement is the key. Side to side, front to back, and at every other which angle.
Also, inregards to your second paragraph (linebackers getting kicked back), that has A LOT to do with the D-Line. If you have 4 D-linemen on the field (besided when they stunt on passing downs), O-Linemen should not be allowed to release. If you have good Front 4 guys then that will free up the linebackers to play unblocked. D Tackles have to be eating up 2 linemen…if not then guards and tackles are getting free releases creating blocks on the second level. But I do see what you mean also, a middle linebacker has to be big enough to get out of blocks and be able to meet fullbacks head on without the luxury of a head start in a lot of cases without getting out of position. I think better play out of our front 4 guys will go a long way to improve our linebackers.
Yes it is!
I remember the commentators talking about the NFL combine. They were saying that 4.5 flat speed was one of the fastest times. They had a few guys who ran faster than that but only a few. I think a lot of these times are fabricated or run under track conditions. The timing is probably via a stop watch compared to electronic.
Tui looked fast playing QB a few years back but supposedly he only ran like a 4.7 or 4.8 forty. He looked a lot faster than that to me! I remember watching him in a spring scrimmage, he outran everyone on the field.
Yeah, if you look at NFL combine times, it’s clear that 40 times that are reported for H.S. and college players are exaggerated. Hand timing in most cases, and outright fabrication in a few.
That said, as others have pointed out, a guy that runs a legit 4.45 40 isn’t necessarily going to play fast on the field. A 4.75 guy on defense that knows how to read plays as they develop, knows how to take good angles and has good quickness can look faster than a 4.5 guy that doesn’t know what he’s doing out there.
And a WR can have blazing speed and be worthless aside from running fly routes. Quickness, change of direction and body control are all important factors. Guys like Steve Largent and Paul Skansi weren’t going to win track meets, but they could get open all day and they had great hands.
Good Point!
Areed. The problem with our defensive front is that they could NOT stay engaged with the O Linemen. Their No.1 responsiblity is to ensure that the linebackers do not get blocked. Any offensive coordinator will tell you “If we can block the 2nd level LBers are offense will be rolling”. And that is exactly what transpired over the course of this season. Every … and I mean every offense we faced got to 2nd level and locked up our LBers.
The point I want to make absolutely clear is that team speed is far more important then individual speed. Sark mentioned that we have to play with more speed on defense and I know he is going to recruit defensively in that direction at every position.
Without a doubt quickness is critical on defense, especially on the front line. Getting off on the ball before the opposing O Linemen is HUGE! If our DTs can develope some quickness over the offseason, they will have much more success. It will allow them to get the leverage on the opposing O Linement before the O Linemen get the blocking leverage on us. Quickness is HUGE!
In today’s college football, I believe 4.5 speed in the 40 is actually the benchmark for linebackers. Maybe not MLB, but the smaller, more versatile OLB 4.5 is average. Some DEs run just as fast if not faster then RBs at 270 lbs- that is scary FAST!
I don’t want to argue 4.5 speed, my point is defensive team speed is what coaches look for or should’ve been looking for in regards to our fired ex-coaching staff.
SPEED KILLS!
I'm going to disagree with most of you...
I think our LB’s are very good if not great. As Crazi touched on at the begining of his last post – It’s all about the D-lineman. If you have four very good DL then all 5 OL have to stay home and block which leaves your LB’s free to roam. If you have freshman on the DL as we did then you can block 1 on 1 and send the center or guard out to get the LB whose responsible for the hole you’ll be running threw. Put a TE in and you can eliminate 2 LB’s. Don’t get me wrong Hoffman was a great LB but he benifitted BIG TIME from having Emtman in front of him.
~Bottom line: If you want great LB’s, find a D-lineman or two that demand a double team. Just ask Ray Lewis who was looking washed up after Siragusa retired but once the Ravens drafted Haloti Naghta – he returned to the dominating force he was before.
Last year we had one good defensive lineman. The rest of them…especially in the interior were not very good.
I think back to the days when Emtman and Farr played side by side. That created some real problems for offensive lines. If you are strong in the middle it all flows back.
by John Berkowitz on Dec 22, 2008 12:32 PM PST up reply actions
Small nit to pick John – Farr was a backup when Emtman was around. Tyrone Rodgers was the guy playing in the interior d-line alongside Emtman. Farr ascended to the starting lineup in ’92 after Emtman and Rodgers left.
The larger point is of course correct – the better your d-lineman play, the better your LB’s look.
Log jam
I don’t think a log jam is necessarily a bad thing, it all depends on how its handled. In an ideal world I’d like that log jam spread out through out the classes, a starting senior, a back up junior, then the sophomores and freshmen. Having 5 freshmen at running back means you are going to have a lack of depth or experience in 4-5 years.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
not necessarily true...
as long as you bring in talent every year (at least one kid) than there shouldnt be a drop off. RB is one position, along with WR, that a Freshmen sensation can play right away and make an impact.
Yes, and No
I agree, if you are bringing in talent every year, you should never have a drop off.
Yes, there are a few talented freshmen who can step in and play immediately, but by no means do I want to be in a position where we need a freshmen sensation to step up and fill a gap.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Hopefully..
one or two of the RB’s can get a redshirt this year,especially with Shaw apparently playing the position as well now.
I think Tyrone had a probelem with communications period
We now have players coming back and that is good news.
Concerning the recruiting rankings….Look what Oregon State does with the leftovers. They coach them up and within a couple of years, those 1 and 2 star players are kicking everybody else’s rear.
Ask southern Cal what they think of the Beavers caliber of players.
An Explanation for the Beavs Success
It’s easy to speculate as to why OSU has been able to stay consistently close to the upper level of the league in regards to the recruiting classes. In my observation the UofW was the worst coached football team this side of Arizona. We looked as if we were never prepared for Saturdays, and to compound the problems we played more freshmen and sophomores then probably in the history of the game.
Oregon State does a great job coaching up their kids and it really shows on Saturdays. I have not seen the Washington program coached well since the Lambo era, which basically transformed from the Don James era. If nothing else, if we have a sub par recruiting class coming in due to many reasons, the single greatest accomplishment Sark can bring us this offseason is a good coaching staff. We need coaches that not only can recruit well, but coaches that can teach the position to their respective units. That is what you are seeing in Corvallis.
Yes and it makes you wonder...
…how valid these rating systems are. I remember Hugh Millen commenting on that and comparing recruiting classes over the past several years. So ACCORDING TO THE RANKINGS we should be beating oregon state and wsu and fill in the blank here, but we’re not. So it’s not all about the rankings, it’s as much about developing the athletes that you recruit.
Bingo
You can recruit great athletes, but if you don’t develop them, you’ll lose to schools that bring in lesser athletes but do a better job of development. Recruiting to a system is also important – if you are going to run zone-blocking (for example), you don’t want massive linemen, you’d rather sacrifice a little size for more agility.
Another Critical Factor
Buying into the system is also a major factor. If you recruit a blue chip recruit (4 or 5 star) and he doesn’t fit in with the system, is a “me” guy, or doesn’t mesh well with the program then you’ve got a disgruntled and problably homesick kid on your hands.
This is why I think hiring Sarkisian was such a great hire. This guy is going to sell this program and I can see kids buying in to it and wanting to be a part of it. The questions I’m asking myself is how much differnce is an offseason going to make, how much difference is a new coaching staff going to make, and how much time do we allow the new coaching staff to show progress, and how do we define progress? One thing I did pick up on during Sarkisian’s press conference when he was introduced was the fact that “it won’t take long”. Define “long” please.
I am anticipating, actually hoping that Sark is coming in at the right time. We are going to have a lot of starters and ex-starters coming back next season. Is their enough legit talent there where Sark can put something together that will benefit the WIN column? That is the big question.
New D line commit...pass rusher hopefully.
Sark and company appear to be blazing a serious recruiting trail! Hard to keep up with it. These guys are coming in from the LA area. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
He's 6'4'' 240
Not to shabby for a senior in High School, his build reminds me of Everette Thompson.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
New Recruits!!
Yes, he does sound a bit like Thompson..I have also heard we have a shot at Hasiak the OL from Hawaii. Yes he has given a soft verbal to UCLA, but if we can get him when he visits next month that will be huge. I must say that I am impressed with what Sark has done with recruiting in the 2 weeks he has been on the job. Of course the real test will come next fall..
LA AREA
Great that Sark know’s the ins and outs of the LA area. U$C can only get so many guys, plus they like the perception that they recruit nationally and they’re under a lot of pressure to get all the 5 star guys. WOW! What a horrible problem to have! Right!? I just think it can benefit Sark in that he knows all of the guys that $C had to pass on because they didn’t have the scholarships.
You hit the nail on the head dawgfan. We’re not competing directly with USC but we can get plenty of 4 and 4.5 stars that spend their entire senior season trying to get USC’s attention, there’s alot of those guys in LA. We now have the inside knowledge to nibble off USC’s plate and get in on kids that think they’re going to USC but won’t because SC is waiting on a 5 star recruit somewhere.
Overall...
i love the speed that is being recruited. They are making a significant upgrade at all positions. I love it…size and speed, the two things you can’t teach.
Team speed recruiting comparison
I was messing around dawgmans team ratings and looked at Hawaii’s recruits. That team has recruited some extraordinarily fast kids.
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