Holt on KJR with Softy
by John Berkowitz on Feb 6, 2009 12:03 PM PST
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PrintNick Holt spent an hour with Softy today on KJR and he shared a lot of good information. It should be up at Softy on Demand sometime later today.
Holt is a pleasure to listen to because shares a lot of great information and doesn't beat around the bush. You get more information out of him in a single interview than you do out of Willingham in a season of press conferences.
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Great Hire by Woodward
I have to say – what a great hire this was by Woodward from a PR standpoint alone. I remember my first reaction when I heard that Sark was hired was slight disappointment. Since then, however, he has managed (along with Holt and the staff he has assembled) to energize the majority of a fanbase that had been beat down and alienated by the previous coach worse than I can ever remember. Now we just need to get it done on the field but you can tell these guys get it.
I was one who was surprised and somewhat disappointed...
…but I’ve since been ecstatic about it. It makes a lot of sense too. Young and aggressive offensive coordinator from the top program in the Pac-10. Well known on the west coast and especially savvy with the crucial LA area. Not to mention Sark brings in Nick Holt which further enhanced this staff’s credibility and the buzz surrounding it. I couldn’t be happier at this point…GO DAWGS!!
Could anyone else have done any better with this recruiting class given the circumstances? That being said I think it’s better than what the pundits think. Like Holt said some of these guys were under the radar and they found out about them later. We’ll see how it all pans out but it sound like the staff is pretty happy with all of these kids. Some of them were really recruited hard late after they had committed to Washington and the coaches had to work to hang onto them at the end.
Woodward
Don’t hear many people calling this guy an ‘idiot’ or ‘moron’ anymore. Looks like he was the smartest man for the job, just like Emmert said when he hired him.
Do you think Leach or Pinkel would be working as hard as Sark to turn this around? Young, savvy, and especially HUNGRY was a must as a coach for a team coming off an 0-12 season.
This team needs a whole personality/body makeover. I don’t think Leach or Pinkel would have had the energy or will to pull off what Sark is ready and willing to do for these players.
I liked the Sark hire from day one and there’s no buyers remorse for me so far. Guy is a stud.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves
Sark has done a great job so far, he has the POTENTIAL of being a great head coach, BUT he hasn’t won a game yet. Leach has proven he can turn a program around, and his name alone would get some recruits to reconsider Washington.
So far, I really like Sark, but I’m not going to crown him King of the World until we are playing in the Rose Bowl on a regular basis. I’m afraid that this could be similar to the White House, anoint the guy as God Almighty, get expectations unreasonably high, and set him up for a REALLY big fall. My point, the jury is still out on this hire, and will be for many years. And even if he turns out to be the messiah, that doesn’ t mean Leach or Mora couldn’t have done the same.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
You mean...
…you’re NOT drinking the Purple Kool-Aid?! Hmmm…we’re going to have to check out your pedigree Lear!? ;O)
Understand completely, but disagree
I can see where you are coming from and considering where this program has been I get your point. Lear you might want to spend an hour listening to Nick Holt on the radio (KJR) before you get to paranoid about Sark and Holt.
These guys are some of the best in the business. Yes Sarkisian hasn’t been a head coach yet. But part of being a head football coach is saying all the right things and doing all the right things. In the last couple of months since Sark has been hired I’d have to give him an A+ so far and he hasn’t even coached a game yet. Look at the SC offense from the Rose Bowl. Look at the SC defense in the Rose Bowl. Now tell me who was in charge of both of those units. Sarkisian and Holt my fellow Husky fan. They are with us now and this is a HUGE hire!
Have some of nature’s goodness and drink the purple Kool aid my friend. The stuff is spiked with a winning attitude. Sark mentioned that the kids in the program are starving for success. I’d take that a bit further and say the Dawg-crazed fanbase is starving for some gratification as well.
Go Dawgs! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
Exactly
They haven’t even coached a game yet! I am optomistic, but cautiously optomistic. You guys are starting to sound like Sark is Urban Meyer, and he hasn’t even coached a game yet. I’m hoping he is the “Dawgfather Part II”, but I’m also smart enough not to count my chickens before they’re hatched.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
The Kool Aid Tastes GOOD!
Right on Lear but look at the buz surrounding this program. Nick Holt, our newly hired defensive coordinator has a televised press conference- that doesn’t happen for DCs. Then to top it off Sark is on FoxSports NW on a televised show illustrating the incoming class that is supposively ranked No.66 in the country- that usually doesn’t happen for a class ranked 66th of anything.
The electrifying atmosphere is generating a buz that is only seen in SEC country. How many fans will come out and watch Spring Ball? 80,000 fans showed up for Saben’s Spring game at Alabama. I’d bet at least 25,000, possibly 30,000 will show up for our Spring game. The atmosphere Sark and Holt are generating can only lead to good things, better yet GREAT things. You have the right to be cautious, but let me tell ya- it’s going to happen FASTand FURIOUS! Atmospheres with this much buz don’t occur unless your program is south of the Mason-Dixon line. Lear you’re in for a real treat.
Quit procrastinating, you know you want to take a sip of the purple refreshment beverage. Take a sip and tell me what you think.
Go Dawgs! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
Buzz
The program and it’s supporters were starved for affection. Sark has done a nice job of being himself and still filling the void.
Willingham never got it.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 7, 2009 7:36 PM PST up reply actions
crazi you are awesome
You sound like a 20 year old Obama supporter, I like it.
Hope is what it all is about
If you don’t have hope you don’t have anything.
by John Berkowitz on Feb 8, 2009 9:56 AM PST up reply actions
The stream is up now
I am listening now. Holt is talking about Batts coming in at safety and allowing them to move a couple of the current safeties on the roster to LB. The first name that comes to mind is Victor A. – who else … he did say a couple?
Aiyewa was the first guy I thought of
Johri Fogerson was the second. I guess Tripper Johnson, maybe, but he seems like more of a special teams guy, probably.
He also raved about the four junior/senior linebackers coming back, says they’re all among the best in the Pac-10. Worth noting that both Aiyewa and Fogerson have redshirt years left if they felt like asking them to spend a year playing OLB on the scout team. I know they like to emphasize that every kid is coming in with a shot to play, but realistically they probably have some ideas for who they’d like to hold back for a year if they can. On the other hand, maybe they want to expedite the current team through the system so they can backfill them with better recruits. We shall see…
I don’t remember him playing in 2007 at all and I know last year he was hurt quite a bit. Too bad he didn’t use his RS year – it’s happened but it’s tough to RS a guy going into his junior year.
The previous staff felt it was ok to burn his FR year to make a couple tackles on special teams. His and Sylvester. Change is good.
by Huskie Seoul on Feb 7, 2009 12:14 AM PST up reply actions
Other potential position switches
He mentioned that he was hoping Tivao could come in as a starter at DT and that maybe that would allow them to move some of the “bigger” defensive linemen to offense in order to get more athleticism on the O-line. I speculated a couple days ago that Alameda Ta’amu could move to offense; I wonder if that’s who he was alluding to. Senio Kelemete was another athletic guy that was listed as OL/DL by the recruiting sites, for what it’s worth (#19 tackle by scout.com, not too shabby). Craig Noble seems like more of a true DT.
I’m kind of a roster construction junkie, so I can’t wait ’til spring to see what they have in mind for some of these guys that were possibly misutilized by the previous regime.
Sam Adkins
was doing Husky color on a game in the 80’s against Tx Tech and said that if a DT was 6 inches taller he would be square.
It's a Good Thing ...
… when your newly hired defensive coordinator states on a radio broadcast that he hates Oregon too. Loved it!
All along I knew Woodward was the right man for the job. Keep in mind fellow Husky fans and ask yourselves where did Dr. Emmert and Woodward come from? LSU wasn’t one of the elite programs until Emmert got there. Yeah they were a good SEC program, but before Emmert when was the last time LSU had won the SEC crown? Emmert brought in Nick Saben from Michigan State, and the Bayou Tigers haven’t dropped a beat ever since.
We’ve got a great president and an outstanding athletic director. These guys found the right coach for this job. And what’s more- they coughed it up to get THEE best defensive coordinator in the country. Considering what has been done in just over a couple of months, I am also confident that the drawing of the rennovation of our stadium will become a reality as well. Our president is a football guy and presidents that are football guys get things done.
I see good things this next season and from there the sky is the limit. Be afraid SC, Oregon, and Cal- be VERY afraid.
Go Dawgs! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
It's not there for me now either.
It was earlier though.
by hairofthedawg on Feb 6, 2009 5:58 PM PST up reply actions
from Softy via dawgman
we had to take it down…some technical issues on our end..should be back up tonight..stay tuned..I will post when its back up
by hairofthedawg on Feb 6, 2009 8:31 PM PST up reply actions
Looks like they split it....
into three parts though.
by hairofthedawg on Feb 6, 2009 8:53 PM PST up reply actions
Technical Problems
It will be back up there.
Worth waiting for… its a classic!
by John Berkowitz on Feb 6, 2009 8:55 PM PST up reply actions
Holt talks offense
1. He was impressed with Daniel Mafoe and expects him to come in ready to start on the offensive line. I could see him pushing Cody Habben at RT or at the very least taking over a guard spot opposite Ryan Tolar.
2. He (like Sarkisian) mentioned that James Johnson is a guy they think can come in and play as a true freshman. Maybe the guys they already have aren’t living up to their recruiting rankings, but if there’s any position where the Dawgs should be loaded with talent, it’s WR. Especially when you consider that they had been recruiting towards a spread offense where they’d have anywhere between 2 and 5 wideouts on the field at a time, and now they’re essentially downgrading to a style that should feature more fullback and tight end, meaning less receivers in the rotation (in theory).
With a borderline star in D’Andre Goodwin accompanied by four-star talents like Jermaine Kearse, Anthony Boyles, Chris Polk (maybe) and Cody Bruns, supplemented with solid three-star-type guys like Alvin Logan, Devin Aguilar, Jordan Polk… well, regardless of who emerges from that group, there should be plenty of hands to catch passes. Frankly, if James Johnson can crack that rotation as a true freshman, he’ll be quite a player. Maybe this is one of those deals where they had to make a few promises to get him to sign…
It's all about acquiring Depth in Key areas of need
Sark and Holt will move a few bodies around. But don’t think for a second that they will deplete the defensive line to fill holes on the offensive line. What I think is going to happen is both Sark and Holt will evaluate film to see what defensive line kid(s) is/are expendible. They brought in some good D line JC guys that can play right away so who moves to the O line will probably happen before Spring Ball. That way the kid(s) can adapt their conditioning towards those postion switches.
I don’t see a lot of kids moving too much. I see maybe 1 or 2 D line kids possibly moving to the O line and quite possibly a receiver moving over to the defense to play in the secondary. By rule, I am not in favor of many position switches, but it is necessary in both Sark and Holt’s first year and trying to build something right away. In future years I don’t see Sark moving kids around too much. Look at Pete Carroll, how many position switches does his kids go through? Not very often I assure you that. Carroll recruits a kid to play a position. Why? Because Pete has an eye for talent, therefore a position switch is not something that is done at SC. Sark and Holt both have the same eye for talent so this year’s position switches are a one time deal. Note to Husky fans: don’t get too caught up in position switches. In Sark’s 1st year he has to acquire depth and this is the only reason why it’s being done.
All I saw was purple
This is the first time...
…in a long time that we actually had depth on the defensive line. Having said that a lot of that depth is pretty young. Holt was raving about Talia Chrichton (sp?)
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