Day Two

The big story today was the NCAA clearing house keeping CB Dominique Gaisie out of practice today. Coach Sarkisian said he wasn't exactly sure what the problem was but he expected it to be resolved in a day or two. Keep your fingers crossed Husky fans because Gaisie has the tools to make an impact in the secondary as a starter on one side this season.

Jason Wells and Michael Batts were the starters at safety for most of the day. Wells is an impact player when healthy and as we said in the past the defense dropped a notch or two when he was injured two years ago. A quick start by Wells is really good news. He is still getting the rust off but all we have been hearing so far is encouraging news about his progress. Nothing of course really matters until they put on the pads. Full pads are not allowed till the 5th practice.

Kimo Makaula was back at TE today getting some reps. It looks like the coaches are going to put him in a number of different spots to see what fits him best. Makaula is one of those guys that can fill a number of holes on wither side of the ball.

Not much new to report other than that as the players are in the acclimation period till day five when they can put on full pads. That being said on Wednesday they put on light bulbs so the hitting is going to start to pick up.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times focuses on the tight ends today.

Sarkisian said Middleton "came to camp in really good shape," Middleton saying he was inspired to work harder by the chance of greater opportunity this season. He weighs about the same as a year ago — roughly 255 — but says "my legs are stronger. My upper body is a little more built."

Dave Boling of the News Tribune thinks Sark and the new staff are going to make some noise in 2009. Nice to see at least one pro journalist in the Puget Sound area that is excited about the prospects of the team this season. That being said after the closed practices and lack of emotion during the Willingham years it is pretty tough not to notice the difference at Montlake. How many wins that translates into this season of course is tough to say at this point.

Maybe it’s not saying all that much, but I think the Washington defense made more contact in Monday’s first practice of the 2009 season – without pads – than it did in some actual games in 2008.

Scott Johnson of the Everett Herald has ten burning questions.

With the way the University of Washington football team has been performing in recent years, this program has as many question marks as it does uniforms. But the new-look Huskies, who have an entirely new coaching staff, might not be as far away from the middle of the "Pac" as it appears.