Another football season has come and gone except this time it exits with considerable hope for Washington football fans. Steve Sarkisian and his staff did a great job in year one and by finishing with two solid wins over WSU and Cal they hit the off season and the end of recruiting in full stride.
If you follow the Huskies closely you realize that the second season has officially arrived and Washington is very close to putting together one of its best recruiting classes in decades. Expect the Dawgs to sign approximately thirty players with at least three of them arriving by spring practice. TB Jessie Callier, TB Denotae Cooper and now LB Victor Burnett have all said they will enroll early which pushes the potential size of this class up to 28 true frosh.
Not sure if the Huskies will sign any JC players. It looks like the coaches are starting to back off in that area. We will know soon anyway because any JC's they do sign need to be on campus right after the start of the year.
The Huskies picked up a couple of recent big time commits over the past couple of days. Four star WR/S Kevin Smith made it official last night that he was coming to Washington. Three star DT Lawrence Lagafuiana also committed after his trip this past weekend. Both are pretty solid to Washington but may take another trip or two just to make sure and enjoy the experience.
Huskies on the All Pac 10 Team
The All-Pac-10 Football Team has been announced and three Huskies are represented. WR Jermaine Kearse, DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim and LB Donald Butler all cracked the second team.
WR Devin Aguilar, OLB Mason Foster, OG Senio Kelemete, QB Jake Locker, TB Chris Polk, C Ryan Tolar and CB Desmond Trufant were all named honorable mention.
Pac 10 Power Ratings - Final Edition
1. Oregon...The Ducks did a lot better than I thought they would this season. I thought the overall youth and lack of experience at the WR positions would hold them back and it did not. Oregon goes out as the indisputed champ and starts 2010 as the favorite to win it again.
2. Oregon State...The Beavers had anothe fine season after the annual slow start and were only a defensive stop away from winning the conference title.
3. Stanford...Great year by Harbaugh and the Cardinal. Hard to fathom how Cal could have ever beat these guys.
4. Arizona...Strong win to finish the season over USC cements this as being a great season for Mike Stoops and his team. Next year they will be rebuilding since this was one of the most experienced squads int he league.
5. USC...Troy has fallen for a season yet they will bounce back just fine with plenty of young talent and an excellent coaching staff.
6. Washington...More than one pro writer chided me for picking UW this high at the start of the season and it looks like I don't have to eat crow either on this pick despite the absence of a bowl invitiation.
7. California...The Bears arrived in Seattle as one of the conferences hottest teams and they left in shame with a might plunge in the power ratings.
8 . UCLA...How did Washington lose to these guys?
9. Arizona State...How did Washington lose to these guys Part Deux?
10. Washington State...Wulff will have to scramble to keep his job past 2010.
Pac Ten Player of the Week
Jake Locker....The Husky QB was perfect against California.
Pac Ten Player of the Year
Toby Gerhart of Stanford also gets my vote for the Heisman if I had one.