You have to figure that during the middle of July that there wouldn't be much happening as far as Husky football and college football in general is concerned but this summer has been the exception.
Kavario Middleton
When Steve Sarkisian took over at Washington I commented that there was going to be a significant amount of attrition during the first year or two. Some of that attrition would clear some dead wood and some would result in losing a player or two that the program would rather not lose.
Most insiders have known for quite awhile that Middleton was at risk. That doesn't mean he was a bad kid but it did mean he wasn't seeing eye to eye with the new coaching staff. He was one of the highest rated recruits in recent memory, and he had the tools to be a first round draft choice, but he never fully applied himself.
Kavario has a set of great hands and he had the ability to do special things with the ball after the catch. On the other hand he was a huge liability as a blocker, and he wasn't doing enough in the weight room, or on the practice field to get better at that skill.
Losing Kavario at his full potential would have been a major loss but losing a TE who was running a 5.20 40 and is a liability blocking on Jake's blind side isn't. I wish him the best and I hope he gets it at the next stop. No single person is bigger than the team.
Josh Shirley
Picking up an athlete the caliber of Josh Shirley is a big deal for UW. He fills an immediate need that became more of a void when Waters and Young were not able to qualify.
It is a controversial signing because UCLA released him and two other players after a purse was stolen from a storage locker on campus a couple of weeks ago. I think most of us applauded UCLA at the time for making a swift and decisive decision regarding the three players futures. None of us know the exact details of the incident but Shirley wasn't required to post bond which makes most of us think that his involvement was perhaps pretty limited.
You have to trust that Sark did his due diligence before offering Shirley. Sark's history regarding discipline at UW has been pretty consistent. In other words he doesn't put up with any crap on or off the field. That being said I can understand the angst of Bruin's fans over the matter. If the shoe was on the other foot Husky fans would feel the same way.
I am also pretty amused by all the Duck fans who visited this past week tossing barbs UW's way. Like this signing has single thing in common with what has been going on at Oregon this off season.
Chuck Nelson
Chuck Nelson getting dropped by UW after 17 years caught me by surprise. I enjoyed the team of Chuck and Bob and think they were among the best in college football. Obviously Andre Riley felt differently because he made the decision to drop Chuck and replace him with Damon Huard.
I feel sorry for Chuck but I think Damon is going to do a great job. A long career in the NFL should give him some great insights into what is happening on the field during the game.
Recruiting
Things are heating up again on the recruiting front and ESPN's Greg Biggins thinks UW is going to land QB Brett Hundley, WR Kasem Williams, and TE Austin Sefarian-Jenkins. If that ends up being the case it would be a huge haul for Washington which could leverage those signings into another top ten recruiting class.
Pat Haden
USC AD Mike Garrett had to go but it isn't like Pat Haden hasn't been one one of the puppet masters in the background over the past decade. It is business as usual at USC with the boosters continuing to call the shots.
Folks make the comment that Lane Kiffin is on the hot seat now that Pat is in charge but I doubt that is true. Haden played a big part in the decision to hire Kiffin. I think they will get along fine as long as Kiffin puts a quality product on the field.
Kennedy Pola
Lane Kiffin hired Kennedy Pola as his RB coach this past week. It hacked off Tennessee Titan coach Jeff Fisher who just happens to be an SC alum and could have had the Trojan head coaching job if he had shown any interest.
"So I am very disappointed in the lack of professionalism on behalf of Lane, to call me and leave me a voice mail after Kennedy had informed me he had taken the job," Kiffin told The Tennessean Saturday. "It is just a lack of professionalism."