The last few weeks have been dominated by the Oregon street agent scandal. Our good friend Nestor at the UCLA blog provided us with an unexpected shot across the bow/distraction to take our minds off the Ducks this past weekend. A big thanks goes out to Gecko for posting about it.
Breaking it all down - the point is Sark and Neu have almost identical records from a percentage standpoint yet one is on the extreme hot seat and the other is viewed as an up and coming savior. Nestor thinks the biggest difference has been the "All World" talent at QB that Sark inherited from the previous regime.
My view is that neither of these guys has ever built or rebuilt a football program before. Neu inherited a lot of talent at Colorado and Washington. His teams did extremely well initially until they began to fade once the majority of the players were his.
Two years of Sarkisian at Washington has produced a lot of stability. Three years of Neuheisel at UCLA has produced the opposite. I think it will be very interesting to watch and compare both programs this season which is pretty much the crux of Nestors article.
Taking Washington out of the equation - the only way Neuheisel survives is if he can somehow get an improved performance out of his offense. Being in the South division this season is a blessing that he needs to take advantage of.
Huskies added to award watch lists
Alameda Ta'amu has been added to the Nagurski and Outland trophy watch lists.
The Bronko Nagurski Award is given annually to the best defensive player in college football. The Football Writers Association and the Charlotte Touchdown Club are responsible for the voting.
The Outland Trophy is given annually to the nation's best interior linemen on both sides of the ball. Ta'amu is one of 65 players to watch for the prestigious award, the third oldest trophy in college football.
Kicker Erik Folk was added to the Groza watch list which picks the nations top kicker.
Chris Polk is on the Maxwell Award list which picks the nations best overall player. Expect him to make about every available list before the season starts. Chris is a shoe in for the Doak Walker and Heisman Trophy lists too.
Jermaine Kearse is on the Biletnikoff Award list which picks the nations best wide receiver.
Taking a LEAP
Almost everyone in the 2011 recruiting class is expected to be enrolled the LEAP program which begins today. CB Antavius Sims is still working on his AA degree. Sims is expected to be here by the time drills start in August.
The summer LEAP program is a six college credit class that talks place five hours-per-day, Monday-Friday for four weeks. The class provides an opportunity for participants to become acclimated to the university experience without the pressures of athletic participation. The students also get an opportunity to bond with other student-athletes and become more acquainted with the University of Washington.
The basketball team also participates in the LEAP program and Percy Allen of the Seattle Times shares his impressions of the incoming frosh in his blog.
Brent Williams finds a home
Former UW recruit Brent Williams has found a home at Colorado State. Williams was a DE that was impossible to block in camps that had trouble putting on enough weight to play at this level. Williams who is now listed at 6'4 215 was released from his LOI by Washington after being asked to grey shirt.