Sark had his game face on during today's press conference. You could feel the intensity coming out of him as he gets his team ready to face Eastern Washington to open the season.
Sark announced that WR Cody Bruns will redshirt this season. His father Buck passed away last month and that will be a major adjustment for him and his family. I think it is a good move because the Huskies are loaded at the position this season and they could use his leadership next season when Kearse and Aguilar graduate.
Bruns was totally robbed by Ty Willingham who blew his redshirt in game five of his freshman season. So this move is a step in the right direction when it comes to making up for that. William Chandler will be the holder this season.
James Johnson is listed as a starter but Sark says you can expect to see the six top receivers all play during the first quarter on Saturday. It is nice to see Johnson back on top of his game.
Chris Polk (knee), Johri Fogerson (hip) or Quinton Richardson (leg) haven't been ruled out of the opener against Eastern. The coaches won't make a decision on their status until Wednesday. I would think that the coaches would prefer not to have to play the trio which would allow them to keep getting healthy.
One of the biggest changes you will see this season is the increased level of depth. That means we are going to see a lot of players sharing times at positions to keep the team fresh.
Keith Price is the man at quarterback and there isn't going to be any type of rotation at the position. Sark anticipates him doing very well this season. Not every game is going to be his best game and there are going to be lessons he is going to need to learn from those experiences.
Kiel Rasp and Will Mahan will be co starters at the punting position. Rasp will be the guy they look to when they are backed up and Mahan will be the guy who sticks it in the coffin corner of the opponent.
TE ASJ, WR Kasen Williams and DT Danny Shelton are all going to play. RB Bishop Sankey, CB Marcus Peters, and, S James Sample are some of the other guys Sark can see playing this season if needed. I think all six are going to play.
Walkon's FB Nick Holt and QB Thomas Vincent will also play right away.
The coaches will all have the same roles as last season. Sark feels that the communication has continued to improve the longer the staff stays together.
Quote of the Day
Sark commenting on the biggest question that needs to be answered about this squad.
"The biggest one is - who are we on game day. Who is this 2011 Husky football team when you come out of the tunnel, thousands of people are in the stands, the lights are on…who are we? Are we the same team that we were on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday? Or do we change, and I have to tweak that? The goal is, we don't change. We're that team. I think that's who we are, but the biggest question is - until that happens on Saturday, that's my biggest question mark. Are we the same guys that we were all training camp that as a staff we fell in love with - we love the camaraderie, we love the energy, we love the enthusiasm, we love the effort. Or, do some of our guys sit back because all of a sudden it's game day. I don't envision that happening. I don't think we'll ever talk that way, but you've seen it a lot of times with teams - sometimes you put on the real uniform it can change a little bit. I'm hopeful that won't occur, and I believe it won't occur, but until I actually get a chance to see it, it remains to be seen."
If you want the official two deeps and background on the game this is the place to get it.
See the game on TV
The game will kickoff at 4:00 PM and you will be able to see it live on ROOTNW which was formally FOXNW. The Huskies will also be on ROOT-NW next week when they face Hawaii at Husky stadium. ABC-ESPN will broadcast the Nebraska game.