It is hard to believe but once again we have made it to the start of another college football season. Camp opens today on the shore of Montlake and Steve Sarkisian's Huskies look to improve upon last years 7-6 record which included a Holiday Bowl win over mighty Nebraska.
The big story going into camp is the ascension of Keith Price into the starting QB slot to replace the departed Jake Locker who will be plying his trade in Nashville this season. The comparisons will be coming hot and heavy over the next few months.
The big thing we keep hearing about Price is how well he handles pressure. He is a cool cucumber in the huddle and he gives those around him a lot of confidence. A local pro QB who watched him workout this summer says that the position is in great hands with Keith.
Two other big stories on offense are about two new targets price will be throwing the ball to. Skyline's Kasen Williams was arguably the most coveted athlete in the country last season. TE Austin Sefarian-Jenkins from Gig Harbor was also a national recruit. Both are expected to compete for starting jobs and see plenty of action during their first year on campus.
Word from campus is that ASJ has been a workout warrior since arriving this past spring. We all know he can catch the ball, and do something with it after the catch, but blocking is always the biggest challenge for a true freshman. That extra six months under Ivan is really going to help.
Williams on the other hand chose not to graduate early and ran track for his high school this past spring. Williams won three state titles, including a state record in the 4A boys triple jump, to lead Skyline to a fourth place finish at state. Insiders feel that the impact Kasen makes will be similar to the one that Reggie Williams made when he first stepped onto the field as a Husky.
Washington can match almost any team in the conference for talent at the offensive skill positions but games are always won in the trenches. The biggest key in getting production out of this post Locker offense will be the performance of the offensive line. This unit will depend heavily on the play of four second year players. Colin Porter, Erik Kohler, Colin Tanigawa, and Ben Riva will be filling the three open spots on the offensive line.
Porter is a lock after earning a starting job midway through last season. Tanigawa impressed coaches enough this spring that he is the leader to start on the other side of Porter coming out of the spring. Kohler who earned a starting job last season until being felled by mono will fight it out with Riva for the right tackle job. The rest of the Cascade Front which is comprised of James Atoe, Mike Christie, and Micah Hatchie will be moving into the two deeps to provide depth.
Puppy Chow
Stay tuned to KJR Radio and Dawgman.com all day for opening day news percolating out of Montlake. The Dawgman guys will be having a three hour radio show tonight after practice.
John McGrath of the News Tribune tackles the new taunting/celebration rule.
How’s this for nightmare scenario? A replay delay, lasting several minutes, to determine whether a player pointed a finger an inch before the goal line or an inch beyond it.
Preseason rankings, whether done by writers, bloggers or coaches, are incredibly flawed. As college football fans know, last season's performance or the reputation of the head coach doesn't always determine a team's fate in the upcoming season. But, without them, we wouldn't have much to discuss before the start of the season. For the sake of adding to the conversation, we've decided to select eight teams whose expectations are a bit higher than warranted. While they may have good seasons anyway, they probably won't experience their pinnacles of success.
The big story in college football heading into this season is change. The conferences are dramatically different heading into 2011 than they were just a year ago.
Of course, we're talking about expansion -- and contraction in some cases -- which the Pac-12 was on the forefront of because, well, the conference was the Pac-10 last year and thereby changed more than anyone else.