We start the morning off with news that Bellevue OL Michael Kneip has committed himself to Washington as a preferred walk-on who has a good shot of eventually winnng a scholarship. That is real good news...Washington could use 20 guys just like him to help fill the roster out with quality to the August camp 105 limit.
If you can build your roster with 85 solid BCS players supplemented with 20 kids who could be playing in the Big Sky or the WAC you can build a very strong program. Washington has the ability to recruit to fill out the roster in that manner under Sarkisian.
Kneip had offers from Yale and Idaho State but the Bellevue coaching staff thinks that the 6'5 295 lb offensive lineman has enough upside to be a decent Pac 12 player. Mike says he bleeds purple and his film reveals a nasty streak that should suit him well over the next five years.
More Recruiting
The Huskies hosted nine athletes this past weekend but we don't have any new of any commitments as of yet. The three kids from Poly High in Long Beach were at the basketball game last night and will be heading home on Monday because of the three game weekend.
UW did have a surprise visitor this past weekend. Oregon State commit CB Cleveland Wallace who hails from the Bay area is considering following new UW DB coach to Washington.
Brostek?
Shane Brostek visited UCLA this past weekend and at this point does not have an official visit scheduled to Washington. That could change pretty quickly over the next two weeks but his recruitment is becoming kind of a head scratcher at this point since all the experts say he is a UW lock. Tough to be a lock if you don't visit..
Dawgs, Cats, and Apples
Terrence Ross exploded for 30 points last night to lead Washington past Washington State 75-65 at Hec Ed on Sunday night. 26 of those points came in the second half and were the main reason the Huskies were able to overcome a ten point deficit and rally for the win. Cal and Stanford visit the 4-1 Huskies next week in Seattle.
Nuss?
We keep hearing that UW OC Doug Nussmier is the number one choice of Nick Saban to be the next Alabama offensive coordinator. Softy's site says that it could be a foregone conclusion. Keep in mind that Nuss doesn't call plays in Seattle and he would be in pretty much complete charge of the offense in Tuscaloosa. If he ends up getting the offer he will be leaving.
Tosh?
Washington is still going after Cal DL coach Tosh Lupoi and insiders are predicting he will be moving to Seattle after LOI day. Brand X is saying it already a done deal. Not sure if it is true but we do know that Washington decided to offer the kitchen sink which is pretty tough for a guy making $164,000 a year to turn down.
Paterno?
Joe is running out of time on earth and needs to get it right and honest with his soul. He apparently isn't doing that and his recent excuses around the dinner table aren't generating much sympathy.
Joe needs to take responsibility that he was part of (or even helped instigate) a cover up that allowed numerous children to continue to be abused on and off the campus of Penn State by former DC Jerry Sandusky.
"I didn't know exactly how to handle it and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was," he told The Post in an extensive two-day interview at his home in State College, Pa. "So I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn't work out that way."
Neuheisel?
Rick is probably going to sit out a year or two and grab an open analyst seat at ESPN.
"Jim’s (Mora) got a good football team coming back," Neuheisel said. "I believe in those kids and I know he’ll enjoy those guys. He’ll be a good fit from the standpoint that he’s a defensive guy. That whole league now is about offense, with Rich Rod at Arizona, Mike Leach at Washington State, all the other offenses that are already pretty-well entrenched. He’s going to have to get his hands wet early to make sure that he can stop those guys."
Thomas leaving Oregon?
You would think that a guy that stands a good chance of not being drafted would hang around for another year and graduate. Maybe he knows something about Oregon's future that we don't know? Maybe...Maybe not because Kenjon Banner will be returning in 2012.
USC and the LA Coliseum
LA is a strange football town. The largest city in the country doesn't have an NFL franchise and the the two major BCS schools which are located in the area do not own or have control of their football stadiums.
That may be changing soon because it looks like USC will be gaining sole control of the 88 year old LA Coliseum which is located adjacent to the Trojan campus. USC reportedly will dump $100 million into the stadium over the next couple of years.