Chris Petersen Introductory Press Conference Notes

Chris Petersen came to Washington because the timing and fit worked out. It was time for him to leave Boise State, to continue to grow as a coach and a person. It just so happened that Washington was a great landing spot for Petersen, a self proclaimed "northwest guy." This is where he and his family want to be, and they're extremely excited about it.

There was no one reason why Petersen came to UW. There were a lot of reasons. He spoke about how Don James made an impression on him when he was growing up, and that while he maybe didn't know a ton about UW, he saw these guys in Purple and Gold flying around on the football field and winning Rose Bowls. Husky Stadium was also an important element in getting him to Seattle. He was asked if he would have taken the job five years ago, and he was evasive, but I think it's safe to say he would not have. He praised the job that Steve Sarkisian had done in rebuilding the program to this point.

When asked about his offensive philosophy, he wants to continue in with running a spread attack. As for the QB position, he's not married to the idea of a pocket guy or a mobile guy, he just wants a great QB, and you can be successful with different types. He noted that the best spread attacks can really run the football effectively.

He wasn't ready to make any official announcements regarding his staff, but thinks things will take shape over the next week.

He was asked a few questions about recruiting, and stated that priority one is keeping the local kids in state. He's familiar with the kind of players UW is currently recruiting, because there was a lot of overlap with Boise State there. He felt that Boise was somewhat handcuffed in recruiting, as players tend to be much more willing to commit to a power conference school like the Pac-12 if they have that opportunity. Evaluating a great player is the easy part, but there has to be mutual interest. At BSU, there wasn't always a lot of interest from the great high school players.

Petersen seemed very energized. It's to be expected when taking over a new position, but the talk about him not being a media guy seems overblown. He represented himself and his thoughts well, and there's no reason to believe that should change in the future. He wants the fans and media to know what this team is all about.

A new era of Husky football is underway.