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Brad Pitt gave a truly career-defining performance in the historical epic, "The Legends of the Fall". Now that fall camp has concluded, check out the lesser renowned but just as spectacular sequel, "The Legends of the Dots". The performance of John Berkowitz as a geriatric Tristan complements perfectly the breakout performance of Kirk DeGrasse as the ghost of Samuel and the arrival of Ben Knibbe as Zombie Newsboy. Not to be missed.
Rumor Dots
- The Offense continues to be ahead of the Defense more often than not. Time to panic?
- As you all saw get reported, the injury to Austin-Seferian Jenkins did not affect his knuckle and was a "clean fracture" ... the best news possible. Rumor has it that he intends to be on the field for Boise State.
- Speaking of tight ends, the Husky linebackers are consistently having trouble with Josh Perkins in the passing game.
- One new voice emerging as a prominent and proactive leader on the defense: Danny Shelton.
- Reports of Tight End turned Defensive End Evan Hudson starting in the Boise State opener are premature ... but may not be untrue.
- Newsflash: John Ross is too good to redshirt and will most likely be on the first unit Punt Return team if not first team offense.
- Cleveland Wallace is starting to challenge Greg Ducre's stronghold on the starting CB job opposite of Marcus Peters.
- James Atoe is climbing the ranks in the Offensive Line pecking order. His size gives him the flexibility to flex between guard and tackle and coaches believe that he is starting to really grasp the mental part of each of those positions.
- Coaches have been excited to see the depth among the defensive ends emerge thanks to the influx of the young freshmen. JoJo Mathis, in particular, has really come on and is threatening to be a rotation player as a true frosh.
- Will Shamburger is pretty dialed in as a starter at safety thanks in large part to the trust that he has earned from coaches when it comes to being in the right position and in bringing carriers down in the open field.
- Deontae Cooper's return to the field continues to be the feel-good story of the camp. On the field, he is still being challenged to break into the rotation. Good luck, Coop!
- Missing three practices notwithstanding, Dwayne Washington looks solid as the backup to Bishop Sankey.
- Jermaine Kelly continues to turn heads at CB.
- Could Princeton Fuiaomono jump Travis Feeney on the depth chart? He's making a huge push.
- Damore'ae Stringfellow is making plays, but not yet ready to take over as a true freshman starter.
- I haven't heard much of anything about Lawrence Lagafauina or Sione Potoa'e ... and the silence is deafening.
- Troy Williams has a head that is swimming in details right now and is almost assuredly a redshirt. On the other hand, Jeff Lindquist has not yet written off his competition with Cyler Miles for the backup QB job.
- The special teams depth charts are still in question. Gregg Bell reported that the long-snapper and holder roles have been nailed down by Ryan Masel and Thomas Vincent, respectively. Apparently, Cameron Van Winkle has broken away for kickoff duties. However, punter (advantage to Travis Coons over Korey Durkee and Zach Grossnickel) and placekicker (dead heat between Van Winkle and Coons) are still being battled out.
Link Dots
- The Pac 12 Networks hit "Stop #8" last week when they pulled into Seattle for their Training Camp Tour. The full program airs TONIGHT! 7pm (PT) on the P12 Networks (somebody TiVo it for me, please). Mike Yam and Rick Neuheisel were on campus to check out the new stadium and check in with Sark's crew. Here is their video summary of their experience and their thoughts on the Huskies in 2013 (hint: think "dark horse" for a divisional run)
- The Pac 12 Networks guys interviewed a number of folks as part of their tour. Here is their interview with Sark.
- ...And a nice photo tour of the stadium and training camp.
- With the end of fall camp "official" now, the Huskies will be paying close attention to managing player health as Todd Dybas reports.
- Seth Joyner, the "Football Scientist" at ESPN.com, has an Insider piece on five teams not in the current rankings that he expects will make noise. UW is represented as the third team on his list. A short quote from the subscription article:
Washington had a horrible start to its 2012 season but turned things around by being one of the hottest teams over the latter portion of that campaign.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, from Week 11 through the end of the year, quarterback Keith Price posted a 7.18 YPA that was nearly identical to Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan's 7.20 YPA in that time frame.
Running back Bishop Sankey was even better, ranking sixth in the nation in rushing yards per game in that period (144.17), a total that was higher than the same period per-game totals of Montee Ball (141.33) or Johnny Manziel (117.67).
...The back half of the schedule is much more forgiving, so look for UW to stick around in the polls.
- Jerry Fowler of CBS Sports is also a believer in the Huskies as a sleeper team, listing UW in his list of 10 "sneaky contenders" this season.
There's enough talent on the roster to finally break through -- maybe not a sizable, beat-Oregon-and-Stanford type of jump, but sizable improvement. Seventeen starters return, and quarterback Keith Price wants to return to his 2011 form. The Huskies have recruited well
- Getting excited about the new Husky Stadium yet? Here is a before/after shot of the stadium. Focus on the eastern landmarks to get a sense of how the the footprint of the stadium has changed. It is a remarkable transformation that occurs as a result of the track being removed.
- One of everybody's all-time favorite Huskies is former linebacker, Mason Foster. Here is a "tug at your heartstrings" story that I'm guessing none of us have heard before.
- Former Husky safety, Dashon Goldson, figures prominently in the turnaround plans of the Tampa Bay Bucs according to SI.com columnist, Don Banks.
- The Beale Street Bears take an analytical look at the maturation of Quincy Pondexter in the NBA calling his development "too perfect". Stat geeks will enjoy this.
- I'll wrap this up with a little shot at Duck fans. Apparently, something called "FishDuck" passes for entertainment among the Mudhole aficionados.
Question of the Day
Also posted today is my take on how the Pac 12 will sort itself out on a game by game basis in 2013. In it, I forecast that the Huskies will finally end the Oregon win streak when the Ducks visit the new Husky stadium early in the season. Could this be the year that a new streak - a Husky win streak over Oregon - begins? Discuss.