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My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.
- Now that spring practices have kicked off, we finally get to see our first glimpse of what Husky football under Chris Petersen will look like. If you missed any of our spring position preview articles, Kirk and Chris have you covered. The elephant in the room, of course, is that the presumptive front-runner for the QB job is nowhere to be found.
- Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop caught up with Coach Pete last week to talk about his transition into his new digs, where he sees himself long-term and why Washington was the program that lured the man who could have had his pick of more jobs than he can remember during the course of the last decade.
- ESPN Insider KC Joyner likes Washington as a sleeper ($) in the 2014 Pac-12 race.
- In a pleasantly surprising bit of personnel news, WR DiAndre Campbell and DE Andrew Hudson are on the roster after we expected both players to leave the team after earning their degrees last year. Campbell's return is especially significant, considering the unexpected absence of Damore'ea Stringfellow following his suspension.
- Coach Pete opened up to the media yesterday to kick off spring practices. Anthony has the notes.
- Cass also presents our projected depth chart. Keep in mind that this is likely to change dramatically between now and Aug. 30. (For what it's worth, I have high hopes for the backup at WR2. A Garbage Can has been on the cusp of greatness for a while now, and it just feels like it's time for him to break out. Call it a hunch.)
- Some of you will be interested to learn that local stud running back Myles Gaskin committed to the Dawgs yesterday. Personally, I don't pay attention to recruiting news until about Jan. 10, because my stress levels are high enough as it is.
- The men's baseball team looks to have turned the corner last weekend in completing a three-game sweep of the Texas A&M Aggies (the fourth game, scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled due to rain), including a thrilling four-run, eighth inning rally in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
- The women's golf team, currently ranked No. 9, had a rough day yesterday at the Bruin Wave Invitational in Tarzana, Calif. After 36 holes, the Dawgs are in sixth place (out of 17 teams) after shooting 24-over 600. Follow the action live here.
Also, you'll have to forgive me for being a bit late in getting this Combine news to you:
- One scout thinks that Austin Seferian-Jenkins isn't worth the breath used to talk about him.
ASJ isn't going to have much of a chance to counter that assessment between now and the draft, now that he'll miss UW's pro day on April 2 after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot."I think he's a pretender," another scout said. "Not really a football player. The hype is big, but he don't want to block and he is kind of half-(expletive) in everything he does. Inconsistent and unreliable."
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Keith Price wrote an entry in USA Today's Draft Diary series. The highlight:
It doesn't matter what team I end up playing for. I just know a team's going to get a steal and I'm going to work extremely hard, prepare myself as if I am the starter. I understand I'm going to have a long way to go, because the NFL is a different level of competition. But I'm up for the challenge.
Question of the Day
With spring practices kicking off, there is no shortage of topics to discuss. Who are you excited to see break out between now and April? Which players have the inside track to gaining starting jobs? What do you hope to see from the new coaches, in terms of their philosophies and the way they conduct practices?