Washington Huskies at BYU Cougars Season Opener

Hey Cougs, any early thoughts on the season opener?



Is it set in stone that our local boy, Jake Heaps, will be your starting QB? I'm honestly kind of bummed that the series ends this year, I was looking forward to more games against Heaps (nothing ill will, just good football rivalry for leaving the local school).



Can't wait for the game, should be fun.

I'm excited for it as well. It really is too bad the Huskies backed out of the last two years but I think a 4 year series with any team is a bit much anyway. It's nice to have a little "change of scenery" every couple of years in the non-conference since you have to play the same conference teams every year.



It's not set in stone that Heaps will start. I think all three guys are really close right now (Nelson, Heaps and Lark) plus they get Munns back this summer but I doubt he'll be able to contribute much that quickly. In the end, it may depend on whether or not Harvey Unga gets back into school or not. If he does return, I could definitely see Heaps start. If not, the coaches may feel more comfortable starting Nelson, who is older, has more D1 experience and who doesn't have an emotional attachment to the Huskies. Jake is way more mature than his age but even he would probably have a tough time separating the emotion from that game were he to start. For some, emotion can be a good thing though.



Obviously, I think we'll win but I think it will be pretty close. Even more so now that Harvey's status is in question. The Huskies have made some pretty nice strides since Sark came aboard but I have a hard time believing they'll beat a perennial top 25 team on the road after the road record they had last year and a winless campaign just two years ago. Bronco has proved that he can reload and field a top 25 team with less talent than he's got now (or will have in 2010). We definitely have some holes to fill but the talent is there to do so.



The offense should be pretty unstoppable no matter who starts at QB. We are loaded along the OL, at WR and at RB (even without Unga) and have some young but extremely talented TEs. So barring any injuries and a complete lack of progress between spring and fall at the QB spot (unlikely), the offense should be able to move almost at will next year.



Defense is the big concern. There are holes to fill all over, but the usual weakness on the team has now become the strength. We are loaded at DB. While we lost a lot along the DL, we have a few experienced guys returning and a boat load of talented freshmen. LB is the biggest concern since it really is the position that drives our defense. But again, there is talent ready to compete for the open spots.



So what's the rundown on the Huskies from your perspective?

Well, we are obviously set at QB.



Loaded at the skill positions on offense. Kearse, Aguilar, and Johnson are studs at WR and it's expected incoming freshmen Kevin Smith will contribute, but who knows with frosh. Kavario Middleton and Chris Izbicki are solid TE's, especially if they can play up to their potential.



RB looks to be stacked this year. Redshirt sophomore Chris Polk had around 1300 yards rushing last year and will enter the season around 10 pounds heavier (muscle) without losing any of his speed. The stars of spring so far have been frosh RB's Deontae Cooper and Jesse Callier, who are both legit. They should add quality depth to the RB rotation, along with Johri Fogerson who had the best off-season, gained 20 pounds of muscle.



The offensive line is not set yet, coaches have been experimenting with different lineups, but they are stoked after trying out Kelemete at LT and having massive success. Sark is excited and thinks Kelemete could become an all-pac 10 tackle. The offensive line should be anywhere from decent to good overall. I think the starters after fall camp will be Kelemete - Tolar - Ikehara - Shaefer - Habben, and it's possible one of the stud Olinemen like Kohler could earn a starting roll if they are really good from the start (several incoming linemen come highly ranked nationally).



On defense, we lost our two best players, ILB Donald Butler (3rd round to Chargers) and DE Daniel Teo-nesheim (3rd round to Eagles). They can't be replaced this year, but the rest of the defense is will be improved overall so we expect much better results than last year. However, we have serious injury/depth concerns on our Dline because of two injuries to DE's and one DE (Pulu) getting kicked off the team. However, if they heal in time for fall camp which is expected but not certain, than we should be just fine on the Dline.



The best player on our defense is OLB Mason Foster. The other linebackers are fast and talented (Cort Dennison at ILB and Alvin Logan or Victor Aiyewa at OLB), but Foster is an absolute stud. The frosh ILB Burnett looks really good, but I doubt he will knock Dennison out of the starting MLB spot as a freshmen.



It's weird to say this, but DB's might be the deepest position on the defense. Nate Williams and Nate Fellner will most likely be the starters, unless Will Shamburger or stud frosh Sean Parker can over take Fellner.



Desmond Trufant (younger bro of the Seahawks Trufant) is the best corner we have and will start again this year (started last year as a true frosh and held his own against top competition) and on the other side will probably be Adam Long (one of the fastest guys on the team) or Quintin Richardson. However, a dark horse for the corner spot opposite Trufant could be Anthony Boyles, a bigish WR (6-3, 200,4.4) moved to corner. He is physically talented enough to start, but he needs to stop thinking he knows best, and he admits this. Because of his WR past and his WR type ego, he sometimes thinks he knows what the WR is going to do, and instead of doing what the DB coach is teaching he free lances and finds himself gambling and out of position. If he can get his head right at the position, he could be an absolute stud at corner. A work in progress right now, but potentially a good starter.



Overall, our dawgs have a ton of potential and talent, but it won't matter if they can't put it all together on the field. There were some brutal errors last year that cost us several games otherwise we would have been bowling last year.



Dawg Nation is encouraged though, because they ended the season by outscoring WSU and #19 California by a combined score of 72-10.



Anyways, should be a fun season although kind of bummed it's Jake's last year. If you care, here is a cool highlight reel the UW Athletic department just put out a couple days ago of Locker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PbienS_enY





If you are interested in our spring game here is a link with broadcast info (my guess is your best bet would be one of those sites that streams tv feeds):



http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskyfootballblog/2011714152_where_to_find_the_uw_spring_ga.html

Mars wrote:


A Jake Vs. Jake QB match-up could be very exciting. I would have been even more excited for a Freshman rematch.



Any guesses what Washington's overall record will be this year? I assume the Huskies go bowling, but I'm not sure that they approach a Top 25 ranking this season.

This game will hinge on three things for BYU. First is how will the new QB perform. That is always a questions mark when you play a new starter. I assume it will be Heaps, but maybe not.



Second is how our O-line plays vs. the UW front 7. Our O-line is experienced and skilled, so they should have a solid day for sure. That will be vital because the new QB will need time to chuck it, and if we can run it successfully, it takes even more pressure off the QB. The O-line has to control that line.



Third is how will our defense handle the speed and running of Locker. In Seattle, he ran at will and our lack of speed showed. We are much faster on D now, especially at the LB position, but those guys are also young and inexperienced. So the key will be for them to play disciplined. Make Locker beat us with his arm. I know he is a better passer now than when we last played, but make him prove it. Having Nelson run the scout team for this game and letting him run all over the place will be a nice thing to have for preparation purposes.

I hope we win but wouldn't put my money on it. although bronco is always good at preparing a team when he has time. problem is we have air force the next week which will take a lot of the pre season workout out time that would have been used for fsu and washington.

Lawboy wrote:

A Jake Vs. Jake QB match-up could be very exciting. I would have been even more excited for a Freshman rematch.



Any guesses what Washington's overall record will be this year? I assume the Huskies go bowling, but I'm not sure that they approach a Top 25 ranking this season.

This game will hinge on three things for BYU. First is how will the new QB perform. That is always a questions mark when you play a new starter. I assume it will be Heaps, but maybe not.



Second is how our O-line plays vs. the UW front 7. Our O-line is experienced and skilled, so they should have a solid day for sure. That will be vital because the new QB will need time to chuck it, and if we can run it successfully, it takes even more pressure off the QB. The O-line has to control that line.



Third is how will our defense handle the speed and running of Locker. In Seattle, he ran at will and our lack of speed showed. We are much faster on D now, especially at the LB position, but those guys are also young and inexperienced. So the key will be for them to play disciplined. Make Locker beat us with his arm. I know he is a better passer now than when we last played, but make him prove it. Having Nelson run the scout team for this game and letting him run all over the place will be a nice thing to have for preparation purposes.

Having Nelson to prep for this game should help quite a bit. I wonder what Washington's D will do with Nelson in the game since I would suspect a Senior Locker is a better qb than a Junior Nelson with a handful of games under his belt. I think Washington's D won't be surprised by very many running plays when they get to go up against Locker all day long. Hmm.. I wonder. Running qb's are so rare though and perhaps they have different running styles.



Welcome to the board btw...are you coming to the game?

Purple Reign, I don't know if this is accurate but it seems that Locker tried to improve his NFL status by staying in the pocket more last year and making more throws rather than just tucking and running. If that is true it definately bodes well for us. If Locker decides to run the football ala Christian Ponder, we are in trouble. This game is a scary challenge for a our new linebackers.

Looking at Washington's record last year there are a couple of very impressive wins (USC and Cal) but one thing really really jumps out at me: while the overall record was 5-7, UW's road record was 0-5 including 48-21 at Oregon State, 34-14 at Stanford. I don't know the details of those games but it appears Sarkisian has his work cut out for him during the off-season to improve his teams ability on the road. Having a great Senior QB will help but it's a big ask, even for Sark. We'll see.

QuarterbackU wrote:
Purple Reign, I don't know if this is accurate but it seems that Locker tried to improve his NFL status by staying in the pocket more last year and making more throws rather than just tucking and running. If that is true it definately bodes well for us. If Locker decides to run the football ala Christian Ponder, we are in trouble. This game is a scary challenge for a our new linebackers.

Sarkisian did not call as many designed running plays as during the Ty era, and Coach Sark from the start wanted to teach Jake how to be a pocket passer in a pro-style offense, however, towards the end of the year he realized that running is a big weapon and important part of Locker's game, so he took the reigns off a little bit and it really had a dramatic impact towards the end.



I would look for Locker to run more like he did in the last few games last year rather than the first 3/4 of the season, however, he is learning to go through his reads first before taking off and he is still learning when to run and when to chuck it. Several times last year he had wide open 20 yards in front of him with clear sailing to the end zone but he stood his ground and delivered a pass instead of taking the easy TD.



So it is that balance that he is still learning (when to tuck & run, when to throw) and he should be more impressive this year with his decision making in that area.

BerliNY wrote:
Looking at Washington's record last year there are a couple of very impressive wins (USC and Cal) but one thing really really jumps out at me: while the overall record was 5-7, UW's road record was 0-5 including 48-21 at Oregon State, 34-14 at Stanford. I don't know the details of those games but it appears Sarkisian has his work cut out for him during the off-season to improve his teams ability on the road. Having a great Senior QB will help but it's a big ask, even for Sark. We'll see.

Yeah, the record last year is what I was referring to when I said several brutal errors were made, especially the blown coverage on the last second hail mary against ASU, that was harsh. Or having 15 tries to pound the rock into the end zone from the goal line against ND and failing, or the TD from Chris Polk that was overturned against ND, if either of those go different Udub beats ND in their house.



Anyways, it was a frustrating season because the team was good enough to go bowling but tripped over themselves with a few bad bounces.

Purple Reign,



All I can say is that I hope we beat you in Provo game 1, then you guys run the table after that. Seriously, beat USC, Oregon and the rest. I prefer seeing UW at the top of the PAC10 any day over the LA schools, Bay Area Schools, etc. ASU and OSu are the only other PAC10 schools I like to see do well.

Mars wrote:

This game will hinge on three things for BYU. First is how will the new QB perform... Second is how our O-line plays vs. the UW front 7... Third is how will our defense handle the speed and running of Locker.

Fourth, whether Unga is back or not.

Oh yeah. Critical. Big piece of the puzzle. We can only hope ........ a lot.

At the risk of sounding like I know everyone in the world:



My son's were in High School in the era when Todd Marijuanavich (his nickname) went head to head playing for Capo Valley High School - where two of my kids attended - Vs Coach Johnson's son (was his name Brett?) at El Toro High School as the two most highly touted QBs in the nation playing for schools about 5 miles from each other. His nickname may explain why he saw Purple Haze in the game your tag line mentions. His other nickname was RoboQB for being programmed by his father not to even eat a Hostess Twinkie. I digress.



My best friend's son is Cort Dennison. You can bet your bippee that no one will be beating CD out for the starting ILB spot this year or next year - barring injury. That is one local Utah player that BYU and Utah will probably both wish they had offered a schollie when this year and next are done. CD's parents are Ute boosters - so the Utes really missed the boat on this one.



I love Sarkisian. He will make fewer rookie mistakes this season. UW was good enough to go bowling last year. Do not let the winless season or last year's mediocre record fool you. UW played the toughest schedule in the country the last few years. Even this year - OOC games with BYU and Nebraska and I forget who else. UW was good last year.



I love Bronco. I have met him and heard him speak. He will get more out of this team than paper would indicate possible. On paper - BYU will be horribly inexperienced and lucky to have a winning season. On the field - they will be bowl eligible.



I love BYU - but I think the Huskies take this one. I hope they don't. I hope CD has a great game but the Cougs win a close game by picking on some less experienced Husky defenders. Then I hope UW wins the rest of their games and plays for the BCS championship Vs BYU in a rematch. More likely - BYU will be 3rd or 4th place MWC behind TCU, AirForce, and Utah and will also lose to UW and FSU. If Unga does not return - could be worse.



Go Cougs

Cougarbib2 wrote:
UW was very good last year.

"Very good" teams tend to win more games than they lose.



BYU will be favored in Provo.

Mars:



You have never been known for your logic, so let me help you. It depends on who you play.



If BYU played Florida State and TCU or equivalents every week last year what would our record be? Look at it another way - what was our record against really good teams - TCU and .. well that was the only really good team we played. So how bout pretty good teams - Utah, Air Force, Oregon State, Florida State, Oklahoma, OK 4-1 pretty good. Then undefeated against weak teams. And we had a pretty good team at 11-2 with a Bowl win.



I am not saying UW was our equal last year. TCU was very good. We were pretty darn good - so was Utah. UW was good but looked mediocre after playing too many OOC games on the road in places like South Bend.



If you need any more help when emotion overcomes your logic - let me know.



BTW - I hope you are right in your prediction about BYU being favored assuming that they then deliver. BYU might be favored given the love the polls have been giving the MWC lately.



In any event - I will be rooting for my Cougs but hoping CD has a great game in a close BYU win over a pretty good UW team.

Mars wrote:

Mars: You have never been known for your logic, so let me help you. It depends on who you play.

Yeah, "great teams" can sometimes not be bowl eligible, blah blah blah. Thanks for no good argument CougarBlue troll.

Ouch!!! To the bone!!

:crazy:

Mars



Just had a thought - maybe a little integrity and attention to detail would help your logic. Where in my comment did you see the word GREAT associated with the UW team. THey were not GREAT. THey were not VERY GOOD. they were GOOD. They were not MEDIOCRE or POOR.



And in their winless year - do you recall which game UW came closest to winning? A little historical perspective relative to SOS rather than myopic in-bred Homer ignorance might add to your objectivity.



BYU will not win the NC in 2010. Get used to it. UW will not win it either. BYU may or may not end up with a better record than UW in 2010. UW will definitley have a stronger SOS - way stronger. Hopefully BYU beats UW on Sept 3. That is all that really matters. I will be there - usin my season tickets that I have held since sometime in the 1980s even though I lived in California, Illinois, or Hawaii the whole time.



Although the passage of time has made me become more realistic, and maybe at times, cynical and even pessimistic, I love my Cougs.



Go Cougars.