Keeping Your Enemies Closer, UW Edition

Well played Mr. Corleone.  Friends close, but your enemies closer.  Got it.  With that in mind, I've checked in with Amieable's cousin Tom, a died in the wool Husky Honk, to see just what is going on over in Montlake this Spring. As you all know, in any great sports debate, as we are prone to get into with our rivals in purple, there is nothing more annoying than the fan who doesn't even know what they're talking about. So pay attention Coug fans. It's important that we know our stuff.  Here's what cousin Tom has to say.

Longball: So Tom, you are a longtime Husky fan, just how many Spring scrimmages have you attended over the years?

Cousin Tom: Honestly, this was my first year attending any spring event.  I think I’m like most Husky fans in that spring games were just never that big of a deal.  


Longball: So being a Husky fan here on a Cougar blog, I gotta ask... are you scared? Well, are ya?

Cousin Tom: Depends.  Does my big cousin Amieable have my back?


Longball: Just like a Husky to try and hide behind a woman!  Kidding, I admire your courage, even if I despise your taste in football teams. So being Cougars, we are naturally curious (whether we admit it or not) about how the Montlake Makeover is going so far. Much like my beloved Amieable and our own resident dawg commentor, JasonUW, you are a reasonable and fair minded Husky fan, so we're counting on you to give us a fair assessment of the state of things over on the dark side. No pressure.....


Cousin Tom: Things are going pretty good so far.  5 wins last year was more than most people (including myself) expected, and Sarkisian has brought in a great recruiting class.  The staff has also done a great job in developing the players we already had.  I don’t believe that Butler or Te’o-Nesheim get drafted in the 3rd round if the previous regime was still around, and I know that Locker wouldn’t be hyped as the #1 pick in next year’s draft if Ty was still at the helm.

Sark has also got people excited about the program again.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fan base so excited over a team that went 5-7 the previous year and hasn’t been to a bowl game in forever.  There were 15,000 people at the spring game even though it was cold, wet, and windy.  I don’t think that has ever happened before.

All that being said, I think the Huskies are still at least few years out from competing for Pac-10 titles.  There is still not enough talent on the roster, and I think Sark needs more experience as a game day coach (some of the coaching decisions last year during games were, uh, a bit questionable).

Longball: Very interesting. Now we've heard a lot about this Locker fellow. On this side of the mountains he is generally regarded as a noodle armed, brain dead, bed wetter, more suited to be a shift manager at Burgermaster than the field general of a division I football team. Apparently, Husky fans and NFL scouts disagree, but what do they know? After seeing Locker in person this Spring, what can you tell us about how he looks? Bed wetter, or Jesus in Cleats?

Cousin Tom: Well, if I have to pick between the two, then I choose Jesus in Cleats.  J  Locker has always had the physical tools.  He’s big, he’s fast, and he has a strong arm.  His problems essentially boiled down to decision making and accuracy (yeah, I know these are pretty important).  Last year, he did much better in those areas.  He still needs to improve on his accuracy a bit more (last year he was at 58% completion percentage), and make some better reads, but I expect he will have an excellent year.   It helps that the entire offense returns around him (well except one lineman and a fullback), so he should have some good chemistry with his receivers which will help.   Probably not worthy of Heisman consideration since the Huskies won’t win enough games, but a top 5 NFL draft pick is very likely.

Longball: We have a friendly wager here on the blog between our own Lucas and purple commenter JasonUW, that the WSU defense will actually rank higher statistically this year than the Dawgs defense. Lucas didn't even ask for odds on that, so we've had him committed, temporarily, but in his defense the Husky defense was anything but dominant last year. What do you think of this year's edition of the purple people eaters based on what you saw this Spring? Would you take that bet?

Cousin Tom: Dominant is one word I would NOT use to describe the Husky defense this year.  How about "adequate"?

I do expect the Huskies to finish in the bottom half of the Pac-10 statistically in defense, but the hope around Montlake is that now that the players have a year of understanding the new system under their belts, they’ll start playing faster and better.  And the defense really did play pretty well during the spring game, although the conditions favored the defense in that it was very windy and wet, and the QBs were down on touch.

I expect the Dawgs will be similar to last year - give up a lot of yards, but force teams to kick a lot of field goals.  They should be able to continue to force a fair number of turnovers.

To answer your second question - I probably wouldn’t take the bet because I wouldn’t trust the Cougar defense.  

Longball:  Every year there are bound to be some impact new comers that nobody who doesn't follow a program closely is aware of until they start making headlines in the Fall. Some of these impact newcomers wont arrive until Fall camp, but did anyone emerge this Spring that we should be aware of now in preparation for our showdown on December 4?

Cousin Tom: We have two true freshman running backs which impressed everyone in the spring, Deontae Cooper and Jason Collier.  I only got to see Cooper, but in one practice I went to he had two impressive touchdown runs, and also scored another touchdown in the spring game.  They’ll both be behind Chris Polk on the depth chart, but should get a fair amount of playing time as the season wears on.   

The star of the spring game was Anthony Boyles.  He technically isn’t a newcomer because he’s a redshirt sophomore, but his first couple of years here he was stuck deep on the bench at WR.  Late last season he was moved to CB and this spring played very well.  During the spring game he had a fumble recovery, an interception returned for a touchdown, and a couple of big hits.  He’s got 4 other guys at CB who have starting experience that are ahead of him on the depth chart right now, but he’s bigger than all of them (6’3”) so I expect he’ll get a lot of playing time, especially when the Dawgs have to go up against bigger receivers.

Longball: Besides the previously noted quarterback controversy and crumbling wreck of a stadium, tell us what you think will be this year Huskies Achilles heel, and what plan, if any, do they have to address it before September?

Cousin Tom: The defensive line is the big concern.  The Dawgs lost their two starting defensive ends to graduation, and another kid who was expected to come in and contribute got suspended for assaulting a guy.  And this spring two more players who were expected to be key contributors on the line were out with injury.

For the fall the injured guys should be back, and a couple of freshmen are expected to come in and contribute right away, which will help a little.  Even with those guys coming in, there are still big concerns with depth and experience.  There was also some experimentation with moving a tackle to end, and even a couple of the linebackers to end to try to give the defense some flexibility, but I'm not sure if you'll see much of that during a game.

Longball: What about the Spring game impressed you the most? Or, what are you least worried about this year?

Cousin Tom: The running game is what impressed me.  Our starting tailback is out for the spring and the QBs aren’t really allowed to run, but the rest of the guys really ran well.  The backup tailback Johri Fogerson and 5th string Demitrius Bronson had good days running the ball, getting a lot of yards after contact and hitting the holes well.  And true freshman Deonte Cooper scored a touchdown.  With Polk coming back, and Locker’s legs getting to be part of the offense, I think the running game will be very good this year.


Longball: So tell us, what are your expectations this year? What would you consider a success, and what would have us talking you down off the Montlake bridge?

Cousin Tom: I think the Huskies can go 8-4 this year.  Given the tough schedule (@BYU, @Oregon, @USC, @Cal, Nebraska), that might be wishful thinking, but I think they have a good chance.  For me, success is any bowl game.  Preferably a nice bowl game, but I’ll even take the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.  Just get to a bowl game.  Failure is not improving from last year, and therefore not making a bowl game.

If Jake Locker gets hurt I’ll have to wait in line to jump off the Montlake bridge.


Longball: Well Tom, you've been a real sport. Thanks for giving us your perspective. Our last question for you is the obvious... are you brave enough to come to Pullman for Apple Cup this year?

Cousin Tom: The last time I went to the Apple Cup in Pullman was in 2000…are you sure you want me there?  My plan is to go.   Can I crash at your place?  J

Longball: 2000? Funny, I dont recall there being an Apple Cup that year. You're always welcome to stay. I'll be sure to stock the dog house out back with some fresh blankets and milk bones for ya. See you in December!

Go Cougs!