Spring Focus 2009: Washington Husky Football

Alright Husky fans, let's breath deep, we can relax for now.

2008 is over, and it's going to stay over. Tyrone Willingham is gone and Steve Sarkisian is in. As Coach Sark stated in his opening press conference, this is a clean slate for everyone, and that truly includes us fans.

I have good news for everyone too: we will win at least one game next year.

That being said, we have a brutal start of the year with LSU first up and USC third, but Idaho in between them is a nice looking prospect. 

I live in Seattle, and but for Husky basketball, there is little in the sports culture here to keep me from being completely depressed. 

However, I'm still the optimist I've been during my four years of school, and that is still true after going 0-12.

Spring practice begins on March 31, and it remains to be seen the effect that Coach Sark will have on the Huskies, but there really is nowhere to go but up. 

It's a brand new era in terms of openness for the program, and Coach Sark has promised open practices. He even implored the fan base on his twitter page to come out and support the team during spring practices. 

No matter what Sarkisian does on the field, the new openness to the program is a breath of fresh air for fans such as myself, and really create optimism for the future.

Now, for those of you who have read some of my Husky analysis before, you know I like to split it up in a series of burning questions or observations that I have had on either a game or event. Since the problems of Husky football are plenty, I'll just stick with a simple offensive and defensive breakdown.

Let's start with the bad and move forward.

Defense

After the horrendous defensive showings of the last two years, I think it's fair to say the biggest question marks remain on the defensive side of the ball. Remember, Jake Locker plays for this team, so there are some definitives for the offensive side of the ball. 

It will be interesting to see how the defense as a whole comes along under the tutelage of Nick Holt. Many have voiced concerns that while Holt talks loud, the defenses at USC were chosen by Pete Carroll and held a vastly superior personnel pool in terms of quality.

In terms of personnel, there are very few losses, but as bad as the defense was it isn't surprising that Sarkisian dipped into the JC ranks to bolster some of the positions.

Defensive Line

It's fair to say that the star for the Huskies on defense is going to be Daniel Teo'nesheim, the senior defensive end. He accounted for half of the Huskies 16 sacks in 2008, and you can guarantee his motor hasn't diminished in the least. 

The rest of the line needs to pick up their game. Guys like Alameda Ta'amu, Senio Kelemete, and Everette Thompson were thrown in as true freshman, which helped absolutely nothing.

Sarkisian brought in Junior College transfer Johnny Tivao who is listed as a whoping 5-10 350 pound load to help plug up the middle. It will be imperative for him to come in and help shore up the line.

Linebacker

The Husky linebackers could potentially be one of the most improved units in the Pac-10. They return all the starters, plus the addition of 2007 tackle leader EJ Savannah.

If these guys gel under Nick Holt's tutelage, they could form the bedrock of a much improved Husky defense. 

At the very least their seniority will add a much needed leadership element to a defense that at many times looked at best, listless.

There isn't really much to say about this unit since there really aren't any questions about the unit, and the rotation really should be more or less set. Look to see how red-shirt freshmen Kurt Mangum and Bradley Roussel have progressed after their first year. 

Secondary

This area has been a serious problem over the past two seasons. It has literally leaked like a sieve, with the Huskies giving up 24 touchdown passes and on average opposing quarterbacks threw a 67 percent completion rate.

Nate Williams was a bright spot, who earned an honorable mention in the All Pac-10 honors, will be a junior this season. Victor Aiyewa has gotten some mention in the past but was injured for much of last season and it will be interesting to see how he progresses.

Guys like Vonzell McDowell and Quinton Richardson have at times showed some good signs, but at other times been very frustrating. As with much of the defense it will help to have another year of experience under their belts.

Some names to keep an eye out for in practice are Justin Glenn, Adam Long, and Tony Gobern, who is just coming off major shoulder surgery. 

David Batts and Dominique Gaisie are JC transfers and could add some much needed support to one of the weakest units on the Husky team. The question being of course if these guys can get into school and how well they gel since they have to come in during summer.  

Special Teams

Kicker

The kicking team was horrendous last year, and now with Ryan Perkins gone it will be up to Erik Folk to take on the kicking ability.

Punter

Jared Ballman is gone, and his reign at punter was fairly mediocre over the two years he was here. JC transfer Will Mahan is pretty highly regarded and will most likely be the punter next season.

Returners

Jordan Polk returned kickoffs last season and D'Andre Goodwin returned the punts. They did an adequate enough job and I really feel like they will retain the job unless someone steps forward and really claims it.

Polk showed jets on some of the kickoff returns and if he can find places to wiggle through he can really do some damage.

Offense

The offense will have a completely new feel to it with the pro-style sets that Sarkisian will bring to the table. Sarkisian wants to retain playcalling, but offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier will be instrumental in helping to plan the offense.

There were a lot of rumblings from USC fans as Sark left about the offensive schemes being too bland and not taking full advantage of the personnel. It will be interesting if anything changes now that he is the head guy.

The loss of Jim Michalzchik will be a big loss since it will set the planning of the offense back several months. However, one of the added bonuses of the staff Coach Sark has put together is that every coach has at least one time been an offensive coordinator in their career.

The offense is a little more coherent than the defense, and several of the positions are secure and have a bright future.

That being said, there is still a lot of work to be done, especially in the running game and offensive line's protection schemes. Ronnie Fouch's decline last season was as much to do with being basically shell-shocked more than anything. 

Offensive Line

Obviously this is where Coach Michalzchik was going to be the most instrumental after moving from a successful running team such as Cal. Dan Cozzetto was hired from Arizona State to fill the void.

Cozzetto spent a year at Washington in 2003 under Neuheisel and is from all accounts a strict taskmaster. The linemen are going to work, there is no question of that, the hope is that they don't chafe under Cozzetto.

In personnel terms the Huskies lose long time center Juan Garcia, as well as guards Casey Bulyca and Jordan White-Frisbee. The center position will be the biggest gap to fill and its shaping up to be a battle between Matt Sedillo and Mykenna Ikehara, the red-shirt freshman who has been turning some heads.

Cody Habben's development will be key to anchoring the line, but long-time stalwarts like Ryan Tolar should help immensely.

The staff signed JC tackle Daniel Mafoe in this recruiting class as well. While there may be plenty of depth along the line, it appears that the staff wants to hedge their bets in terms of quality.

Tight End

Coach Sark has stated that the tight-end will be a key position in his offense, and the proof of that is the signing of no less than 3 in the last recruiting class.

The positions strength will really depend on how well Kavario Middleton has come along. He was a bright spot in the beginning, showing great hands, but faded as the year went on.

To a lesser extent Chris Izbicki needs to get over some of his off the field issues and put his head down in practice.

There isn't a ton of depth at this position and JC transfer Doyson Boyce is sorely needed to strengthen the position. His reputation is as a good blocker so that will be a great help for protection and the run game.

Quarterback

I really don't have much to say on this beyond telling you that Jake Locker has healed up and is throwing again.

The biggest question is how well Locker fits into a pro-style offense. He has the arm but perhaps not the accuracy yet. Nussmeier and Sarkisian are both well respected quarterback mentors so that is a good sign.

There is somewhat of a question of if Locker's talent running the ball will go to waste. It's important for him to stay healthy, but his ability can be a game-changer, and it really shouldn't be stifled.

Following Locker the depth is a bit iffy. Ronnie Fouch has game experience which will be invaluable if the unforeseeable should happen, but behind him is walk-on Taylor Bean and Luther Leonard. Not very inspiring to say the least, though Bean did orchestrate the only score against Cal.

Running Backs

Well everybody is back, but who is the leader for the starting job. Terence Dailey and David Freeman showed very promising flashes of ability, but they are by no means the out and out leaders.

Curtis Shaw is back with the team and is back with the running backs for now, after spending time at receiver.

It's hopeful that Brandon Johnson can get over some of the niggling injuries that he was plagued with over last season. He showed great prowess as an up the gut power runner in his limited outings in 2007, and he needs to recapture that form.

Sarkisian didn't sign any running backs in 2009 and has made it a priority for the 2010 class. So while the depth chart may be muddy right now, Sarkisan doesn't see any quality gaps at the moment.

Fullback is probably more cut and dry than even the quarterback situation. Paul Homer has that position on lockdown, and truly is one of the best fullbacks around the country.

Sark has an affinity for the fullback position which will hopefully equate to some more meaningful touches for Homer next season. 

Wide Receiver

D'Andre Goodwin became the go to guy last season, catching 60 passes. The rest of the unit is extremely young but showed good promise. Goodwin will still be the go to guy but hopeful another of the youngsters will step up to complement him.

Jermaine Kearse showed a great affinity for catching some deep balls and will be an integral part going down the field.

Chris Polk was the starting running back going into 2008 after switching from the slot receiver position. He was hurt and missed all of last season, but now that he is better I predict he will workout more with the receivers.

Cody Bruns is interesting because a lot of fans wanted him to keep his redshirt for last season and develop him. He shows really good route running ability and was used in some direct snap situations so he has speed. It will be interesting if the staff hold him back this year to develop him or throw him in again.

One of the more interesting prospects will be Anthony Boyles. He was one of the marquee signings of the 2007 class but had trouble getting eligible and then sat out last season redshirting. He's got a large reach and could potentially be another dangerous deep threat.

Sarkisian signed James Johnson last season, and has intimated that perhaps he could see time right away. This leads to speculation that the depth chart for the receivers will most likely remain very fluid.