15 Things That Could Go Wrong for Washington in 2008

4. The offensive line is labeled as the strength, but what if injuries happen at the tackle position?  If that happens, Washington would have to rely on two redshirts who haven't played a snap yet.  That is never good, even though Ben Ossai and Cody Habben earned starting time as redshirts the previous two years.

UW could always move a veteran from the interior to the outside, but veteran depth at tackle is a concern.  Juan Garcia is progressing ahead of schedule, but how big of a talent drop-off will it be if he is re-injured?

5. We all expect improvement at TE with RS Chris Izbicki and freshman Kavario Middleton being added to the mix to help out senior Mike Gottlieb.  What if they aren't ready to contribute?  You get a replay of last season with Gottlieb and Walt Winter acting mostly as blockers while the TE still goes missing from the Husky offense in 2008.

Kavario is going to be more of a receiver than a blocker this year.  Rarely does a true frosh have the muscle and technique to come through in the first year.

6. Brandon Johnson's claim to fame was the second half of the California game last season.  Other than that he didn't pick up any significant playing time.  What if Washington can't establish a go-to running back in 2008?  What if for some reason Johnson doesn't come back 100 percent from his knee surgery?

Well, this would be quite serious because Willie Griffin and Brandon Yakaboski aren't in the same league as Johnson at this point.  Curtis Shaw could be the answer, along with Chris Polk, but who would pick up those long 3rd-and-2s?

This team needs a solid year from Brandon Johnson to get it done, or they have to look at Paul Homer and Luke Kravitz in short yardage situations.

7. The cornerbacks looked pretty good this spring.  RS Quinton Richardson held his own at CB along with senior Mesphin Forrester and senior Byron Davenport.  In addition, they have an improved Vonzell McDowell along with Matt Mosley, who also started some games in 2007.

What happens if this spring was a mirage produced against the mediocre competition provided by Washington's green receivers?  If that is the case, it is a replay of the last four years, with the exception of depth to insert when players get injured.  Whatever happens back here, we are not going to run out of CBs in 2008.

8. Nate Williams and Victor Aieyewa seemed to put the nasty back into the safety position at Washington this spring.  They may even be able to hold off senior Jason Wells when he returns to full strength during camp.

What happens if they aren't as good as we thought?  Just like at CB, it means a lot more pressure on the offense to score points to keep up.  The best offense is a good defense, and in the Pac-10 it means pass defense.  One thing is for sure: The Huskies have plenty of experienced depth to rely on at safety.

9. Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, and Darion Jones look solid at defensive end.  If DeShon Matthews can move back outside, the Huskies will have a nice rotation at the positions.

What happens if one of them is injured?  This would be pretty serious because the depth behind them, even with the addition of frosh Everette Thompson, is non-existent.  Kelani Aldrich still needs another year to add weight.

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