10. What if DT Cameron Elisara doesn't have a breakthrough season, or if they can't find anyone to play beside him? The hope is one of the group of Johnie Kirton, Alameda Ta'amu, Senio Kelemente, or Craig Noble can be the answer at the other tackle spot.
If there is no answer at tackle, the undersized Matthews has to move over from DE, which compromises the thin depth over there. That means the dominos start to fall for this line.
The coaches also hope that the hard-working Elisara continues to improve because he wasn't there yet in the spring. Elisara was overpowered by a true frosh center in practice yesterday during the one on ones. Either Mykena Ikehara is the next coming of Bern Brostek, or Elisara still isn't ready.
Kelemente, and Noble still have some academic hurdles to finish up before they hit the practice field. As every day passes, those two kids become a good bet to miss the season and enroll in January. You better hope Ta'amu and Kirton come through.
11. The kickers had a below average spring. The spring game was marked by missed field goals. What happens if Ryan Perkins continues to break down physically, and Erik Folk is unable to become accurate enough to take over? It means Washington will be going for it a lot more on fourth down rather than taking the points.
12. Jared Ballman had a very good year punting in 2007. That came after a spring when he didn't look very good. He had that kind of spring again in 2008. What happens if he doesn't snap out of it?
Good punting is just huge for any defense. When you lengthen the field with a good punt, it makes the opposing offense work harder. If Ballman regresses, it puts extra strain on a young defense coming off the worst performance in Husky history.
13. Louis Rankin ended up returning kicks because the true frosh in 2007 weren't as big of a return threat, plus they had problems handling the ball. What if that doesn't change in 2008, since the same cast of characters return minus Rankin?
A third of the game is special teams, and Washington has sucked at special teams every year since Willingham has been here. Give up points by not handling the ball, and you end up losing games you should win.
14. The departed Anthony Russo returned punts the last three years. He wasn't a gamebreaker, and while he had okay hands, he still coughed it up on occasion. D'Andre Goodwin, Chris Polk, and Curtis Shaw will all fight for the position in 2008. What if they don't show an improvement over Russo?
The one good thing about Russo is he didn't turn it over too much. The new guys have a lot more speed, but the lack of experience may result in some costly turnovers.
15. The LB position is being touted as an obvious strength, but the best LB on the team will be out the first two to three games, plus the coach is hinting that may be the least of his current problems if he does not get his academics in order
If E.J. Savannah doesn't make it back, it is a blow to a rebuilding defense. Overall health at LB and E.J.'s return are key for helping this group meet its potential. As we saw in the spring game, the defense is a lot better with E.J. in there.
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