Husky Trails | A First Taste of Sarkisian Football

Saturday, first scrimmage practice for the Washington Huskies provided a glimpse at some of the gametime atmosphere in Husky Stadium. 

A pretty decent size crowd (I feel it's fair to point out I cannot estimate numbers of people at all) took it all in despite the blustery and overcast conditions. For anyone aching for a little football action since the beginning of January, it's a good tonic.

Both sides had their ups and their downs. The defense seemed to get the better of the offense on must occasions, and the defensive line especially applied a lot of pressure.

The defense picked up five sacks on both Ronnie Fouch and Jake Locker, and stuffed a couple runs and screens pretty effectively. It was most assuredly heartening to see the defense playing with a fire and intensity that was lacking throughout last season. 

The run game was not much to speak of, I can only remember seeing a running back get into the secondary twice in the entire practice. Both times it was David Freeman, who was probably the most effective running back last season before getting hurt.

Demetrius Bronson, however, did provide a pair of rushing touchdowns in some goal line sets, which was good to see. There were several times where the Huskies offense could not punch it in on close situations last season.

One great bright spot was the play of wide receivers Anthony Boyles and Devin Aguilar, who both had 73 yards receiving on four and three catches respectively. If you recall, I tagged Anthony Boyles as one of the players that needs to step up for the Huskies this season if they want to show marked improvement.

Jermaine Kearse showed a really athletic grab in the endzone on a pass from Jake Locker. He also showed a great ability to get yardage after the catch by getting away from freshman cornerback Tony Gobern and gaining 33 yards.

Jordan Polk was a huge playmaker for the Huskies on Saturday. He hauled in an extremely athletic catch at one point in the scrimmage for 19 yards. However, he brought the crowd alive with an 80 yard kick return; he has the wheels to really be a threat in the return game.

Locker and Fouch both had solid days passing, if nothing spectacular. Locker went 10-18 for 142 yards and a touchdown, while Fouch went 11-21 for 146 yards, but with and interception.

Locker is looking a lot more comfortable in the pocket, and is throwing some really nice passes. He had a few drops, but for the most part he doesn't like he's trying to kill his receiver with a rocket pass every time. The pass to Kearse in the endzone was a particularly enjoyable one, Locker put it right where only Kearse could get it.

It was an interesting day to go out and watch the Huskies. Sarkisian has them moving in the right direction. I think the offense is still learning the playbook to a large extent and that is why the defense looks more effective, but I think there is a lot of potential on offense if the players can get it down.

News and Notes

On Friday the coaches switched quarterback Luther Leonard to receiver. Sarkisian stated that he wasn't getting enough reps at quarterback and with a good backup coming in in Keith Price. Leonard expressed that he was a competitor and would be happy anywhere he was able to play.

Offensive line coach Dan Cozzeto has yet to settle on a center, after the big departure of Juan Garcia. Senior Ryan Tolar and redshirt freshman Mykenna Ikehara trading off on the spot.

Erik Folk went 3-for-3 in kicking on Saturday against the wind, and is showing a lot more comfort back there for the Huskies.