Husky Trails | A Quick Remodel Helps to Educate New Washington Huskies

I have to admit that the head shot of new Washington linebackers coach Mike Cox is not at all flattering. He looks bored and it is completely at odds with what some of the Husky linebackers have said about his personality.

However, I digress, the real point of putting Cox's picture above is to tell about something important the Husky coaches have done; mainly to educate about the tradition of Husky football.

Recently, as reported on coach Steve Sarkisian's Web site, the team room was given a remodeled backdrop adorned with former Husky greats. The point was to immerse the players in what it means to be a Husky player.

Coach Cox, also, in various team meetings spends some time talking about various Husky legends. Matt Peterson, the writer for the Sark's Web site, tends to aggrandize Cox's flair for the dramatic, but these storytelling experiences serve a useful purpose.

Husky football may be on hard times now, but that is only seeing the short picture. Husky football has a rich tradition, and it wasn't long ago that the Huskies drew much larger crowds than the Seahawks. I still chalk it up to Qwest Field being such a nice venue as much as any drop in the Huskies' performances.

The first player to be profiled was Lincoln Kennedy, one of the anchors for the line in the 1991 national championship season, and arguably one of the best offensive linemen at the school. 

Kennedy was a first-round draft pick and went on to play 11 years in the NFL, three with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and eight with the Oakland Raiders.

The second player to be profiled is one of the all-time greats for the Huskies at running back in Corey Dillon. The greatest part of Dillon's story is that he started his marquee season, 1996, as the backup, going on to set Washington single-season records in rushing attempts (301), yards (1,695), and touchdowns (24). He also set an NCAA record for most rushing and all-purpose yards in a quarter against San Jose State, at 222 and 305 respectively.

Dillon went on to have a 10-year career in the NFL after being drafted in the second round by the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent the majority of his career with the New England Patriots, where he gained considerable acclaim. He finished his career with 11,241 rushing yards and 82 touchdowns.

These two players exemplify what it means to be a Husky, something the current players are now learning how to do. 

My biggest gripe with Tyrone Willingham was his inability to connect with what it truly meant to be a Husky. The Huskies played Tyrone Willingham football, and there was no recognition the other way around.

Not only that, Willingham often times could be terse with the people who truly make Husky football what it is: the fans, alumni, and former players.

One of the things that Sarkisian talked about from the very beginning was the need to bring back Husky football. He talked about his experiences as the BYU quarterback coming into Husky stadium, and the six sacks that followed.

Bringing something back like that doesn't just happen because you say something like that; it happens through action. It's good to see that Sarkisian is taking steps to actually back up the things that he says.

It's the subtle things that often have the most effect as well, and a redo of the team room is a great place to start.

At this point all of this is window dressing. It remains to be seen what Sarkisian can do to bring back Husky football on the field, but he has made great strides in rebuilding the football culture on Montlake.