Washington Football: Huskies May Open Season Minus Top Tackler

The University of Washington will be without starting outside linebacker E.J. Savannah for as long as three months after he recently broke his left arm in a non-football-related incident.

Savannah reportedly suffered the injury while arm-wrestling, though the team said officially that he was injured in a non-football-related incident.  Savannah broke his humerus, the long bone that runs from the shoulder to the elbow.

He led Washington with 111 tackles last season (sixth in the Pac-10) from his outside linebacker position and had 14 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception.  He was an all-Pac-10 candidate heading into this season.

Washington likely needs to get off to a good start this season to save coach Tyrone Willingham’s job.  The Huskies begin the season on Aug. 30 at Oregon, and face a rough first month of the season with home games against BYU and Oklahoma following the opener.

Full recovery from the injury should take two to three months according to UW trainers, so it’s possible Savannah could return by the opener, although training camp likely is out of the question.

This spring, Willingham held Savannah out of some practices as punishment for missing offseason workouts. He was replaced in the lineup by junior Joshua Gage.

However, Savannah returned in time to lead his team in tackles during the spring game.  New defensive coordinator Ed Donatell has called him a key component of Washington’s defense next season.  Senior Chris Stevens and sophomore Matt Houston could also be replacements for Savannah.

The Huskies already will be without all-Pac-10 second-team center Juan Garcia for the majority of the season, as he has a badly sprained foot.