College Football 2011: 3 Best and Worst Offseason Developments for Washington

The Washington Huskies have seen some positive changes this spring.

They've also seen some not-so-positive ones.

For a program still working its way back to national prominence, these little developments can make or break a season, and the Huskies don't have the fortune to win through a lot of adversity.

So let's take a look back at the spring and forward to the upcoming summer. What exactly has been going the Huskies' way and what might serve as a sign of bad things to come?

Good: New Pac-12 TV Contract

Not only will the new television contract for the Pac-12 increase funds for the school (around $21 million per year), it will give UW all kinds of exposure they didn't have in the past.

The Pac-12 will have 84 football games broadcast on ESPN networks or FOX networks, and the rest of the games will be shown on the all-new Pac-12 network, which will also be a national broadcast.

That's right. Every single Pac-12 game will be nationally televised, and there will be a lot more games on prime-time channels during prime-time hours.

The added airtime can only mean good things for the Huskies as far as recruiting goes.  

Bad: Departure of Seniors

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 27: Quarterback Jake Locker of Washington runs a passing drill during the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 27, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

The Huskies lost a slew of players to graduation, most notably quarterback Jake Locker and linebacker Mason Foster.

Coincidentally enough, quarterback and linebacker are now arguably the Huskies' two biggest weaknesses. Sophomore Keith Price will step in at quarterback, and two-thirds of the linebacking corps is still up in the air. 

One thing is evident: The Huskies are getting a lot younger at multiple positions, and we'll just have to wait to see how it affects the team. 

Good: 2012 Recruiting Class

The incoming class of 2011 is a good one, but the Huskies' early 2012 commits are looking even better.

Washington has already landed six recruits, five of them being from skill positions.

Among them are four-star quarterback Jeff Lindquist and three-star QB Cyler Miles. The Huskies look to be set at quarterback for a long time.

Not only is the development good for the team in the long term, but the fact that UW will soon have four capable QB's should also light a fire under the you-know-what of Keith Price and Nick Montana. 

Sometimes the perfect motivation is a position battle. If Price and Montana know that a future battle looms, they might want to get a head start on their competition as soon as possible. 

Photo from Scout.com.

Bad: Johri Fogerson's Arrest

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SEATTLE - NOVEMBER 28: Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Washington Huskies watches the action during the Apple Cup game against the Washington State Cougars on November 28, 2009 at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. The Huskies defeated the Cougars 30

Tailback Johri Fogerson was arrested in early March on suspicion of resisting arrest and possession of marijuana. 

It's not a big story, and it certainly doesn't have a huge impact on the field for the Huskies, but any situation like this needs to be avoided.

It doesn't do wonders for Washington's image, that's for sure.

Good: Spring Game

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

EUGENE, OR - NOVEMBER 6: Quarterback Darron Thomas #1 of the Oregon Ducks is tackled by linebacker Cort Dennison #31 and safety Nate Fellner #29 of the Washington Huskies in the third quarter of the game at Autzen Stadium on November 6, 2010 in Eugene, Or

A lot of Huskies will be called on this year to raise their game to a new, higher level. During May's spring game, those same Huskies showed they are up to the challenge.

Safety Nate Fellner was probably the star on the defensive side of the ball, flying all over the field to make plays, including a forced fumble.

Quarterback Keith Price was equally impressive, throwing for 212 yards and three touchdowns.

Junior wideout James Johnson—a big key for the offense—led the team with six catches for 52 yards.

Freshman tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins showed he's ready to start fresh out of high school.

Redshirt freshman Josh Shirley showed he might be the perfect stand-up defensive end. He can be someone who can get to the QB consistently—something UW hasn't had in a while. 

There were solid contributions all around the field, and it truly looked like the Huskies were getting better as a football team. 

Bad: Schedule

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

EUGENE, OR - NOVEMBER 06: Wide receiver D.J. Davis #10 of the Oregon Ducks runs after making a reception as cornerback Quinton Richardson #28 of the Washington Huskies gives chase in the third quarter of the game at Autzen Stadium on November 6, 2010 in E

The release of this year's schedule certainly wasn't an offseason development, but it's something that has been discussed by a few different people.

The fact is the Huskies weren't given many breaks with their schedule.

They have a classic trap game with Hawaii in Week 2, then they have to head to Lincoln to play Nebraska in a revenge game in Week 3.

Washington also has an incredibly rough stretch in late October and early November with games against Stanford, Oregon, Arizona and USC—all losable games—right in a row.

It's not murderers' row by any means, but they will miss out on UCLA and Arizona State, two winnable games, while Utah gets to avoid Oregon and Stanford.