August 6, 2010 in Sports

Sarkisian excited to notch it up at UW

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SEATTLE – For year No. 1, being competitive was good enough for Washington coach Steve Sarkisian.

The expectations have changed drastically.

“Last year was be competitive, fight, scratch, claw,” Sarkisian said. “This year, let’s go play well and win a championship.”

Sarkisian spoke Thursday previewing the Huskies fall camp that begins when players report on Sunday and go through their first practice on Monday. It’s all a lead-up to Washington’s Sept. 4 opener at BYU.

Above anything else, Sarkisian said he’s anxious for Monday to arrive. It’s not a case of apprehension for Sarkisian, but a sense of excitement for the Huskies coach after finishing last season 5-7 with a pair of convincing wins to close out the year, then hearing star quarterback Jake Locker announce he was returning for his senior season.

“We’re on a great high right now, we’ve been on it since late November of 2009, and it’s exciting,” Sarkisian said. “I can tell you that heading into fall camp, we’re a better football team in 2010 than we were in 2009. Whether that equates to wins or not, I don’t know that.”

Unlike a year ago when Sarkisian was entering his first camp as a head coach, the coach and his players now know what is expected. And the Huskies will begin camp healthy at nearly every key position.

The only player Sarkisian noted as being limited when camp begins is safety Justin Glenn, who broke his fibula last season against Notre Dame. Running back Chris Polk, who had offseason shoulder surgery, is fully recovered, while defensive ends Everrette Thompson (Achilles’) and Kalani Aldrich (knee) are healthy but will be closely monitored during the early practices.

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