Football ‘97: Washington Huskies
FAST FACTS
Head coach
Jim Lambright (5th year, 30-15-1 overall; 7-1 and second in the Pac-10 last season).
Assistants
Dick Baird, linebackers and recruiting coordinator; Bill Diedrick, quarterbacks; Randy Hart, assistant head coach and defensive line; Scott Linehan, offensive coordinator and wide receivers; Rick Mallory, tight ends; Ron Milus, free safeties and cornerbacks; Steve Morton, offensive line; Wayne Moses, running backs; Scott Pelluer, roverbacks and whip linebackers.
Head trainer
Dennis Sealey
Band members
215, Brad McDavid director; Takeshi Ouchi and Genesis Steele, drum majors. Sharon Reimer, featured twirler.
Cheerleaders
24 (12 men, 12 women).
Top ex-Huskies in the NFL
Eric Bjornson, Bern Brostek, Mark Bruener, Mark Brunell, Chris Chandler, Corey Dillon, D’Marco Farr, Frank Garcia, Kevin Gogan, Brian Habib, Dana Hall, Billy Hoe Hobert, Damon Huard, Jeff Jaeger, Napoleon Kaufman, Lincoln Kennedy, Lawyer Milloy, Charles Mincy, Warren Moon, Jeff Pahukoa, Shane Pahukoa, Aaron Pierce, Pete Pierson, Bob Sapp, Mike Zandofsky.
QUESTION MARKS, EXCLAMATION POINTS
Question marks
Will running back Rashaan Shehee return to his 1995 form?
Can offensive guard Benji Olson’s back withstand a 12-game season?
Is August a bit early to start booking those rooms in Pasadena?
Will a relative lack of depth keep the Huskies from living up to national hype?
Exclamation points
Rebirth of national respect gives the Huskies all the confidence they’ll need.
Home game with Nebraska provides perfect opportunity to validate national-title hype.
Brock Huard has time to spare behind the Pac-10’s best offensive line.
No matter how the Huskies navigate their tough non-conference schedule, they figure to benefit from a Pac-10 schedule that includes only one potentially tough road game (UCLA) and bypasses Stanford altogether.
WHAT’S IN, WHAT’S OUT
What’s in
Emphasis on special teams
Experience in the secondary
Ja’Warren Hooker.
What’s out
Thank-you cards from Corey Dillon, Shane Fortney.
Lambo’s Rodney Dangerfield routine.
Prized recruit Toalei Mulitauaopele, for now.
BENCHMARKS
While at Washington, Free safety Tony Parrish has increased his bench from 265 to 430; tight end Cam Cleeland’s bench went from 295 to 435; linebacker Jerry Jensen’s rose from 285 to 385.
Parrish, 5-11 and 205 pounds, can bench-press 430 pounds and power-clean 351.
TALE OF THE TAPE
The fastest
Freshman receiver Ja’Warren Hooker, winner of the national junior 100-meter title with a 10.28 clocking. Hooker has also clocked a 21.20 in the 200, the nation’s second-fastest prep time in 1997.
The Strongest
Overall: Tight end Cam Cleeland has bench-pressed 435 pounds, squatted 660 and power-cleaned 341.
Bench press: Center Olin Kreutz, 500.
Squat: Cleeland and offensive lineman Ben Kadletz, 660.
Power clean: Defensive end Chris Campbell, 375.
The toughest
Olin Kreutz
Best blocker
Benji Olson
Toughest to block
Jason Chorak
Most fearless hitter
Jason Chorak
Best cover man
Mel Miller
Most grizzled veteran
George Keiaho, Washington’s junior fullback, was once mistaken for a recruit’s father.
Most impressive stat
The Huskies have posted 20 straight winning seasons, the nation’s second-longest active streak.
Least impressive stat
Washington cornerbacks picked off only four passes last season, the lowest total since 1938.
Players by state
Washington 97, California 37, Arizona 5, Oregon 2, Hawaii 2, one each from Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, and American Samoa.
High risers
Receiver Ja’Warren Hooker and running back Adam Tate posted 37-inch vertical jumps in the most recent testing.
Free safety Anthony Vontoure came in at 36.5. Vontoure, Tate and Hooker are freshmen.
Starting running back Rashaan Shehee holds the team record of 39.5 inches, set two seasons ago. His most recent mark was 35.5.
OFFENSE DEPTH CHART
Pos. No. Player Ht., Wt. Year
SE 24 Jerome Pathon 5-11, 180 Sr.
43 Mijo Austin 6-1, 185 Fr.
WT 67 Tony Coats 6-7, 300 Jr.
68 Elliot Silvers 6-6, 300 Fr.
WG 70 Ben Kadletz 6-2, 310 Jr.
51 Brad Hutt 6-3, 285 Jr.
C 77 Olin Kreutz 6-4, 290 Jr.
55 Petrocelli Kesi 6-4, 330 Sr.
SG 76 Benji Olson 6-4, 310 Jr
61 Buddy Phillips 6-4, 310 Jr.
ST 78 Mostafa Sobhi 6-5, 300 Sr.
75 Aaron Dalan 6-7, 320 Jr.
TE 85 Cam Cleeland 6-4, 275 Sr
84 Jeremy Brigham 6-6, 260 Sr.
QB 7 Brock Huard 6-5, 220 So.
16 Jon Minter 6-5, 195 So.
TB 1 Rashaan Shehee 5-11, 210 Sr.
32 Maurice Shaw 5-11, 215 So.
FB 36 Mike Reed 6-0, 215 Sr.
25 George Keiaho 5-9, 235 Jr.
FL 22 Fred Coleman 6-1, 190 Sr.
3 Andre DeSaussure 6-2, 200 Jr.
PK 48 Randy Jones 6-2, 210 So.
92 Jason Touchette 6-2, 185 So.
H 24 Jerome Pathon 5-11, 180 Sr.
43 Mijo Austin 6-1, 185 Fr.
KR 22 Fred Coleman 6-1, 190 Sr.
24 Jerome Pathon 5-11, 180 Sr.
PR 22 Fred Coleman 6-1, 190 Sr.
24 Jerome Pathon 5-11, 180 Sr.
DEFENSE DEPTH CHART
Pos. No. Player Ht., Wt. Year
Rush LB 46 Jason Chorak 6-4, 255 Sr.
66 Chris Lang 6-6, 265 Jr.
DE 35 Chris Campbell 6-2, 240 Sr.
99 Josh Smith 6-4, 255 Jr.
DT 78 Mac Tuiaea 6-6, 290 So.
95 Jabari Issa 6-6, 300 So.
NT 67 Sekou Wiggs 6-4, 270 Sr.
55 Kurth Connell 6-5, 295 So.
ILB 27 Marques Hairston 6-2, 235 So.
9 Chris Waddell 6-1, 215 Fr.
ILB 17 Lester Towns 6-3, 240 So.
4 Jeremiah Pharms 6-1, 235 Fr.
WLB 40 Jerry Jensen 6-2, 230 Sr.
23 Todd Johnson 6-2, 210 Sr.
Rover 8 Nigel Burton 5-9, 180 Jr.
3 Kyle Roberts 5-11, 190 Sr.
FS 7 Tony Parrish 5-11, 205 Sr.
22 Brendan Jones 5-11, 185 Jr.
CB 1 Jermaine Smith 5-11, 195 So.
10 Toure Butler 5-9, 180 Fr.
CB 25 Mel Miller 5-11, 195 So.
14 Brian McIntosh 6-0, 210 Jr.
P 37 Ryan Chicoine 5-8, 185 So.
34 Hamid Sarshar 6-0, 180 Sr.
Snapper 40 Jerry Jensen 6-2, 230 Sr.
85 Cam Cleeland 6-4, 275 Sr.
GAME DAY
Stadium
Husky (72,500)
From I-90: Take I-5 to the 520 East exit, then take the Montlake exit.
Tickets
$28 for games against San Diego State and Arizona State.
$30 for USC and Oregon.
$32 for Nebraska and Washington State.
Television
ABC will televise the games against BYU (Sept. 6), Nebraska (Sept. 20) and USC (Nov. 1).
Fox Sports Northwest will rebroadcst every Husky game on Sunday evenings.
Radio
KTRW 970 AM in Spokane, KOMO 1000 in Seattle and 20 other affiliates on the Husky Network, with Bob Rondeau, Chuck Nelson and Bill Swartz.
Full House
Washington ranked 12th nationally in attendance last season with an average of 71,269 fans per game. The Huskies have sold more than 67,000 season tickets for 1997.
1997 SCHEDULE (All times Pacific. All home games in CAPS.)
Date Opponent Time Comment Sept. 6 at BYU 12:30 p.m. BYU can’t avenge only defeat of 1996 Sept. 13 San Diego State 12:30 p.m. Ex-WSU Cougars Rick Austin, Darryl Jones ride Aztecs’ bench. Sept. 20 Nebraska 12:30 p.m. Time for Huskies to put up or shut up. Oct. 4 Arizona State 1:30 p.m. Sweet revenge. Oct. 11 at California 12:30 p.m. Boycott TV violence; skip the highlights. Oct. 18 at Arizona 12:30 p.m. Wildcats return 18 of 22 starters. Oct. 25 at Oregon State 1 p.m. Nothing more than a light walk-through for USC game. Nov. 1 Southern California 12:30 p.m. Coach Lambright 1-2-1 vs. Trojans. Nov. 8 Oregon 12:30 p.m. Very, very ugly. Nov. 15 at UCLA 12:30 p.m. Bruins capable of upset. Nov. 22 Washington State 12:30 p.m. An Apple Cup with national implications. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 color photos