UW athletic director seeks players’ opinions

Four University of Washington football players, one from each class, will be asked to meet with athletic director Todd Turner at season’s end and provide advice in the search for a new coach to replace the ousted Keith Gilbertson.

Linebackers Joe Lobendahn and Scott White will represent the junior and sophomore classes, respectively.

With a day to digest the change at the top, White says UW players have become enthused about the possibilities a new coach might bring and are grateful to be involved in the process.

“I think everybody is a little giddy,” White said. “We listened to the press conference and heard the athletic director say we needed a boost, that we needed something that gets the excitement back. I think it’s great the players are going to be involved. We won’t have the ultimate say, but we’ll have some say. We can ask about a (Steve) Spurrier or a (Jeff) Tedford.

“I think we need a proven winner. I think we need a proven recruiter. We need a big-time guy.”

White said things seem to return to normal Tuesday after Monday’s news conference announcing that Gilbertson and his staff won’t return after this season. Players critiqued film and went through their normal practice paces in preparation for Saturday’s last-place showdown with Arizona, matching a pair of 1-7 teams.

He said no one on the team has expressed plans to leave the UW program because of the season-long upheaval. He’s definitely staying put.

“I’m here for the long run,” White said. “I’ve got two more years left. I feel I’m a guy, and there’s a number of guys who feel this way, who has to hold this thing together and help make the transition for the new staff as easy as possible. I don’t anticipate any attrition.”

On a difficult day, the loquacious linebacker also said he was greatly impressed with Turner and what the athletic director had to say about fixing the current mess.

“Listening to him spell it out to us, the whole focus, a whole new regime, got us excited,” White said. “He addressed the shortcomings. We’ve been living in the past. I believe he has the master plan. I’m on board.”

Tough call to make

It was business as usual yesterday for Gilbertson, who took his regular turn on the Pacific-10 Conference football coaches’ teleconference call, only it wasn’t the same.

Pac-10 assistant commissioner Jim Muldoon thanked the lame-duck Washington coach for calling in considering what’s happened, with Gilbertson announcing the day before that he was losing his job. One by one, reporters offered their condolences before delicately asking him about his situation and state of mind.

Gilbertson said there was obvious relief in having the situation over and dealt with, removing at least one cloud hanging over his team. He said the coaching job never felt permanent.

“I never, never felt I was anything but interim,” the coach said. “I would say anybody who comes here to get what you want contractually, and get the things you see that you need for championships.”

Although he was basically cast adrift by the administration, Gilbertson was outwardly supportive of new president Mark Emmert and Turner, who came to the UW from LSU and Vanderbilt, respectively.

“The leadership is in place to do it,” Gilbertson said.

Help may be coming

Quizzed about the Huskies’ prospects for turning things around in the future, Gilbertson pointed to this year’s group of freshmen as evidence there’s hope.

“Not beating my own chest, but the last recruiting class we brought in is about as good as we’ve had in 20 years,’ he said. “We’ve had seven freshmen playing on defense. Had (Seattle Mariners signee) Matt Tuiasosopo come and played football, we would have said this was as good a recruiting class in the country.”

Few changes planned

Gilbertson expects little change in his lineup for the Arizona game, although he’s hoping senior wide receiver Charles Frederick can return after missing the past two games with a hamstring injury. Frederick ran a few routes in Monday’s practice and said his leg still felt “tight.”

Junior Casey Paus will remain the starting quarterback, even after his four-interception performance at Oregon. Sophomore Isaiah Stanback is in the backup role. Redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell is slowed by a groin injury. Gilbertson said he might use more than one quarterback against the Wildcats, but didn’t elaborate.