Huskies eager for fresh start
SEATTLE – Remembering the Alamo is not something Tyrone Willingham or any of his University of Washington football players are interested in doing as their season kicks off today with the first fall practice of the year.
Instead, they want to put the massacre that was last year’s program-worst 1-10 season behind them and start fresh in Willingham’s first season.
“We’re not even thinking about last year,” running back Kenny James said. “That’s all behind us. We’re focusing on doing things right this year and what we’re going to do this year to have a good season. That’s all we’re thinking about.”
“Last year is in the past,” center Brad Vanneman added. “The only motivation we can take from last year is to not want to go through that again. But we were glad to have last year over and glad to be starting a new year.”
Willingham, in his first meeting with the media of the season Monday, said that while he watched a little tape of last season’s Washington team, he wasn’t too interested in what happened last year.
“You never want your opinion of players be affected by what they did in the past,” said Willingham, who was 21-15 the past three seasons at Notre Dame. “You have to have some idea. But I won’t let what I saw formulate my thoughts entirely. I think that would be unfair. I would feel bad if a coach came in and watched me and judged everything on what I did last year.”
That’s good news to the players, many of whom don’t have a lot of good to show from last year.
“From Day One he told us that he didn’t care what had happened in the past,” linebacker Joe Lobendahn said. “He said the only thing he was worried about was this year. That’s what we wanted to hear. Everyone wants a chance to prove that we’re better than we were last year.”
The Huskies, who open the season Sept. 3 at Qwest Field against Air Force, have 103 players on the roster. And if you believe Willingham, every one of them is fighting for a job.
Willingham stuck to his routine of revealing little about where anyone stands on a depth chart, including quarterback, where four players enter fall camp competing for the starting job. Willingham said he has no time table on when he would name a starter.
“I’ll let them dictate that by what they do on the field,” Willingham said. “When someone has taken control of that situation, then we’ll name a quarterback.”
The coach did offer that he felt like the offensive line, with four starters returning as well as the addition of converted tight end Joe Toledo, was the strength of the offense and the linebackers, with all three starters back, was the defensive strength.
“He never mentioned that before,” Vanneman said. “It feels good that he feels that way about us. I was surprised to hear him say that.”
The players say the transition from Keith Gilbertson to Willingham has been a good one. The discipline that Willingham hopes to instill in his team seems to be paying off. Nearly every player stayed on campus during the summer to prepare for the upcoming season, a change from years past.
“After last year, no one can say, ‘Well, I don’t have to be there, I’m ready,’ ” safety Dashon Goldson said. “Everyone has to do their part. Coach Willingham told us what he expects from us, and we expect it from ourselves. Everyone has been working really hard.”
“It felt good to have everybody here,” quarterback Isaiah Stanback added. “It makes everyone closer. We’re here together whether we win or lose. It makes you see that everyone wants to have a great year as much as you do. That’s what we needed to see after last year.”
Two fail to qualify
Willingham said that two players failed to meet academic qualifying standards and will not enroll at Washington this year.
Freshman defensive end Tyrone Davis from Olympia High School and junior cornerback Qwenton Freeman, a transfer from Pasadena Community College, will not join the Huskies this year. Willingham said Davis may enroll in a year or two, but did not comment about Freeman.