Discipline ranks No. 1
SEATTLE — People accustomed to how University of Washington football has been run in the past may feel like strangers in a strange land beginning Thursday.
That will be the first day of spring football for the Huskies, and the first practice under new coach Tyrone Willingham. The former Notre Dame and Stanford coach has not been shy about making the program his own.
Players have been asked to keep their hair cut short and to do away with facial hair. Practices will be closed to the public and the media. Position meetings will begin at 6:30 a.m.
Willingham said he is trying to eliminate distractions and allow his players to focus on getting better. Washington finished last season 1-10 and 0-8 in the Pacific-10 Conference.
“I’ve been anticipating the start of spring football since I was hired,” Willingham said Tuesday during a media luncheon at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. “There are obviously a lot of unknowns for the players and for the coaches. This is the time we start building and learning, so that when fall comes, we’ll have an understanding of what is expected.”
What seems to be expected under Willingham is a great deal of discipline. The early starting time for meetings is meant to better work around players’ class schedules, and the players don’t want to find out what the consequences are if they are late.
“The guy is amazing,” linebacker Joe Lobendahn said. “He’s just brought so much energy and expectations. We want to prove to everyone that we are better than we showed last year, and we trust that he knows how we should do that. If he wanted us to meet at 3 a.m., that’s what we’d do.”
Willingham seems to have already developed trust from his players, but he knows that it won’t be an easy transition.
“Always the challenge is the language,” Willingham said. “To me, it’s no different than going to a foreign country. Learning the language is the first thing you have to do. Once you do that, it breaks down a lot of barriers.”
“Different coaches say things different ways,” linebacker Evan Benjamin said. “It’s just a matter of figuring it out and learning it. The good thing is, (Willingham) is always real clear about what he expects. No matter how he says it, it doesn’t take long to figure it out.”
Washington has 15 practices, including the spring game at 12:45 p.m. on April 23. In that time, there are plenty of questions for Willingham and his coaching staff to answer.
Washington lost just three starters, but that was from one of the worst teams in the nation. The biggest reason for the Huskies’ struggles was an anemic offense that averaged 14 points a game. Improving the offense rests on finding a reliable quarterback. None of last year’s candidates, Casey Paus, Isaiah Stanback and Carl Bonnell, established himself as a clear starter for this season. All three will again be given the opportunity, along with Oregon transfer Johnny DuRocher.
“Competition is always a good thing,” said Paus, who led the team with 1,476 yards but completed just 42.3 percent and had 17 interceptions. “We all do different things. It’s a matter of what the coaches are looking for and who gets it done consistently.”
Both Willingham and new offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said they hope to at least have the quarterback competition down to a two-player race by the end of spring. Both said they want a clear-cut leader by the season opener.
“I think it’s important that there be one guy that the team looks to,” Lappano said. “That’s going to be the guy who steps up as the leader, who the rest of the offense follows. I don’t know who that’s going to be yet. That’s what spring is for. But I would like to see one or two people step forward.”
“I’m a believer in having one quarterback, and right now it’s a four-man race,” Willingham said. “But that’s the case at a lot of positions. There are plenty of jobs to be won. I would love to know who my quarterback is right now, but that isn’t the case. And if we go to fall and we still don’t know, that’s OK, too. As long as we know (by the first game), I’m comfortable. We’re going to do whatever gives us the best chance to win, and that goes for every position.”
Huskies hire final coach
Former Notre Dame punter Joey Hildbold has been hired by Willingham as a defensive graduate assistant coach, completing the Huskies’ coaching staff for the 2005 season.