Locker, Bonnell don’t let animosity take hold
SEATTLE – They walk in and out of film sessions and meals, conversing and joking around like a pair of typical college kids.
If the four-year age difference doesn’t cause any awkwardness between Jake Locker and Carl Bonnell, then their situation surely must.
Locker, the 19-year-old sophomore who has yet to play a down of college football, was named Washington’s starting quarterback before the start of spring practice.
Just like that, Bonnell, who started the last five games of the 2006 season, had lost his job to some punk teenager.
Well, OK, punk teenager might be a stretch – or an outright fabrication – when talking about Locker, for whom the phrase “too good to be true” seems to have been invented.
Even so, no matter how likeable the much-hyped Locker may be, it can’t be easy knowing you’ll likely spend more of your final season on the sideline than on the field.
“It’s hard on one hand, but at the same time it’s easy,” said Bonnell. “Jake is a great competitor. I respect him a ton for his athletic ability, but he’s also a great guy. It makes the film room and the off the field stuff really easy. It’s comfortable to be around him and compete with him.”
That’s not an easy attitude to have. Don’t forget, college football was the sport that brought us one teammate stabbing another, reportedly in an attempt to take over a starting position, and those were punters.
Even though most Husky fans figured Bonnell was just keeping the seat warm, so to speak, he certainly plans on pushing Locker every week in practice.
“Competing is something that comes naturally to me, so I’m going to go out there every day and compete,” Bonnell said. “Even if I was the starter, I’d be pushing myself to the limit. Hopefully, that level of competition will push him to be better, and if not I’ll be ready to play. A backup always has to be ready, as we’ve learned the last couple of years.”
From Locker’s standpoint, the relationship between the two quarterbacks has been nothing but positive.
“We have a great relationship,” he said. “We both understand that we don’t control the depth chart. We go out and play as well as we can and it’s ultimately the coaches’ decision. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t get along. He’s a great guy and I really enjoy being able to spend time with him.”
Huskies graduate assistant Luke Huard, who has worked closely with Locker and Bonnell during fall camp, has lived through quarterback battles before. He went to North Carolina as a highly touted quarterback recruit out of Puyallup High School, only to later learn that another star recruit, Ronald Curry, would be joining him in Chapel Hill.
“Ronald and I, we got along, we had respect for each other, but we definitely weren’t as tight,” said Huard, the younger brother of former Huskies quarterbacks Damon and Brock. “We didn’t work as closely together as Carl and Jake do. There is absolutely zero animosity between them. Those two guys are in it together. … They are the epitome of what team is all about.”