Huskies’ secondary aims to quiet critics

SEATTLE – The things people in the media are saying about the University of Washington’s secondary these days are not too complimentary.

“They say don’t read it, but I like to read it,” Huskies safety Greg Walker said. “I’ve read a lot. I know … what they’ve said about us.”

Like what?

“That we’re the worst secondary in the nation,” he said. “That they did a terrible job of recruiting us and that we can’t play. And that we’re tender. We don’t like to get hit.”

After giving up 451.8 yards per game, much of that coming on long pass plays when games were still in doubt, the UW secondary has continued to take its lumps throughout the offseason. The Huskies’ defensive backs are out to quiet the critics.

“We’re really eager,” sophomore cornerback Quinton Richardson said. “We feel like we have a lot to prove. Last year, we didn’t do too well.”

That might be the understatement of the offseason. For the second year in a row, UW set a team record for most yards allowed per game in 2008.

Richardson and safety Nate Williams are expected to return to the starting lineup, while redshirt freshmen Walker and cornerback Justin Glenn are running with the first team.

“This team’s only going to be as good as our secondary, so we’ve got to go out there and play like we can and prove everybody wrong,” Walker said.