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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Seattle drills end; Huskies take break before Holiday Bowl

Scott M. Johnson Everett Herald

SEATTLE – Monday was a beautiful day … to get out of town.

While the University of Washington football team won’t depart for the Holiday Bowl for two more days, the Huskies were certainly relieved to wrap up the Pacific Northwest part of their practice month Monday.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian had the players back outside in Husky Stadium despite wind and cold – and San Diego probably never sounded so good.

After Monday’s practice, the Huskies will have a few off days before departing for Southern California on Thursday and resuming practices the following day. Sarkisian said more than 40 players with California ties will leave early so they can spend time with family.

UW will hold five practices at the University of San Diego in preparation for the Dec. 30 Holiday Bowl game against Nebraska.

While bowl teams are afforded 15 practices before bowl games, Sarkisian only plans on using 14 – something the USC teams did while he was an assistant coach there under Pete Carroll.

“It’s just the formula I know,” he said Monday morning.

The Huskies held nine practices in Seattle, most of which were indoors. Of the Seattle practices, Sarkisian said: “I thought they were good. We got our game plan in. I don’t know if they were the most crisp and clean ones, but fortunately for us we get a whole another week to do this all over again.”

Wedding bells

Huskies quarterback Jake Locker reportedly got engaged Saturday night. He has been dating former UW softball player Lauren Greer for a couple of years.