Lindquist in hunt to start again

SEATTLE – The last time Washington Huskies fans watched Jeff Lindquist take extended, meaningful snaps at quarterback, he was slogging through an ugly, 17-16 victory over Hawaii in the 2014 season opener.

It was the first start of his career, and it went poorly enough to convince some that it might also have been his last.

So Lindquist spent the rest of last season behind starter Cyler Miles, who took over in Week 2 and never ceded the top spot on the depth chart. But with Miles gone from the team on a voluntary leave of absence, Lindquist appears to be taking advantage of a new opportunity to prove that he can, indeed, play quarterback at the University of Washington.

And maybe even start the Huskies’ Sept. 4 season opener at Boise State. Maybe.

This spring provided hope. And it ended on a relatively positive note, with Lindquist completing 13 of 16 passes for 237 yards, two touchdowns and an interception during the live, scrimmage portions of Saturday’s spring finale at Husky Stadium.

It’s too early to declare Lindquist the leader of UW’s three-man quarterback competition. He hasn’t been demonstrably better than redshirt freshman K.J. Carta-Samuels or true freshman Jake Browning, both of whom seemed to progress at an encouraging rate throughout the spring.

But if there’s one player from that trio who would seemingly have an inherent advantage heading into fall camp, it should be Lindquist. He’ll be a fourth-year junior. He’s 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds with a strong arm and some discernible skill as a runner. He’s actually played in a few college football games.

And while he looked a little overwhelmed while completing only 10 of 26 passes in that Hawaii game, coach Chris Petersen sees him as a better player now.

“I think he’s better with the ball in a couple different ways,” Petersen said. “… I think his accuracy has improved. Decision-making has improved. Both those things are good to see.”

He certainly looked sharp on Saturday, showing off his arm strength on a 71-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis, and later dropping a 37-yard touchdown pass into the hands of Jaydon Mickens, who made an impressive catch amid tight coverage from a pair of defensive backs in the corner of the end zone.

“A big piece for me was just accuracy,” said Lindquist, a Mercer Island, Washington, native. “I think I’ve done a lot better this spring. Obviously, there’s still room to improve, there’s throws today I could have thrown a little bit better, but that was kind of my big point of emphasis. I think I’ve come a long way there.”