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November 2008
Categories
| Rivals.com is reporting that Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Haywood will interview for the Huskies head coaching job. There is a connection for Haywood. Huskies athletic director Scott Woodward, who took over the job in mid-September, is the former director of external affairs in the Office of the Chancellor at LSU, where Haywood served on the Tigers' coaching staff from 1995-2002. - rivals.com Haywood even calls UW A.D. Woodward "a very good friend." I guess I would to if I wanted the job. Anyway, after the M's filled their managerial job, this should be the next hot topic in the area. For the sake of Husky fans, you hope they make a big splash with the school's next hire. Here's rivals.com article on Haywood. Here's his bio from Notre Dame. ...Texas has named defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as the team's head coach in waiting. So whenever Mack Brown decides to retire, Muschamp will take over. By the way, Brown is only 57. So it could be a decade or more before Brown steps down. I guess Muschamp will make more money. He more than doubled his salary to $900,000 at Texas. But why commit to a college when he probably could get a head coaching job this year or next year? At any rate, if the Huskies really want him, I'm sure they could pony up enough money to pull him to Seattle. Here's a little more on the story. ...Former Husky Tim Lincecum won the NL Cy Young award yesterday, today, he's cashing in on his success. Lincecum will be on the cover of Major League Baseball 2K9. "The Franchise" or "The Freak" says he's stoked to be on the cover. ...Former Huskies pitcher Tim Lincecum wins the NL Cy Young award today. Is Is it just another blip on the Bill Bavasi era? A couple of years ago, the Mariners picked Cal starter Brandon Morrow over UW starter Tim Lincecum. Obviously, Morrow went to the bullpen and should return to the starting rotation full-time next season.
In a rare instance of good news for NW sports, Bellarmine Prep hoops star Abdul Gaddy (rated the No.2 point guard in the nation by Scout.com) has decided to sign with the Huskies instead of Arizona. The 6-3, 170-pounder made the change after Arizona coach Lute Olson recently announced his retirement. Apparently Dawgs coach Romar had plenty to do with the change, having numerous conversations with Gaddy and his father. And when the choice came down between switching to UCLA or UW, Gaddy decided on Hec Ed.
After listening to today's press conference, it sounds like the Huskies forced head coach Tyrone Willingham out. In case you haven't heard, Willingham says he's stepping down after the season. Athletic Director Scott Woodward will start a search for new head coach immediately. Below are the unedited interviews from today's presser. Just click on their names for the link to the video.
The Huskies may be without quarterback Jake Locker for the season. The Times' Bob Condotta reports that offensive coordinator Tim Lappano thinks Locker could be done. Doctors will take a closer look at Locker's thumb tomorrow. "Is he going to play this year before the season is over? Who knows,'' Lappano said. "It's highly unlikely I would guess. But tomorrow we'll know more when they find out a little bit more about it.'' -Seattle Times website It appears Ronnie Fouch will be playing the rest of the way. For someone who competes as hard as Locker, you gotta feel for him. ...At Monday's Husky press conference Head Coach Tyrone Willingham announced Jake Locker will be out 6-8 weeks with a broken thumb. However, Locker has expressed interest in coming back sooner and playing a different position. Tyrone Willingham did not rule this out saying, "It is possible. I couldn't tell you where right now, but I've said and others have said, he is a tremendous athlete and has the ability to play five, six, seven positions." Tyrone went on to say, "This is a young man, who wants to win and he'll be willing to do whatever to help his team be successful and win."
The Huskies just named their new athletic director. They're promoting the interim AD into the permanant AD, it's Scott Woodward. Watch KING5 news for more or go to KING5.com's front page as it streams live. We'll have a lot more later in the day. ...The Cougars just sent out a press release saying Apple Cup tickets will go on sale this Saturday at 10 am. It's out in Pullman. It should be a fun ticket, even if both teams are struggling. Check out the official press release after the jump. It sounds like, if you're going to buy tickets through the school, you better buy 'em this weekend. Or you'll have to pay an additional "donation" for the same said tickets. ...Just three years ago, Huskies head coach Tyrone Willingham's program looked on the upswing. He had just signed two of the state's prized recruits from, at the time, the most dominant program in the state. Bellevue's J.R. Hasty and E.J. Savannah both signed with Willingham hoping to bring the Huskies back to prominance. Now, Hasty & Savannah are a footnote in Willingham's troubled program. Hasty was released and is playing for Central Washington. And just today, Willingham gave Savannah his release after the linebacker asked to transfer. The oft-injured linebacker can go anywhere as long as it's not in the PAC-10. E.J. will have a season of eligibility left. So who's to blame for Hasty & Savannah's failures at the UW, the players or Willingham and his coaches? Or were they just not PAC-10 material? Just more questions for the people on Montlake right after President Mark Emmert kind of gave Willingham his support. Is that the same as getting the dreaded public "vote of confidence"? ...The coordinator of football officiating for the Pac-10 Conference, Dave Cutaia, told the PI that the refs made the correct call against Jake Locklear on Saturday at the end of the BYU v. UW game. The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the QB for excessive celebration (tossing the ball and hugging teamates) moved the Huskies extra point attempt back 15 yards. The kick was blocked and the Dawgs lost, 28-27. "The rule seems pretty cut and dried," Cutaia told the PI, citing Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2c. "I can't say the official is incorrect if he's following the rule. Let's say the rule just said you can't celebrate or taunt -- that would be a different story. But the rule is pretty clear that you can't throw the ball high into the air....unfortunately that's what it says in the rule book. I don't know what else to say."However, the real issue seems to be whether the rule should be there at all... ...
As any Husky football diehard knows, Saturday's 44-10 spanking was the Dawgs' worst loss to Oregon in 25 years. Just writing that hurts. That kind of drubbing begs the question: Is it time for Tyrone Willingham to go? No matter what fans of the purple and gold think, the coach is definitly on the hotter-than-hot seat. And next week, No. 16 BYU comes to Seattle for the home opener. If the team can pull off an upset, the flames will certainly be doused. But if not... ...As the new Bruins head football coach, Slick Rick is getting nearer and nearer to walking back on the field at Husky Stadium. November 15th, to be exact. The once heralded coach is now the main guy for his alma mater, UCLA. ESPN.com even has an article about the 47-year-old Neuheisel's return to the Pac-10 on their main page. It's worth a read. In the column, Rick prescribes to be a changed man. Here's part of what he has to say: "I will be better now because of those experiences, and for that reason, I can say that it was worth it, now that I have this opportunity. ... And there is regret, but I don't focus on the regret. I focus on taking the positive from it and moving forward and hopefully not making those mistakes again."His troubles, Rick says -- NCAA probations, violations in Colorado, gambling on March Madness, an Uber amount of arrested Husky players -- are all behind him. After leaving the Huskies, Neuheisel coached high school before moving on to be an quarterbacks coach for the Ravens in the NFL. Now he's poised to make his return. But does anyone believe Slick Rick's old ways are simply part of the past? And does he have the stuff to set UCLA in the right direction? ...Former Husky runningback JR Hasty is following in his father's footsteps and will play for Central Washington University. Hasty will be able to play immediately because it's a D2 school. JR's dad James played at CWU for two seasons (84-85) before transfering to Washington State University. Sounds like things weren't going so well in Huskyville for JR. Hasty said Willingham told him then that he "kind of just didn't really trust me, I guess." - Seattle Times 8/7/08
Huskies linebacker E.J. Savannah's career on Montlake takes another turn. He's been ruled academically ineligible. Head coach Tyrone Willingham wouldn't comment any further on the situation, other than to say his suspension is indefinite and there's no timetable to his return. Savannah has had academic problems before and he's missed time on different occasions with broken bones and a stinger. Here's Seattle Times beat writer Bob Condotta's take on Savannah. ...Huskies backup tight end Chris Izbicki faces charges for drinking underage and trespassing. The media PAC-10 football poll is out. Now I don't remember voting, but they've got the Huskies predicted to finish 8th, the Cougars in last place. The Cougars sent out a press release...it's after the jump. Do you think it's fair? Are the Huskies the 8th best team in the conference? Are the Cougars going to be the worst team in the PAC-10? ...In case you missed on Sunday, former Husky Nate Robinson had his Las Vegas Summer League jersey retired yesterday. I'm not exactly sure what qualifies Nate the Great to have his jersey retired, but I think it's a first. As far as I know, no one else has had their LV jersey retired. Anyways, click on this link to see the retired jersey. ...Phil Steele's College Football Preview is listing the 2008 UW football schedule as the toughest in the nation, followed by No. 5. Oregon and No. 6. UCLA. Stanford is 14, USC 21 and WSU 28. With home games against BYU, Oklahoma and Notre Dame, and road games against Oregon and USC, is the Husky schedule the toughest in the nation?
Lorenzo Romar has his 1st basketball recruit for the 2009 season. C.J. Wilcox decided to pick the UW over Utah over the weekend. The 6'5" guard plays ball at Pleasant Grove high school in Utah. Seattle Times reporter Bob Condotta talked to Wilcox's dad. Apparently, the father thinks his son will be a top 40 recruit by the end of the basketball season. Sounds like someone is gonna get a good Father's Day gift. The Salt Lake Tribune has more on Wilcox. The future Husky averaged 23.7 points in his junior season. The way the Dawgs are stockpiling guards maybe we'll see them run more like 2004-2005 season with Nate Robinson, Tre Simmons, Will Conroy, Bobby Jones, and Brandon Roy. ...One of the top basketball recruits decomitted to Arizona. Bellarmine Prep's guard Abdul Gaddy rescinded his commitment to the Wildcats. The senior-to-be says he'll keep Arizona on his short list. They'll join the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies on that list. Sounds like Gaddy wasn't happy with what happened with the Lute Olson mess. Still, Gaddy felt most comfortable with the previous coaching staff, including interim head coach Kevin O'Neill. Former assistant Josh Pastner is now at Memphis and Miles Simon's contract for next season was not renewed. - Tucsoncitizen.com Here's the whole article. By the way, Rivals.com has Gaddy as the 14th best player in the 2009 class. His Bell Prep teammate, Avery Bradley is ranked 17th. Gaddy and Bradley would look good in UW's Lorenzo Romar's uptempo style of play. We'll have to wait and see how it plays out. ...The UW football porgram has only met the LSU tigers only once in 119 years. Now, they'll meet twice in three years as the Huskies announced the teams will meet at home and away in 2009 and 2012. In fact, the Dawgs will kick of their '09 season at Husky Stadium against LSU. The press release is here. This is what UW's director of athletics, Scott Woodward, had to say about the schedule:
The Huskies will travel to Baton Rouge, La. to play at Tiger Starium on Sept. 29th, 2012. Washington also hosts Idaho and visits Notre Dame in '09. The Dawgs open the '08 season on August 30th at the Univerity of Oregon. I know this is about a month old, but I just noticed this...Why are high school freshmen getting D1 scholarship offers. First, Cougars basketball coach Tony Bennett offered an Ephrata freshman a scholarship. Now, Huskies football coach Tyrone Willingham admits to offering a Skyline high school freshman a scholarship.
The player is Kasen Williams, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound receiver who starred as a 14-year-old freshman at Skyline High School in Sammamish, Wash. He's good but probably not as good as teammate Jake Heaps, a sophomore quarterback who also has been offered by Washington. Both players were coached, until recently, by Steve Gervais, who was hired by Willingham as Washington's running backs coach.
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