Most incoming Husky players are en route to campus this weekend --- or already there --- for the beginning of the freshmen bridge program on Monday. Enrolling also means players can take part in the summer conditioning program.

One player who apparently will have to wait a little while, however, is quarterback Dominique Blackman of Carson, Calif.

Blackman said this weekend he is waiting for a result on an ACT he took last month before knowing if he will be eligible to enroll in the bridge program, a month-long summer course designed to prepare incoming freshmen for college. Blackman doesn't think the situation will impact his ability to enroll at UW this fall, however.

"It sucks to be in this situation right now but it's all good,'' he said. "I'm pretty much just waiting on a score right now. But trust me, I'll make it.''

Blackman said he found out shortly before graduating high school that his GPA was just a little shy of what he needed to be eligible with the SAT scores that he had (remember, there is now a sliding scale, with the higher the GPA, the lower the necessary test scores and vice versa). It was recommended that he take the ACT to attempt to get the needed standardized test score. If he doesn't get the needed score, he said he will need to retake a Physics class (he said he got a C when he needed a B) to get eligible.

If he has to go the latter route, he said he won't be able to attend the bridge program but thinks he'll be eligible for the season --- he could take the coutrse on-line and finish in time for the start of fall practice, he said.

He said he hopes to know the result of the ACT sometime next week. Any later, and he may not be able to make it for the bridge program though Blackman said it won't be for lack of want-to.

"If I find out Wednesday, I'll be there Thursday,'' he said.

Blackman said it's a frustrating situation because he hoped to contend for the backup quarterback position this season. UW has little depth at quarterback. After Jake Locker, the other QBs on the roster are redshirt freshman Ronnie Fouch, Blackman, and fellow incoming freshman Luther Leonard of Evergreen. Also on the roster is walk-on sophomore Taylor Bean.

Missing the bridge program, and a month of conditioning work, Blackman said, could leave him a little behind.

"This could put me in a bad situation,'' he said. "I might have to redshirt when they weren't coming close to having me redshirt. But I hope that doesn't happen.''

Blackman said he is working as hard as he can to stay in shape. Through connections of a relative, he works out with trainers at Athletes Performance, saying he has conditioned alongside the likes of Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Blackman, listed at 6-5, 250 by UW, said he is in good shape, tipping the scales right now at 240. He said he 'd like to play this season at 235. He stayed in shape this spring by playing competitive volleyball for the first time, helping lead Carson to the second round of the LA City Section championships. He became a quick enough study at it that he says he has been invited since to play on select teams though he has turned down the offers to concentrate on football.

He said he was talked into playing volleyball by a teacher who is also a coach with the team.

"I worked a lot on lateral movement and jumping and I needed that,'' he said, adding he has a 38-inch vertical leap.

Blackman is one of 26 high school players signed by the Huskies last February. One, WR/RB Chris Polk, enrolled in time for spring football. Two, Blackman and RB Demitrius Bronson, are known to have some issues that could prevent them from enrolling for the bridge program, but both say they expect to be eligible in time for the season. There are no known issues with other freshmen. UW lists all the freshmen on its current roster and school officials have said the expectation is that all will be eligible.