Yeah Bob, thanks for the good news!!!

First day started off with lots of bad news, but everyday seems to be getting better. Hopefully Savannah and Noble clear up their academic issues soon as well. Great to see Taylor back in action.

great news!!!

Great News!

WOW! Another young beefy DT that is athletic as hell. That is exactly what we needed. SOOOO Nice to hear this. Music to my ears.

I'm real pleased to see some big bodies in the trenches. It seems like we've been a bit undersized on the DL in recent years. Between frequent rotation (to stay fresh) and bigger bodies, I think the line play could improve dramatically. Having smaller guys and little rotation probably went a long ways towards explaining why our D kept falling apart in the 4th quarter last year.

Also, I'm absolutely not writing off 2008, but..... am I the only one who keeps thinking about how good this team could be 2009 - 2011?

Online course = sign your name so we can get your ass in here 'cuz Try is croaking fast.

The legend of the Molder marches on...

Bob, based on numbers we've seen it appears that there isn't going to be enough room for Savannah and Noble??? 102 with the most recent walk on and Taylor and Kelemete make it 104, Any idea whats going to happen if they both become eligible.

Great news about Senio. He was one the best in state guys last year and was also an early commit who truly wants to play for Washington. There hasn't been a lot of talk about Vince Taylor, but of every recruit we got last year, his video was among the most impressive. He is a tall, athletic guy who I think could have a role in special teams and could be a playmaker in the future.

I hate it when certain schools screw up (different courses but somehow they ended up with the same name yet were considered the same course despite being taken at different schools? And it took this long to sort it out). Man, I wouldn't be prettty upset about it, I'd be freakin' livid.

Bob - I'm not sure if I missed something you've mentioned or what happened. Cody Bruns is listed as a receiver on the roster and was a great receiver at Prosser, but on another major area newspaper's website they have a picture of Bruns (or maybe it's someone else wearing #7) practicing in a gold jersey with the QBs (Locker and Fouch). Do you know anything about this? Thanks!

Working 6 hours a day to qualify, and up to 395 pounds! Way to go Senio. Sounds like bad luck, but that he has a good head on his shoulders. I don't know the dude, but gaining 35 pounds and working 6 hours a day for an online course are projects easier said than done.

Bob, from what you have seen at practice and 25-minute sessions, do you have any sense of which first-year players are developing as leaders? It's hard to define a "leader" - but whatever input you have would be great, since I can't see these guys play until August 30.

I doubt he'll be back my Monday. I assume he still has to get through the NCAA Clearinghouse, and that can take weeks once his documents are ready (which won't be until after the grades are posted for the class).

I believe he's up to '295' pounds not 395

Alex, I had the same question. I know that he played QB his freshman and part of his soph year at Prosser until he fully transitioned to WR. Planning for some trick plays perhaps? His dad was a well known local QB in his time.

Hehe, good catch Boondawg. Probably not. But still impressive.

Am I the only that wonders why no one can clear these things up earlier. I guess it is just part of the system and with people trying to take academic shortcuts it is hard for both administrators and the NCAA. Great news though that Taylor is in and hopefully Kelemete soon too. They are both strong recruits who will help the Huskies in the future.

Bob, I was also wondering about, what could be a roster issue if Noble and Savannah get back on the team before the season starts. I believe that would make the roster 106. Is one just going to have to wait? There's also Bronson to account for too if he makes it in.

Thought I read where the roster goes up to 115 at some certain date......

The roster goes up to 115 once the season starts.

I agree Sittingdawg, I like that he's put on the weight, we definetly can use some big bodies in the middle and this freshmen class has a few, especially Ta'amu (I'm excited to see what this kid can do, although he could probably just stand there and still be effective).

...another example of willingham recruiting from the bottom of the academic barrel ("bridge program?...nice)...by the way...how did Rivals.com rate Kelemete as a player?...

My guess is that since Savannah wasn't expected to be ready by the start of the season, they are counting on adding him later once the roster goes up to 115. That might be the same situation with Bronson, who would likely redshirt this season anyway.

Is there any problem of temporarily dropping a walk-on to add a scholarship athlete, just until we can expand to 115?

I also saw that picture of Bruns at QB. Just backup in case both Locker and Fouch are hurt? Bruns sounds like a good athlete who is very sharp, so QB wouldn't seem like much of a stretch.

Some time back I was making the argument that last year's team had more individual talent than many folks were giving it credit for. (See the "not enough bullets" quote as one example!) I asserted that UW had 6 or 7 guys getting looks from NFL teams but didn't have the names/teams. Well, here you go:

Greyson Gunheim, Oakland Raiders
Louis Rankin, Oakland Raiders
Roy Lewis, Pittsburgh Seelers
Jordan Reffett, Pittsburgh Steelers
Anthony Russo, Seattle Seahawks
Chad Macklin, Minnesota Vikings
Marcel Reece, Miami Dolphins

I'm not just sure how many of these guys made camps or will make rosters, but my point was that they were all good enough to at least warrant a closer look from NFL teams. (And I believe sign free agent deals.)

Say what you will, but I think we actually had some talented players on last year's team who just didn't get used to their full potential.

I sure hope some of the coaching staff changes will make better use of the seemingly improved talent we now have.

jh, don't pretend to know what the bridge program is. Nearly all of the football players participate in it, and its meant to be a class to help prepare students for college academics before they start their freshman year. MANY non-athletes take these classes as well. It's not a crutch to help students qualify for college.

Regarding Bruns - Are we sure that isn't Luther Leonard? What number is he using?

...yea it is...or he wouldn't need it to qualify to practice - enroll...

...don't pretend to know what the bridge program is...

Bruns is white and Leonard is black, plus Leonard is taller than Bruns. I haven't seen the picture you guys are referring to but it seems hard to imagine the two could be mistaken for one another. There are two walk on QBs in camp, maybe it was one of them.

classy as always, jh... run down a kid who is trying hard and taking advantage of a widely used program to help "bridge" the gap between high school and college.

On the Bruns question -- He is definitely staying at WR. Sometimes the QBs wear different numbers because they wear the yellow jerseys to signify no contact. Maybe that's the only jersey they had. There are now two walk-on QBs in camp -- Taylor Bean and Justin Gunn --- so maybe it was one of them. But Bruns is not changing positions.

Dave,
I haven't seen a picture of either one of them so excuse me for my ignorance. But, next time you walk down a street, you might notice that white and black come in all different shades. It's not like your crayola set.

"Say what you will, but I think we actually had some talented players on last year's team who just didn't get used to their full potential."

While i'm not knocking these players, I don't they compare talent wise to some of the other guys in the Pac-10 last year. USC had more players drafted in the first two rounds. If you look around the league, i'm sure most teams had more players than that that got looks from the NFL (draft + free agency). Again, i'm not knocking these players but naming 7 those 7 players in like bringing a 6-shooter to the wild wild west with only 1 reload.

Thanks for the tip "Goose", I am familiar with the range of complexions in America, I also ref'd their height you will notice. Since you haven't seen either one of their pics then let me be the first to tell you, there is no way on earth anyone could mistake Cody Bruns for Luther Leonard. They resemble one another about as closely as Ty Willingham and Mike Holmgren.

...since when did the University of Washington start offering remedial English and Math courses...wow...willingham will feel at home recruiting at Sacramento State...

To be fair, how many teams in America would compare favorably with USC as far as NFL level talent? That's a pretty high bar for comparison purposes. I guess my point was more to the fact that I believe we had (and have) plenty of talent to compete with the likes of OSU, oregon, WSU, Stanford, ASU, Arizona, UCLA, and Cal. And we've been losing to these teams over and over the last 3 years.

All in all, my point was that the lack of talent excuse doesn't hold a ton of weight with me. I think we have enough talent man-for-man to go against most teams in D1 football.

...might you blame the holder of the "bullet-less" gun?...

Reality Check, I'm really happy those guys signed on with teams as FAs but that means they are considered boarderline NFL talent. Maybe they'll make it on the full roster, maybe they'll be cut, maybe they'll make it onto practice squads.

However, it means much more when NFL teams are willing to spend a valuable draft pick to secure the rights of a player and especially on the 1st day. That means they are highly coveted and a team doesn't want to run the risk of losing to another team later in the draft b/c they think he is that good.

Bowl teams all the way up to National Champions invariably have a fair amount of draft picks and there is a direct correlation between the amount of draft picks a team has and how the did that season.

Try to keep up, jh. As was already explained the bridge program at UW is not a remedial course. Further, "remedial" programs have always been offered for special admits (like fb players) at UW and most other college programs including ND. It is not like ND football is a bastion of intellectuals, or was that some sort of Platonic symposium that Clausen and Aldridge were attending when they posed for the internet photos with the beer bong last week wearing those braided shirts?

..."I'm really happy those guys signed on with teams as [free agents] but that means they are considered boarderline NFL talent...

...to all of you that discounted the high school Rivals/Scout recruitment ratings...I give you the statement by that great football mind...Reality Check

whoops jh! 6 of the 7 players in question were Neu/Gilby recruits, so that does not support your thesis re: those coaches' talent eval vs. Ty. Just sayin'.

HFNY --

I'm not arguing the point that UW not having a single guy drafted isn't an indication of a talent shortfall. It marks only the second time in something like 50 years that UW hasn't had a single guy drafted. (With the other year of no draft pick being fairly recent.)

But my point is that the talent drop off from say Oregon State, Arizona, Wazzu, etc. isn't THAT big. In short, I don't buy it as an excuse for why we are losing to those teams.

Anyway, I don't want to argue to point too strongly from the other side. I'll admit without hesitation that our talent level is way down. But it's not down so low that we can't compete. That's all I'm saying.

...contrary to your position...as I've previously stated...rick/gilby's recruiting rating average was 20th in the nation...willingham's is 32nd...

...the best UW football players over the past 7-years have already graduated...good luck over the next three years...and for the three years following willingham's firing...

A lack of depth is really 1 a talent problem. Some of the starters were okay, but if you play only 4 people on the D-line because you don't have adequate talent in the second string, then you are sincerely affected by a lack of talent even if you place some starters in mini-camps. The UW definitely was not that close in terms of this measure to many of the other schools in the Pac-10.

Factor that in with turnovers from a young qb, with a poor 1st down conversion rate, and the talent the team does have simply gets exhausted, thus increased breakdowns as the game goes on.

Poster & HFNY --

Valid point (lack of depth) in addition to borderline front line starters.

I'll roll over and concede that the talent level stunk pretty bad last year. Maybe it wasn't AS bad as some might profess, but it was pretty awful.

On a more positive note, I'm delighted to see the incredible depth being built back into the two lines. Seriously, the next few years look like the OLine and especially DLine should be awesome!

I agree about the apparent improvement in both lines. That should bode very well. If we have comparable talent in the two-deep, then we can keep people fresh and play them according to their individual talents/contributions. However, it may take a year to brings this young talent up to speed. If they play like freshman, then it could be a long season (and I don't mean by having an extra game).

That being said, there was some decent frontline talent. As an example, it would be interesting to see how many plays a defensive end for Oregon had last year in the second half of each game (average of all games), and how many plays Greyson Gunheim played. My guess is that it isn't even close. That difference probably carries over to most of our D-line from last year.

..."Seriously, the next few years look like the OLine and especially DLine should be awesome!"...

...seriously 20th vs. 32nd (Rivals.com)...the only thing getting better in Seattle, thanks to global warming, is the weather...

Actually, from a meteorological perspective, the weather in western Washington will actually be worse (cooler and more overcast) because global warming will increase inland temperatures (like in eastern WA and the midwest) causing significant onshore flow as cooler air follows the warmer inland air.

Wrong again jh!

...stick to the weather...compared to your head coach/football knowlege...you'll be a meteorological superstar...

...jeeze Oily...didn't know that was you...finally free up your right hand in order to type?...or you going southpaw exclusively?...

I've been here for weeks. I imagine you wouldn't have noticed with your head up your....well, we all know where it is. Enjoy the smell!

oh?.. under what name(s)?...

One name, and one name only. I wish I could take credit for the post's by your behind though because I do really enjoy them.

Take a look back the last few weeks. I've been posting many times daily. No need to make multiple names up like yourself to make it seem like you're gaining a consensus.