..."There was very little of note from the press briefing from UW coach Tyrone Willingham today."...

...how unusual...

Guess no news on if Locker is back practicing? If not today, then definitely tomorrow!

Hopefully tomorrow!!!

Didn't you call that one, HFNY?

Also, out of curiousity...

jh - I'd like to know 5 acceptable coaches in NCAA football right now, by your standards.

So we are coming up on a week without jake. Ty might think that's not important, but when your qb misses what, 20% or so?, of all fall camp, i'd say thats a blow. especially when you are trying to get freshmen receivers up to scratch. I want to support ty, but he sure makes it hard.

...who finished 1-5 in the Pac-10 standings last year...start there...

No, it's a serious question. Those who complain, should have a solution...

Derek Johnson story on Paul Arnold.

http://washington.scout.com/2/779266.html

...as I truly believe the willingham is truly a Division II coach that "Peter-Principled" himself into jobs at ND and UW...I feel that 90% of the Division I coaches could have done a better job than he has at UW...take your pick...

Gotcha. Thanks for the 'insight.'

NCAA coaches usually don't elect a D-II coach for their president.

I believe in you, Ty!

Jason,
I started a thread in the forums, but no one has responded. Since you are a supporter of Ty:

Where do you rank him in the Pac 10 as far as coaches go? We can probably exclude Wulff because he hasn't coached any games in the conference yet.

Bob, I have a question for you:

Are there any bigger DEs (like 270+) that might see playing time this year? This will be especially important depending on whether we go with the 3 man front or 4.

Further to that question (and maybe the only real point of it), will Teo'Nesheim have to be off the field in a 3 man front because of his lighter weight? Maybe you could ask Donatell if you have a chance.

...the NCAA coaches knew ty had would have time on his hands...if he had been fired after last season like he should have...

John, not Bob C. but I'll take a stab. Daniel Teo'Nesheim is up to 263 lbs I believe so he could play WDE in the 3-4 and be of decent size. Darrion Jones and Aldrich are lighter but could spell Daniel or Matthews could slide over to WDE and someone could take his spot at SDE.

Deshon Matthews is at 275 lbs now and would be a good fit at SDE (called DT in some defenses). Tyrone Duncan could also be a nice option there. Maybe even Cam Elisara at 289 lbs.

At NT, it would be Kirton, Ta'amu, and Wood rotating. Ta'amu is the biggest, Kirton is the oldest/most experienced, and Wood may be the strongest.

Darrion Jones may also be able to play pass-rush OLB too.

Thanks, that was a thorough response.

Donatell probably wouldn't give many specifics out anyways.

HFNY gave a better answer than I probably would have. There is also the chance that Trenton Tuiasosopo could play some rush end in certain situations (Chris Stevens may, as well, a look the team showed in the spring game).

That story on Paul Arnold was pretty interesting. Pharms sounds like he was insane.

Speaking of, here's a high school highlight video of Pharms. Pretty long video, but well worth the watch. Some crazy hits in there, especially for a high schooler.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iCBDvFI-4w

From a previous JH post;

12:57 PM, Aug 14, 2008

...think of what I'm doing here as a public service for the UW football fan...the quicker you rid yourself of willingham...the quicker the UW football program will return to prominence...

JH - What a sad and pathetic little man(?) you are.

No Real News Today -

So we shall dive into jh's purpose of life. Here are his quotes:

..."However, and unfortunately for them, that is not the case. Locker is a RS-Soph"...

...interesting that only Locker got a year older and better...and none of his competition...

...my point exactly...the whole Pac-10 got more experienced... except the freshmen, who willingham is counting on more than any other Pac-10 coach...

....I like willingham coaching against ND for the next two seasons...in fact...I'm betting on it...

..."There was very little of note from the press briefing from UW coach Tyrone Willingham today."...
...how unusual...

....who finished 1-5 in the Pac-10 standings last year...start there...

....think of what I'm doing here as a public service or the UW football fan...the quicker you rid yourself of willingham...the quicker the UW football program will return to prominence...

...as I truly believe the willingham is truly a Division II coach that "Peter-Principled" himself into jobs at ND and UW...I feel that 90% of the Division I coaches could have done a better job than he has at UW...take your pick...

...the NCAA coaches knew ty had would have time on his hands...if he had been fired after last season like he should have.

jh - I tried to listen to your points - I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt - I gave you ample opportunity to defend your position - you chose not to do that.

Instead you chose to confirm that you are NOT a Husky fan, but a ND fan and a Tyrone Willingham hater - so for me you no longer exsist on this blog.

Bob wrote this yesterday...

"...defensive tackle Craig Noble of Taft High School in Los Angeles, is still awaiting a score on the California High School Exit Exam and could be enrolled in a week or two."

This wait has been going on for 2 to 3 weeks now.

Are their computers broken down there??

Is this some sort of anti - California recruits going to Washington - conspiracy??

Does anyone have Arnold's phone number???

That Paul Arnold article was pretty interesting. I didn't play college ball, but I know that type of initiation would definitely get me motivated. Can't wait for the 30th!!

Any idea of stuff like that still goes on?

Designtime,

Here's my list. I base this off of past performance, recruiting, potential, national respect, and community building (as in, academic support, player best interests).

1. Pete Carroll
2. Mike Belotti
3. Jeff Tedford
4. Mike Riley
5. Dennis Erickson
6. Jim Harbaugh
7. Ty Willingham
8. Rick Neuheisel
9.Mike Stoops
10. Paul Wulff

Jason --

I'll save you a little time. Rather than trying to engage jh in anything resembling meaningful discussion, might I suggest banging your thumb with a hammer or beating your head against a wall. Both would be less painful and frustrating.

Translated -- any attempts to engage jh are ill advised. The guy is a nut case.

With the recruits/athletes that USC has had over the last 5-6 years, I'd wager that any coach on that list from 2-5, inclusive, could've won as many NC's as Carroll has.

Before anyone points out that that Carroll recruited them, read what I wrote closely.

Via RealDawg - Nathan Fellner commits to UW.

LOVE this pick up. 6-0/195/4.56 safety from Fresno.

That's a good point, but you really can't argue Carroll off the #1 pedestal.

About Fellner:

#52 ranked safety, 3-star on scout.

Academically, he has a 3.8 GPA (3.5 cumulative).
SAT: 1530

Looks like we won't have to sit on the edge of our seats for him to qualify!

Agreed Jason. At least not without writing some pretty compelling serious of books on the subject. Hell, maybe he's a great recruiter but should've won 2 more national titles in that time (see Stanford)? I'm not saying that's true, and of course he should be number 1 on that list, at first glance at least.

Hell, I personally think OSU has been very good at evaluating talent and that has something to do with their on the field success. But hey, if they are as untalented as a lot of people think, then Riley may be higher on that list.

Well, that's why I've got Riley over Erickson. I think you can compare the success with OSU and Cal, but I give the edge to Tedford.

Anyone else have a list?

erickson is not a good coach. he doesnt mold young men.

I posted this on the wrong thread, apologize for the repost.

"This may be unfounded, but I think the disappointment of the PAC this year will be Arizona State. Something doesn't smell right and I can't put my finger on it (thankfully). I don't think they achieve what they did last year."

Fellner:
3-Star ranked 56th in the nation as safety.

Watch the video on rivals. This guy loves to hit and has a ton of speed. Models himself after Rodney Harrison.

Offered by Stanford, Washington, and Washington State.

Welcome to UW Nathan!

jh thinks TW should be fired and is a Div 2 coach, DJ thinks TW is a good coach doing good things for the program, and that he shouldn't be let go, even if he doesn't have a winning season. Hmmmm. DJ does have some pretty solid credentials for having an opinion about coaches in D1 football. Not to take anything away from jh, of course.

Time for another reality check:

Forget the Willingham chatter for a minute (although he's necessarily implicated in my point here.)

Either UW gets their $#!+ together fast or this football team IS going to be the next Duke or similar crap program. We can all flap our gums about this extenuating circumstance or that one, but just look at the W's and L's. 12 and 36 over 4 years. How many D1 teams are worse at this point? That's a fact -- not potential, may happen, etc. That is the cold reality of our program right now, today, August 14th, 2008.

So, regardless of what the plan is, we had better get some W's coming fast or we're going to be the Oregon or OSU of the 80's!

What's more, we haven't even played a single down this year, and just skim through the blog. Or think back to the posts all summer. It's been non-stop Dawg on Dawg anger about just about anything. If someone (a new, excellent AD hopefully) can't get things turned around quickly, then I fear this ship could be lost.

Don't believe me? Wait to see season ticket sales if this team goes 4-8. Unless something happens to energize this program, I bet a lot of people will say "enough". Season tickets are already off 20,000 in just 6 years.

I know that I'm tired of paying money to watch the crappiest Husky football of my entire life.

Reality Check, step away from the ledge. This team should win 5 to 7 games this year and has 17 or 18 returning starters for 2009. Ty and staff will be back if we go bowling but no matter who the coach is, I guarantee this team will go bowling in 2009 and wins at least 8 games. GUARANTEED!!!!

Here's another reality check:

1. We've done the necessary recruiting (in-state and out) to be set up now and in the future.
2. Donald Butler is going to emerge as the best defender on our team this year. He's finally 100% after playing injured his whole career.
3. Our secondary is big, fast, upgraded.
4. Our position coaches are experienced.
5. Jake Locker is an All-American candidate, entering his SOPHOMORE year.

As Monty Python says, 'always look on the bright side of life.'

why the bountiful optimism about recruiting? not to attack or anything but seriously, what outside of last yrs class leads us to believe that recruiting has gone really well?

When you hear many recruits and commits talk about how they chose UW because "they are on the right track to rebuiding," you have to feel good about the program.

Dear Bob,

Thanks for printing Don James' opinion on where the program is at and his views on Ty, without any spin. He's easily the most respectable figure in UW's entire history, so it's great to see him finally get some coverage in the media.

Anyone know how low obstructed view seats are? I'm not really picky, as long as I can see most of the action I'm fine.

I'm looking at seats in section 24, row C or D. So, pretty darn low. I don't care if the Fox camera gets in the way from time to time, but I don't want to have a constant obstruction.

but they have only had what is considered a really good class once, and that was last yr.

this year is clearly not going well. granted the job uncertainty is certianly partially to blame but dorrell recruited very well at ucla under similar circumstances.

and you cant really say that ty has had a really good class before 08.

Good points, but this years class really is phenomenal - especially now that we need them to play.

Poster,

I agree ASU will be the disappointment in the Pac-10, UW will be the surprise. Ucla will be on the bottom with Wsu and Stanford.

Here's how I see it:
Usc should be 1
UW, Cal and Ore will be fighting for the 2-4
Az, Osu will fight for 5-6
Ucla, Asu, Wsu and Stan 7-10.

dlep, one thing that was a plus in recruiting before this most recent class is Jake Locker. But overall, you make a good point about on paper the most recent class being the only really good one.

We're in the position where we have a lot of uncertainty regarding some pretty well respected talent filling the holes we had. That simply has to add up to uncertainty at the moment, not a sure negative or positive. Perhaps my biggest recruiting complaint during RN and Gilby was the lack of attention to the line (granted, some where recruited and didn't work out). The O-line looks pretty good now due to the two classes before this most recent one. That is a tremendous strength of this football team, and was probably the most consistent contributor last year (even more than Locker). The D-line looks set up for a while now, even if not all of the talent eventually makes it in. Those positions have simply improved greatly over the last 3 years in terms of talent (and some have been proven, O-line again).

But, on paper, I agree. Last year was the only really good one.

Foster will be the most improved defensive player, the secondary will be the most improved position and the DL will perform better than people think.

Sittingdawg I believe obstructed view seats are the first five or seven rows up all around the bowl .

Jason,
That is an interesting link. I would definitely put Erickson and Riley above Belotti. Maybe slick too, but I think he will need to win for a couple of years before I could do that.

One of these days I am going to actually proofread my post before I submit it. I meant to say interesting list.

Some of the obstructed view seats are good though. We had ones behind the visiting team for a while but I don't recall which row they were. But, they had a good view of the field (some don't), and they were really interesting behind the opponents bench. It may have been the 12th row. Hell, interesting I can't remember. Too many knocks to the head.

hsky69 - thanks. So, rows 3-4 at about the 50 yard line, right behind the bench, south side - is that likely to be okay? What's blocking the view? Players? The tickets are still pretty pricey.

Will the last player to leave practice for the DL please turn off the lights?

Growing up in Portland, and being a Dawg, I HATE oregon. HATE. However, you can't overstate the job that Belotti (cough*cough*Knight*cough) has done with that program...with, or without, the stache.

Tempe knows that Erickson is a year or two from coaching somewhere else.

I don't think that Reality Checks vision is that far off. If you go to the web sites of the other conference schools, they already talk about us like we are the OSU of the 80's. Attendance is WAY down. There is almost no money in the stadium fund.
There are very serious issues that need to be resolved. That is why I am surprised that Ty was fired at the end of last year. Even if the administration thought that he would have us as a consistent winner (his career record says otherwise), they had to balance that with the degree that Husky Nation is already divided, and the need to raise money.

Bogus stability arguments aside, it was more risky to keep Ty than to fire him at the end of last year.

not that i am all doom and gloom.

this is somewhat encouraging.

http://washington.scout.com/2/778903.html

Sittingdawg - I don't remember anything in particular blocking the view - it's just that you don't have any type of bird's eye view of the field and so the perspective can be off a little. You'll probably be looking over the other team's bench if you're on the south side of the stadium and that might block a little but probably not too bad. Give 'em hell though!! Being on the 50 yard line you'll have a clear view of the jumbotron which helps.

The lower rows were obstructed by opponents heads and shoulders (in some cases), but, many of those seats were empty, even when the stadium was pretty full, so it was relatively easy to slide up or over when need be.

If you're rows 3-4, then I think the players will somewhat obstruct your view.

Great article dlep.

It also seems that when we did get most of the in state recruits, that recruiting services weren't as advanced then and that we actually had more talent than we got credit for. Many of those in state recruits had mediocre ratings, but DJ and staff recognized the talent (probably saw it close enough, or used the HS coaching inroads that were so prevalent then due to the length of success of UW) and it showed in the W's. I suspect it is a little bit still the case, that these kids are geographically on an island and just not in the awareness of some of the larger markets (until a De La Salle plays a Bellevue, just as a convenient example).

Thanks a lot for the input, guys. I'll mull it over...

On the other hand, I remember it feeling pretty close to the field there, so when you had a view it was more like a HS game in terms of hearing the hits, etc.

Just for fun:
http://www.autumnspectacle.com/Stadiums/Husky%20Stadium.jpg

cool

Yeah I got a new background. :)