Bob, Im sure youl have a answer here soon about Savannahs future, but in the meantime do you know if he has been at the 11 on 11 and 7 on 7 drills or conditioning with the team in any way?

Guh. Well, sounds like we may possibly have 5 guys who enroll in January and are added on to 2009's smallish recruiting class (which would be around 19 I think). Academic issues happen every year. Surprised to hear about local guys like Kelemate and Taylor.

Let's hope Savannah is just a short suspension or something else possibly. Hard to lose a guy who looked so good last year and at the Spring Game this year.

I’ve been enjoying PD’s list also. Sorta the anti-jh, if you will. Even if not all of it pans out as hoped, there’s still reasons for hope based on impending changes across the board, not just on the name of the HC. There has been a flood of changes, and it’s silly to presume the results will be exactly the same just because of not making one particular coaching change.

About the true freshman…again, traditionally the first place frosh make an impact is on special teams, an area that for the dawgs could definitely use an upgrade in talent, speed, and energy.

I also think that the frosh that we see on the field will begin with smaller numbers, and then increase as they grow in skills and experience, not to mention filling needs that arise. I also expect to see freshman mistakes. The principle change from last year will be that it will be freshman making them, not the “experienced” upperclassmen that we were counting on for leadership.

Obviously, the Savanna issue has been a topic for weeks, so we knew that was coming. Unfortunate to hear about Kelemete and Taylor. Kelemete was rated as 4 star D-lineman. He would definitely have been a redshirt as our D-line is young, but there is depth. Taylor might be felt as more of a loss because he is a big body at 6-3, 190 and might have helped out the secondary. But if he is having academic issues, he might need another year to mature.

Not so sure yet what to make of C. Young. His storied history is well known - from Duke to UW to quitting the team to unknown. I thought I'd never hear his name again. And if history repeats itself, a player like Shelton Sampson comes to mind as a quitter who came back to support the team and never made it on the field. I suppose we just have to wait it all out. I hate waiting.

Dont tell me Willingham is going to let his personal issues with Savannah get in the way of what's best for the team. He's always had some sort of beef with those Bellevue kids. E.J. is one of our top linebackers and we desperately need him this year. Please Ty, get over yourself--just do whatever it takes to win some f'in games.

That's two 4* recruits (Noble, Kelemete) and three 3* recruits (Bronson, Taylor, Blackmon) from The Class That Saved Ty that won't be on the field today. Probably only Kelemete and/or Noble had a chance of contributing this year any way but it puts the class in perspective when almost 20% of it (5 out of 26) may have failed to qualify.

there is no beef with ty and bellevue players, there just seems to be a beef with bellevue players and a proper work ethic

JR showed up to practice high, didnt respect school, skipped practices, and even after warnings and disciplines, continued to do so, JR screwed himself over

EJ is not on the roster because not only is he injured, but he is academically ineligible, which is his own problem

i suggest you get a clue

EJ - what in the heck is going on with you? You don't get too many "Golden" opportunities in your life, this is one of them - and it sounds as though you're blowing it. Get it together young man - whether you know it or not there are a million people out here pulling for you.

I like the idea of Kelemete, Taylor Bronson, Blackman and Noble being listed under the 09 class.

This year is a very sparce year for WA. State recruits; 2/3 of this class is going to have to come from out-of-state, and that is a tough recruit when we're not winning right now. This could acutally help fill out this 09 class and give us much better class balance later on.

You can't have it both ways. You can't assume that it's TW's problem with EJ. If it's EJ's problem, and you do nothing to hold him accountable, then the dawgs end up with tricky rick 2.0. This simply must be TW's call. By extension, either the players are held accountable or not. You simply don't let someone off the hook because of their potential value on the field. And if it's a violation of an NCAA rule, W may not have any choice.

That's one of the secondary problems with a HC that hasn't won lately...it's easy to presume he's messing up, and to be suspicious of things that he keeps shrouded. No matter what, obviously TW feels it to be a matter of integrity to not air dirty laundry in public.

Hopefully, for all these players, it's just a matter of "dotting the i's and crossing the t's." Still, any team with integrity is going to have disciplinary/academic issues when there are roughly 100 newly minted adults and a dozen or more staff.

Interesting about Young. No way to know yet if he's a potential talent/experience upgrade or if his defining characteristic is as the poster child for Rustoleum.

wow there are a lot of uncertainties this year. I am excited but boy, there's just sooo many........

Regarding EJ: On personelle issues like this I completely have faith in the decisions of TY (football not always). I think he deals ethically with his players and the media.

I get the impression some people feel Ty doesn't address this stuff to hide his "incompetency".
Sure, I might like to know what is going with EJ and really hope he is on the field. But, he is young man, I like that Ty takes the heat as he respects the privacy of this young man.

btw, what's the deal with Kenneth Pinkard? Is he an official commit or not? How can you be a commit and be making your decision "in a few days?"

Anyone know anything about him?

I cant believe some of these guys!!! what is EJ doing? some get it and some dont. Maybe he hung out with Hasty to long and the attitude spread to him. sounds like hes out for the year. Doesnt hurt to much for the frosh...maybe evn a good thing for guys like blackman. Was young a big guy? what is his height and weight?

According to his Scout.com profile, Chancellor has 4.3 speed.

Why are people mad at TY for not putting EJ on the roster? Should he be like pete carroll or belotti and put them on anyway? HE DIDNT QUALIFY! what part of that dont you get idiots?

E.J. is ACADEMICALLY INELIGABLE. It isn't Ty's fault. Ty has given E.J. many chances. I don't think Ty is that great of a coach, but darn it, you need some luck as a coach too, and luck just doesn't seem to be on Willingham's side.

People are flying off the handle about EJ before they even know what's happening. Past experience probably says that he's suspended for the time being.

OR he's academically ineligible.

OR typo on the roster? (likely not)

Wait until Bob reports.

Just watched the video on commit (but not quite yet) Kenneth Pinkard out Texas. Seems like a playmaker who knows how to tackle and wrap up. Don't have a subscription to realdawg or anything, so I don't know if he's a for sure just yet. What's the story?

That Tyrone is a sly dog. When everyone made a big deal about not having any verbals for next years class; he makes them all look stupid. First, he pulls a WAC level recruit out of his hat; then he manages to get five of last years recruits to take one for the team, pretend to me academic casualties and reassign them to next years recruits. Suddenly, Ty has 6 recruits for next year; and they are all top recruits (4 or 3 stars) on top of that. Boy, we don't give Ty and his staff nearly enough credit. Sign 'em to an extension immediately.

No Savannah? Yikes. Sounds like a recipe for another 300+ rushing yards for the Ducks on 8/30.

Bob, I was wondering if maybe you could tell us how the process works with getting some of these players eligable. For example, if you know if Savannah has a chance of becoming eligable before the season starts, if there is a decent chance Noble or Bronson can become eligable before the season starts. Kelemete is also a bit of a blow.

Ha, Savannah wasn't going to play against the Yucks anyway. Jeremy, you sound like a Yuck fan. Chris Stevens will start in his place, I bet. Or maybe Donald Butler will play SLB, Foster WLB and Trenton Tui MLB.

Good riddance EJ. You've been a screw up since day 1.

Hello Chancellor Young. State champion 100 and 200 meters on a 6'2" 215 pound frame. Yikes!

Savannah- kind of saw this one coming at some point, TY Willingham does not mess around with character or academic issues. Savannah has had a lot of chances. Probably the reason he had so many chances was because he was a good athlete..and you just don't want to kick a guy off the team to fast without giving multiple chances with his talent.

E.J. is a baller. I hope he gets it together.

The two "gems" of Ty's first class are now gone.

Faceplant -

I believe and support Freedom of Speech but damn - your post was off the charts-over the edge dude. Remember - these are just young college kids making bad choices. Let the coach do his job. You act as though Ty is doing this on purpose. Do you really think he would sabotage his team just so he could get fired?? Come on - use your head.

I'm starting my "Luke Kravitz gets to line up as a RB in some normal sets this season" campaign. This guy is 6-1, 228lbs and runs a 4.5 40. His HS bio:

"A 4A all-state selection by the Associated Press ... a member of the Tacoma News Tribune's all-state team ... second-team all-state pick by the Seattle Times ... Sr. year rushed for 2,460 yards and 41 touchdowns ... finished his career with 4,300 yards and 77 touchdowns ..."

2007: Earned the "Husky Fever 12th Man of the Year Award". This is the attitude we need on the field. Homer (FB) and Kravitz (RB) - go dawgs!!!

J I'm not sure if this correctly answers your question, but I imagine EJ can take classes this 2nd half of the summer and perhaps get back on track. Sounds like the freshmen all need to hit UW, state and/or NCAA standards.

I watched Kravitz knock Bothell H.S. out of the state tournement with a 50 plus yard run a few years ago. He definitely knows how to run the football. Still don't understand why the fullbacks aren't more involved in the running game. keep the defense guessing a little more.

"Per square yard, the loudest stadium in the history of the planet."
- Keith Jackson, ABC Sports.

"That's the loudest stadium I've ever been in."
- Lloyd Carr, Michigan HC (after playing at Autzen).

"Crowd noise is almost an unfair advantage. You can't check plays, you seemingly have less time on the play clock and everything starts to feel really rushed."
- Troy Taylor, Cal QB

"They're going to be loud from the first snap until the last snap. They are right on top of you and they're just relentless."
- Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin HC.

"You can hear a pin drop when their offense is on the field, and when our offense is out there, it's like being in a thunderstorm."
- Thomas DeCloud, Cal Safety.

Good Luck, Jake.

...if you subtract all these recruits...where does that leave the ranking for willingham's 2008 recruiting class?...