In his role as the current president of the American Football Coaches Association, UW coach Tyrone Willingham was asked to appear this week at the Football Forum with select other coaches and media.

The event, held in Dallas and sponsored by the National Football Foundation and the Football Writers Association of America, is exploring major issues of the day, such as the APR, recruiting, player conduct and media relations.

Here is the transcript of day one and I'll warn you that it's really long.

I didn't read every last word of it --- if I'm ever incarcerated someday maybe I'll have the time then --- but I tried to read all of Willingham's comments.

One of the more interesting from my standpoint might have been when all of the coaches on the panel (others were Ohio State's Jim Tressel, Kansas' Mark Mangino and TCU's Gary Patterson) were asked if they trusted the media more than 6 on a scale of 1-10. All but Willingham raised their hand. Willngham then gave an explanation about how his wife used to work in TV news and quit when she saw that things were changing in the business from reporting news to making news. He actually told me this same thing once a few years ago when he was just beginning at UW and we talked a little about media access issues at Washington.

Willingham also says later that the biggest reason he limits access to practice is because reporters often make errors in reporting on what they see.

Willingham uses the example of reporters watching practice and seeing a lot of dropped passes but writing instead that the QB had a bad day and then he has to worry about building back the confidence of the quarterback. While I'd admit he has a little bit of a point there in that I've always thought it dangerous to make huge generalizations about what you see in practice (in part because you can't always be sure exactly what a certain drill may have been intended to do) I found it really interesting he mentioned nothing at all about not wanting to tip off opponents about strategy, personnel, etc., which I've always thought was his biggest reason for closing practice to the media. Guess it's not.

Willingham also gives an interesting answer when asked about recruiting, saying that he has to win two wars --- the "publicity war'' and "the actual war in terms of getting the right kids.'' He says you have to win the publicity war to make sure you are generating enthusiasm among the fan base, but also have to make sure you are getting the right kids at the same time. That ultimately he trusts the evaluations of coaches more than he does the public on which kids are the right ones.

At the bottom, there is a discussion of offering players scholarships at an increasingly younger age and Willingham says that "I offered my first freshman a couple of weeks ago.'' I would imagine that is a reference to receiver Kasen Williams of Skyline.

The Forum continues today and if I see anything else interesting involving Willingham I'll pass it along.

Derek Johnson of Scout.com has this interview today with former Times columnist Blaine Newnham.

Blaine talks mostly about some of his favorite Husky memories so it's a good read for UW fans.

As reported here yesterday, the search for a new athletic director is ongoing, and may not be done for three or four weeks, if then.

Of the rumored candidates to become UW's new athletic director, the one who may have the closest ties to the school is Chuck Nelson.

Nelson, an Everett native, was UW's kicker from 1979-82 setting a number of school, conference and NCAA records, notably hitting 30 in a row from late in the 1981 season to late in 1982.

He's also the color man on the UW football broadcasts and since 2005 has been the executive director of the Boeing Classic golf tournament on the Champions Tour.

Here's a Seattle Times profile from 2005 detailing his career and role with the Boeing Classic, in which he handles a budget of roughly $5 million and more than 1,000 volunteers.

Nelson won't say whether he has been contacted by UW, but he will say that he hopes to be a candidate for the job. Nelson said when the job came open in December that he would like to be considered, and said this week he continues to hope he will be considered.

"I'm still interested and would be excited should they decide to have me involved in the process,'' he said.

UW is trying to be as secretive as possible with this search, and while there are surely other candidates out there, Nelson remains the only one who has publicly declared his interest.

Another week, another couple wins for the UW baseball team, another assignment to write a story about a player on that team.

So here it is, a little feature on outfielder Kyle Conley who has been tearing up Pac-10 pitching of late, winning the last two conference Player of the Week awards, hitting six homers in his last seen games.

And he also has a little bit of a football background, having played on the defensive line at Richland where he had to tussle a few times with Ryan Tolar, who played at rival Pasco. As he said in the story, Tolar tended to get the better of those matchups. "He's so massive and strong,'' Conley said, adding that Tolar didn't really have to block him but would just "bear hug me'' and fall over.

Last year, Conley said he roomed for a while with mostly football players, including Jake Locker.

His play of late has helped put the Huskies in contention for an NCAA tourney berth. UW is 31-17 overall and 10-8 in Pac-10 play with two series left --- this weekend at conference leader Arizona State and the following weekend at home against second-place Stanford. That's two tough teams and coach Ken Knutson thinks the Huskies have to finish with a winning conference record to have a chance at the tournament, meaning going at least 3-3 the rest of the way. "We've probably got to be over .500 and in the top four,'' he said.

UW's cause isn't helped by the fact that its RPI is just 89. Knutson said UW had a couple of planned non-conference series canceled late in the game and filled them in with opponents who ended up not helping in the RPI department as much. But if UW keeps playing as it has --- it has won seven of eight overall --- it could take make that a moot point.

AROUND THE PAC-10:

Given its mid-May, a surprising amount of Pac-10 football news today, so here goes:

--- USC has agreed to a deal to play at the LA Coliseum for another 25 years. There had been rumblings last year that USC might consider moving to the Rose Bowl.

--- Arizona has gotten some late help for next season, signing a highly-touted JC safety who was also recruited by Florida State and Arizona State, among others.

--- Oregon State is opening a new Sports Performance Center and columnist Kevin Hampton of the Corvallis Gazette-Times says it puts OSU's facilities on par with Oregon.

--- Washington State has suspended safety Xavier Hicks for the first three games of next season after he was sentenced to jail for 45 days for assault and theft.

--- Ted Miller, a former colleague on the UW beat, has these pretty darn informative and exhaustive breakdowns of each Pac-10 team today on ESPN.com

--- Another ESPN.comer, Ivan Maisel, says Brandon Johnson could be the key to UW's hopes for a winning season as part of a look at things to watch for in the Pac-10 this season.

All for now.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, those waiting for any official word from the UW on progress toward hiring a new athletic director will be waiting a long time.

As in, until the day one is hired.

Unlike has happened with previous searches at UW, the head of the search committee, Betsy Wilson, said she does not wish to comment publicly until the process is complete. And UW officials say they have no plans to discuss details of the search, such as ruling in or out rumored candidates, something that does sometimes happen at other schools --- WSU in the mid-90s brought the finalists in for public interviews with students, faculty and anyone who wanted to go.

Norm Arkans, a spokesman for the school, is apparently the only one who will make any public comment during the process.

Arkans said work is ongoing and the committee is meeting regularly. UW has also hired a search firm, Parker Executive Search, to help out. You'll notice the UW job remains at the top of the firm's listings for jobs in college athletics.

As for candidates, Bob Stull, now at UTEP and a former UW assistant football coach and assistant AD, remains the favorite of some of Husky old-guard faction. Former UW coach Don James gave Stull his endorsement during an interview on KJR-AM last week.

Dan Radakovich of Georgia Tech is a name that's been making the rounds and he makes some sense due to ties with UW president Mark Emmert. But he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today that he has not been contacted and is not interested in the job.

Other names that have been rumored who apparently are not in the mix are former Oregon AD Bill Moos and Duke associate AD Mike Cragg. Through his lawyer, Moos said this week he has not been contacted by UW or the search firm. Cragg, who is a UW graduate and a native of Yakima, said a few weeks ago that he will not apply, instead focusing on getting the vacant AD's job at Duke.

In this story a few weeks ago, I also listed a couple of other possible candidates, including former UW kicker Chuck Nelson. Since UW is using Parker, it's likely that candidates it has recommended for other jobs could also be recommended for this one should their be interest on both sides.

As for when a hire will be made, Emmert has said previously that he hoped it could happen by the end of the school year. But Arkans said there is no set timeline.

"That's a laudable goal, but that's not a deadline,'' he said. "The most important thing is to find the right person no matter how long it takes.''

A few links to pass along while watching the Mariners and realizing that while Tyrone Willingham may be No. 1 on the Coaches Hot Seat list, he's no higher than No. 2 these days in the city of Seattle rankings behind the rising-with-a-bullet John McLaren.

--- Here's the Jake Locker story from Rivals.com that a few of you have already linked in the comments section. The comment from Scott Locker jibes with what he told me the day after the incident happened --- that he thought there was a chance Jake would play the next week. You may recall he sat out a win against Cal but then returned to play the final two games against WSU and Hawaii.

--- The Sacramento Bee Raiders' blog breaks down the chances of Marcel Reece to make the team. Reece signed with the Raiders yesterday after having impressed during a tryout over the weekend.

--- Here's a story on Greyson Gunheim's first weekend with the Raiders.

--- Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News says Isaiah Stanback could have a hard time making the Cowboys' roster next season (it's in an answer about two-thirds of the way down).

--- Here's a post-spring outlook on the Huskies from USAToday.com.

--- Athlon's is revealing another member of its pre-season Top 25 every day until it gets to No. 1 in early June when its magazine is officially released. The only UW opponent so far is Oregon at No. 19.

All for now.

Here are a few more answers (with some big props to the UW sports information department for their help on some of these):

Q: Any update on the status of Juan Garcia?

A: The latest is that he is still rehabbing and on crutches, hoping his injured foot will heal on its own so he can avoid surgery that would almost certainly end his collegiate playing career. It is reported to be three more weeks until he can bear weight on the foot to test it out. At some point in the next few weeks it is expected that he will be re-examined to determine if the foot is healing on its own. If not, he may have to eventually have surgery. If it is healing, then he will continue rehab with the hopes of trying to come back next season.

Q: How long does the UW's contract with Nike last? Will the school explore contracts with other companies when it expires?

A: The contract expires June 30, 2009. It began July of 2000 and was extended for another four years in 2005. I would imagine that UW will explore other options when that contract runs out if only because it generally explores all of its options when making such deals. At the moment, hard to know where such matters are headed with no permanent AD in place. But by then, the new AD will have had a year or so to begin to figure out those kinds of things. I'm attempting to get some more specifics as to the nature of the contract (financial terms, etc.) and will pass those along when I do.

Q: Any changes in the football uniforms coming this year?

A: No. A UW spokesman says they will look the same as the 2007 season. As for whether they will change down the road, the new AD will certainly have a say in that matter. So, obviously, would a new coach if that transpires.

Q: What is the recruiting budget for the football team? Has it gone up in recent years?

A: According to a spokesman, the recruiting budget this year was approximately $275,000 which essentially covers all travel by coaches and all visits by recruits. That is 5 percent more than two years ago. The questioner noted that Colorado's recruiting budget has essentially doubled since Dan Hawkins became coach two years ago (details here) and wondered if UW should do the same --- Colorado is said to spend more than $550,000 on recruiting. However, I would warn against making a direct comparison since you don't know if the two schools are including the exact same items in their budgets. Without going over it line-by-line, it's hard to know for sure if one school is spending a lot more than another, or simply categorizing expenses differently. Certainly, the reviews on UW's recruiting class this year would seem to indicate the Huskies are spending enough. Without a complete breakdown of the recruiting budget of Colorado, hard to know if they really are spending twice as much as UW, or just counting the expenses differently. It certainly looks, however, as if they are spending more. But without knowing all the details I'd be hesitant to really judge it.Also worth noting is that the NCAA and Pac-10 each enacted reforms aimed at curbing recruiting expenses in 2005 (I examined that in this story here).

Q: Did offensive coordinator Tim Lappano receive a raise to put him on the same level as new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell?

A: Sort of, but not completely. Donatell signed a contract guaranteeing him $310,008 plus a $24,000 housing allowance. After last season, Lappano received a raise of about $20,000 putting him at $219,514 plus the $24,000 housing allowance.

After an impressive weekend tryout with the Raiders during the team's rookie mini-camp, former Husky Marcel Reece won himself a full-fledged contract, signing with the team today.

By my count, that is seven members of last year's team who have signed contracts with teams (and not just gotten tryouts) --- Reece, Louis Rankin and Greyson Gunheim all with the Raiders; Dan Howell with the Bengals; Anthony Russo with the Seahawks; and Roy Lewis and Jordan Reffett with the Steelers.