2011 Washington Huskies Football Preview

Life without Jake Locker begins in Seattle. Is it an existence that a football program on tenuous footing can handle?

There’s really only one question being asked in the Emerald City right now (well, other than when a new NBA team is coming to town): Will “U-Dub” show signs of returning to pigskin prominence?

Locker, a highly-touted local-boy quarterback who stirred the hearts of Washington football fans, has finally graduated, leaving the Huskies looking for a new identity. To be honest, it looked as if coach Steve Sarkisian started that process of change in the middle of last season. Putting more weight on the shoulders of running back Chris Polk proved to be a good strategy. Breaking in new quarterback Keith Price will lead to more work for Polk than ever before. Price also has an experienced group of offensive linemen (four) and an All-Pac-12 wide receiver in Jermaine Kearse to rely upon. The eight starters returning on offense and defense will be a boon to the Huskies’ attempts at affirming their emergence on the college football scene. Sarkisian hasn’t quite turned the program around after Tyrone Willingham failed to win a single game in the season prior to Sarkisian’s hire. However, the Huskies have certainly made incremental improvements. After a 5-7 record in 2009, with an upset victory over USC to boot, the Huskies went 7-6 in 2010, shocking Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. The 2011 campaign needs to take this program yet another step forward; otherwise, the natives will grow restless on the shores of Lake Washington.

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The Huskies lost Mason Foster to the NFL draft, but return a bevy of defensive linemen. This has been a sore spot in the past for Washington, but not in 2011. The interior of the Washington defense should be stellar; with Cort Dennison, Desmond Trufant, and Quinton Richardson roving throughout the defensive backfield, Washington will improve from last season in its pass defense. The real question becomes just how efficient can Price be at the quarterback position. If he can remain within himself and prevent costly turnovers, the Huskies will be in the top tier of the Pac-12. Yet, expecting a lot out of Price is a risky proposition. It’s hard to know what the Huskies will get at this point from Price or anyone else on their offense. UW was relatively anemic last season, and that was with Locker on the field. Locker’s ability to read defenses was suspect, but he did possess the open-field running ability that made him an always-dangerous player. Price could become better than Locker if he can read defenses, but first-year quarterbacks typically require some time to feel comfortable under center.

The schedule has its good and bad sections. Only one non-conference game is played against a BCS opponent (at Nebraska). This is a difference from previous years when the Huskies were simply stretched too thin with their schedule. Washington has Arizona and Oregon at home this season but must travel to both Stanford and Southern California. If seven regular-season wins can’t be delivered, the Huskies’ diminished football reputation won’t be rehabilitated.