Okay, so it's roughly 50 days until the opening kickoff, but it's never too early to start speculating. LSU begins their 2009 campaign on the road in one of the most scenic stadiums in the country: Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. The Washington Huskies are not necessarily the most intimidating opponent in college football, but aside from a string of mediocre seasons, they are a BCS affiliate. It's better than playing Eastern Washington or another FCS school in place of UW.
Washington's last .500 or better season came in 2003 when they finished 6-6. Since then (2004-2008), the Huskies have won only 11 games total. One win in 2004, followed by another one-win season in 2005, then five wins in 2006, and four wins in 2007. Tyrone Willingham's demise as head coach of Washington was capped off with an 0-12 finish in 2008. Stepping in is former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. One thing Willingham managed to do before his departure was bring in a solid recruiting class (ranked in the top 15). This means Sarkisian will have some good, young talent to work while he's at the helm of this program. Will he drastically turn things around? Probably not--at least not in year one of his tenure. Washington has a rich program and great tradition, but lackluster seasons have cast a dark cloud over Seattle, and the Huskies are in the cellar of the Pac-10. Not since 2002 have the Huskies made it to the postseason (a 34-24 loss to Purdue in the Sun Bowl). Back in 2000, the Huskies lost only one game (Oregon) and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl, defeating Purdue, 34-24. It's safe to say that since their last postseason game, this program has been on a rapid decline, and last season they hit rock bottom.
Part of the problem last season may have been due in part to the fact that starting QB Jake Locker was out for eight and a half games with a broken thumb on his passing hand. Redshirt-freshman Ronnie Fouch took over during Locker's absence and did not have the impact needed to get the wheels turning. Locker is fleet-footed and has the ability to run, but as an ex-QB at BYU--and perhaps one of the finest QB coaches in the country--Sarkisian is hellbent on molding Locker into a prolific passer.
“He’s a fantastic athlete,” Sarkisian says. “But he’s going to learn the position of quarterback, and there’s going to have to be some give and take.”
With virtually no running game to compliment the air attack last season, the Huskies' offense sputtered. They mustered only 1,192 yards rushing and 13 rushing touchdowns as a team--that's only 18 yards more than Charles Scott ran for by himself last season, not to mention he ran for 5 more touchdowns than the Huskies did as a team. The Huskies' passing game wasn't very productive either, only tallying 1,966 yards as a team. Despite the Tigers using three QBs at various times throughout the season, Jarrett Lee only had 93 fewer yards passing than the Huskies did as a team. Statistics can be a good measure of how efficient a team is, and the comparisons drawn here are by far heavily in favor of LSU. However, one cannot gauge how efficient the two teams will be this season based on last year's numbers.
As mentioned earlier, there is promise for this UW squad. They've got Locker back, and along with him, junior receiver D'Andre Goodwin returns after leading the team in receiving with 60 catches and 692 yards last season. Jermaine Kearse, a sophomore WR, is back after a nice freshman campaign (20 catches, 301 yards). Reports have indicated that Kearse, not Goodwin, was Locker's number one target during the spring. Should he build off a decent freshman season and solid spring, Kearse and Goodwin could be a potent 1-2 punch in the passing game. Sophomore tight ends Kavario Middleton and Chris Izbicki were regarded as the top recruits for Washington the past two seasons (Middleton was last year's top recruit, and Izbicki was the top recruit two seasons ago).
Sarkisian has a plethora of running backs to choose from, however none of them are necessarily all-conference caliber:
Sophomore Terrance Dailey topped the team in rushing with 338 yards. Chris Polk became the first true freshman to start an opener at tailback before he was lost to season-ending shoulder surgery in his second game. Sophomores Willie Griffin and David Freeman were given chances to run the ball. Highly regarded freshman Demitrius Bronson, ineligible last season and forced to delay his enrollment, finally joined the mix in the spring and was impressive. Add to that sophomore Curtis Shaw, a speedster who missed last season for personal reasons. The trick is finding one guy to stand out. Senior Paul Homer returns at fullback. Washington has to get better running the ball, after averaging a paltry 99.3 yards per game.
The offensive line is perhaps the most vital part of any offense. For a team that averaged only 99.3 yards rushing per game last season, and allowed 31 sacks on top of that, the urgency for some much needed improvement is clearly evident. Ryan Tolar (6'5", 321, Jr.) moves to center after having spent the last two seasons as a starting guard. Ben Ossai (6'6", 332, Sr.) started 32 games at tackle, but he has been moved over to guard. Senio Kelemete (6'4", 260, So.) moves from defensive tackle to guard; and this was perhaps the biggest move on the line during spring drills. Sarkisian's purpose for these moves is to bring more athleticism to the guard positions. Cody Habben (6'6", 316, Jr.) is at one tackle, and redshirt-freshman Drew Schaefer (6'5", 275) will take over the other tackle position. There's no denying the need for some changes up front, and Sarkisian knows how to run an offense. I'm sure Husky fans are optimistic and hopeful these changes will bring new life to an otherwise lame duck. Other notables on the offensive line are senior guard Morgan Rosborough (6'6", 382), junior center Matt Sedillo (6'3", 320), and sophomore tackle Skyler Fancher (6'5", 294).
On the defensive side of the ball, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (6'4", 263, Sr.) will rotate between end and tackle. He led the team in sacks last season with eight, and is said to be their most consistent player on the defensive line. Darrion Jones (6'2, 245, Sr.) will be the other end, and there are high hopes that he has improved his game. The interior of the line will include Alameda Ta'amu (6'2", 348, So.) and Cameron Elisara (6'3", 289, Jr.). Aside from these four, the Huskies are relatively inexperienced and lack depth. Everrette Thompson (6'6", 255, So.) has some experience, and he should receive a good bit of playing time at defensive end. De'Shon Matthews (6'4", 260, Sr.) will be a backup DT, as will Tyrone Duncan (6'2", 278, So.). Kalani Aldrich (6'7", 240, So.) is the other backup defensive end.
Last season, opponents ran for 2,887 yards against this Husky defense, so much like the offensive line's lackluster performance, the defensive line will have to step their game up as well. Anytime a defense surrenders almost six yards a carry, there's a problem. Even teams that do not place a heavy emphasis on the passing game can open things up when they have the ability to run the ball that well. Teams averaged 240.6 yards rushing a game last season, and if there is no improvement up front this season, teams like LSU who have the capacity to run the ball effectively will have a field day with this defense.
After walking away from the program, senior OLB E.J. Savannah was welcomed back by Sarkisian. Savannah left the team because of tension between he and Willingham. Sarkisian hopes this move pays off. The 6'1", 210 lb. linebacker will be joined by MLB Donald Butler (6'1", 242, Sr.), and on the other side, Mason Foster (6'1", 229, Jr.). These three will be relied on heavily to defend against the run, especially since the front four were so ineffective in disrupting things last season. I say this because if the trend continues (the defensive line's inefficiency), these three players may be the most important ones on the field.
The most vulnerable unit of the defense is the secondary:
The secondary has been a team weakness for several seasons, and the Huskies will rely mostly on guys who have been victimized time and time again in pass coverage. They include sophomore Quinton Richardson and junior Matt Mosley at cornerbacks, and junior Nate Williams and sophomore Johri Fogerson at safeties. They have two career interceptions among them. This group could be in a state of flux throughout the season. If that’s the case, Sarkisian might be forced to turn to any combination of junior Vonzell McDowell and sophomore Marquis Persley at cornerback, and senior Tripper Johnson and junior Victor Aiyewa at safety. Johnson, by default, started several games last season after he gave up an eight-year pro baseball career in the Baltimore organization. These guys need to create turnovers in the worst way.
Basically, the defense is going to have to step it up--way up--if the Huskies want to be even remotely close to competitive this season. I've stressed it time and time again: Yards gained on first down are crucial. If teams run the ball on this team like they did last season, the Huskies are going to have to load the box and abandon pass coverage in order to stifle the running game. That means any team with a legitimate passing threat will be able to exploit the obvious vulnerability of this secondary. The Huskies allowed only 2,534 yards passing last season and 24 TDs. But when you face a team with a run defense that was as bad as Washington's, why throw it any more than you have to?
In sum, this defense as a whole was BAD. They surrendered 463 points for the season, and allowed an average of 451.8 yards per game (240.6 rushing, 211.2 passing).
This game is one of two things: A potential "trap game" or a "tuneup game" for LSU. Washington has virtually nothing to lose and everything to gain. Significant improvements are needed on both sides of the ball, and the Huskies get a quality BCS opponent to assess their situation and see if any there is any sign of life in this football team. LSU, on the other hand, gets a BCS school with a multitude of question marks at various positions, and a chance to gauge their own question marks heading into the season against someone other than a directional school in Louisiana or even worse, another FCS school. It's a great opportunity for the Tigers to: Get some experience on the road; to see just how well the offensive line is capable of performing; to find out if there are any other players ready to make contributions in the passing game; to see if there are any freshmen capable of making contributions in various areas (most notably the receivers and defensive line); and perhaps the most anticipated thing the coaches and fans want to see is just how far along has this defense come. I'm as giddy as any Tiger fan in wanting to see how Rueben Randle and Russell Shepard will perform this season, but I'm even more anxious to see if Davenport and Downs will contribute early on in their careers at the defensive tackle position, and also, if Ainsworth and Faulk are going to see the field at all this season. I also want to see who lines up at FB for us the majority of the time. Richard Dugas has the frame of a bruiser, but then we have the possibility of Stevan Ridley playing the position. He's smaller and more than likely much quicker and elusive than Dugas, which is fine with me, so long as he can block like Hester or Quinn Johnson. I miss Johnson like you wouldn't believe. The guy didn't care if he touched the ball or not--although it was nice seeing him get some touches near the goal line last season as a reward for his hard work--he just liked to run people over. And he did it well. Dugas seems to be the better fit for the type of fullback I like seeing on the field. Going back and watching the replay of the Chick-fil-A Bowl from time to time, I love going back to one play we scored on where Quinn Johnson demolished the highly-touted Georgia Tech safety, Morgan Burnett. Other areas of interest are certainly the play of Jacob Cutrera, the transition from safety to OLB for Harry Coleman, the play of our corners, and if Chad Jones is going to kill somebody (of course, not literally), and also who will fill in at SS this season. As a former offensive lineman, I love watching the battles in the trenches, and I absolutely love ruthless competitors. Charles Scott may not be on any preseason All-American teams, much less any Heisman lists, but he's a special player with a ruthless mentality, and character that is second-to-none.
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