Countdown to Camp: My Favorite Husky

We are only a week away from fall camp starting for the Huskies.  This is the most anticipated year of Husky football since the early  2000’s and the excitement will only grow as the season gets closer.  Because the Mariners are tough to watch, read, and write about it, I’m going to go into a countdown here on the blog and have a new topic each day.  John Berkowitz over at UW Dawg Pound covered some of these topics in a series he did a couple of weeks ago.  Go check his blog out, he does a great job. 

Today the topic, or question, is who is your favorite Husky of all time?  Post your answer and thoughts in the comments section.

Growing up a little later than the rest of the Good Guys, I missed out on the ‘golden years’ of Husky football.  Of course, they might have been a little young to remember the National Championship in ’91 but they caught way more of the winning season streak than I did.  With that being said, it wouldn’t surprise me if we all had the same favorite Husky, Marques Tuiasosopo. 

I was always a Husky fan growing up but Tui solidified a lifetime of fandom.  Tui made it cool for me to say, “Let’s run the option” in backyard football games with my friends.  I still do that.  Tui led the Huskies to an unforgettable season and Rose Bowl victory in 2000-2001.  Every game seemed to come down to the wire and it was Marques bringing us the victory.  First, it was Miami, then Oregon State, then Stanford.  The dramatic victories kept coming.  He also killed the Cougars 51-3 in his final Apple Cup.

I had a basketball game the day that Tui had his signature performance, a 300 yard passing, 200 yard rushing game.  I’m still upset about that. 

Tui was tough, a leader, and was poised.  He was everything you could want in a college quarterback.  Now, he’s back working as an assistant trainer at the U and it’s common to see him catching passes from the quarterbacks during drills.  I imagine he’ll move on to coach somewhere soon but maybe he’ll get to see Jake Locker deliver a season like he had first. 

Honorable Mention:

Reggie Williams- He’s had problems since he left but from his very first home game he amazed me.  He’s one of the best receivers I’ve seen live.

Corey Dillon-  The first Husky game I really remember being at was the game where Dillon went off on San Jose State in the first quarter.  I remember it pouring rain and him running, that’s about it.

Sonny Sixkiller- Before my time, but Sonny has always been one of my dad’s favorite Huskies and that has rubbed off on me the more I learn about Sixkiller.

Juan Garcia- He was from my hometown and was a true Husky.  He played through 6 of the worst years of Husky football ever, but he played hard.  He surpassed the NFL to stay for a 6th season and ended up getting hurt in the spring which kept him from getting close to his potential.  He played through the injury and gave his team all he could in an age where the rest of the team and coaching staff didn’t seem to care a whole lot.  He was never a star but he was a real Husky.

Jake Locker/Mason Foster- Their stories aren’t finished yet but they’ve made their way up my list.