Author Archives: Andrew Long

by | August 28, 2012 · 8:06 pm

Around the Pac-12: Week 1

Around the Pac-12 will be a weekly post that reviews and previews each Pac-12 game.  Of course, since this is the first week it will only be previews.  I’m not sure if the Good Guys will be posting their Pac-12 picks every week (hopefully yes), so this post won’t be implying any prediction.  Unless it’s the Ducks because I’ll always imply that I hope the Ducks lose.  I’ll go in alphabetical order, I will show no prejudice except against the teams that are lower in the alphabet.  Also, I’ll be skipping the Huskies because we’ll have plenty of preview on them.

Arizona – Coming Up:  Saturday against Toledo 7:30 PM

This is one of what seems like many cakewalks for Pac-12 teams this week.  Not literal cakewalks.  If two teams faced off in an actual cakewalk, I think it would be hard to pick a favorite for that game.  Anyway, Arizona won the last match-up 41-2.  This is Rich Rodriguez’s first game as head coach of the Wildcats and you may get a feel for what Ka’Deem Carey, Matt Scott and the rest of the Arizona offense may do.  I think they may be a little better than people expect.  The defense could be a different story.

Arizona State – Coming Up:  Thursday against Northern Arizona 7:30 P.M.

Todd Graham makes his Pac-12 coaching debut.  Taylor Kelly makes his quarterback debut.  A number of other players that I don’t really care about make their debut.  Todd Graham, coach of the Sun Devils, made a controversial decision in starting Kelly that I haven’t really heard anyone agree with thus far.  Kelly shouldn’t struggle much against Northern Arizona but it may be something to keep an eye on if you have the game on.

California – Coming Up:  Saturday against Nevada 12:00 P.M.

California starts their season against a team that isn’t a cupcake but is very winnable.  Nevada isn’t the same team that knocked Boise State out of the national championship picture a few years ago but they’re okay.  California, specifically Jeff Tedford, is entering a critical season.  If the Bears have a sub-par season Tedford’s seat will only become hotter.

Colorado – Coming Up:  Saturday against Colorado State 1 P.M.

Colorado struggled last season and doesn’t promise to be much better this year.  They do start the season against a pretty soft slate and this is a good chance to start off the year right.  This is yet another team that’s breaking in a new quarterback in Jordan Webb.  He has transferred from Kansas and was named the starter about a week ago.

Oregon – Coming Up:  Saturday against Arkansas State 7:30 P.M.

Have you looked at Oregon’s non-conference schedule?  What a joke.  Have you looked at Oregon’s uniforms?  What a joke.  Have you looked at Oregon’s fans?  What a joke.  They debut a quarterback, Marcus Marioti, and will probably score a lot of points.

Oregon State – Coming Up:  Saturday against Nicholls State 12 P.M.

Beaver fans are hoping this opener goes better than last years loss to an FCS team.  When I type in Nicholls State, the laptop thinks I’m misspelling Nicholls.  That shows you how strong the quality of opponent this is.  I don’t know anything about Nicholls State and probably never will.  Their mascot is the Colonels.  But, when I typed in ‘Nicholls State mascot’ on Google ‘Nicholls State mascot nazi’ was the fourth thing that came up.  Weird.  Now you know.  Expect the Beavers to Storm on the Colonels parade (their running back’s name is Storm Woods and I will be making puns about this all year)!

Stanford – Coming Up:  Friday against San Jose State 7 P.M.

Nicholls State Mascot….

 

The mighty Spartans of San Jose State face off against the Cardinal.  Hmm, lets see a Spartan facing off against a Tree in this mascot battle.  Yeah, this won’t be tough for San Jose State.  Then again, Stepfan Taylor is really good so maybe this won’t come down to which mascot is tougher.  Oh yeah, Josh Nunes makes his Pac-12 debut as the quarterback of Stanford.  They try to live on after Andrew Luck.  I forgot for a few minutes that I was trying to make this post informative.

UCLA – Coming Up:  Thursday at Rice 4:30 P.M.

I’ve never written the phrase ‘at Rice’ before, unfortunately.  This is the game where I remind everyone that the first game of the season is always a little weird, always a little bit unpredictable.  UCLA is traveling quite a ways with a new coach, a new quarterback and, probably, a little over-confidence.  They should beat the Owls, but do you know when Owls come out?  At night.  Do you know when this game is?  At night.  Coincidence?  We’ll see.

USC – Coming Up:  Saturday against Hawaii 4:30 P.M.

The Rainbow Warriors are an okay team.  They might play in a bowl game, despite once being nicknamed the Rainbow Warriors.  That’s overcoming adversity right there.  But, they will probably be destroyed in this game.  USC could score 100 points and I wouldn’t be surprised.  But, they don’t live in Hawaii so who’s the real winner here?

Utah – Coming Up:  Thursday against Northern Colorado 4:15 P.M.

Utah could be very good.  I’m not a real believer yet but they do have a veteran quarterback (who I am not high on but other people are), a star running back, and maybe the best defense in the league.  That’s a pretty good recipe for winning.  Northern Colorado could be very bad.  But, that’s compared to good college programs.  Compared to middle school teams, Northern Colorado would be like gods.  But then the middle school punter would be like, “Coach, why are we playing a college football team?”  Then, the game would be canceled.

Washington State – Coming Up:  Thursday at BYU 7:30 P.M.

Well, I’ve mostly been stalling until I got a chance to talk about this game.  This is the most intriguing game of the week for me.  BYU isn’t amazing but they’re a very solid team.  The type of team that would have killed the Cougars the last 4 years.  Now, things should be different.  Mike Leach should make a huge impact, Jeff Tuel should throw for bunches of yards, and the Cougs should at least keep the game close.  If they don’t, then maybe all of positive vibes coming out of Pullman won’t be around much longer.  Even if the game isn’t close, expect a lot of points on Thursday and for a fun game.  That’s what Mike Leach brings to the table.

Thanks for reading!

Andrew

 

 

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | August 28, 2012 · 6:08 pm

Husky Football From Another Perspective

As you may have noticed, lately the Good Guys have been trying to give you some other aspects on sports besides just numbers and speculation.  I think that emotion is what gets overlooked in the Seattle sport blogosphere more than anything and we’ve been delving into that a little more lately (all the while trying to throw some factual things out there).  This piece was written by my sister, Rachel Long, who also wrote the gymnastics post for us.  It gives us another side of Husky football that we usually don’t cover.  Enjoy!

I don’t really have a lot of business writing on a sports blog. My brothers are way more qualified than I am to tell you what you need to know about Seattle sports. I’m not Matthew with his intelligent way of looking at the world and sports and his great gift of writing them down in a way that makes you look at things in a new, beautiful way.  I’m not Andrew with his ever-growing knowledge of football and baseball and his insight into how things are and how they should be.  I’m just their sister.  Dragged along for the ride much of my childhood to sports games until I decided it would be better to join in then to fight. So I’m not here to provide any new information or to predict the weekends scores, I’m just here to give you a little glimpse of the world through my purple and gold tinted glasses…..

I was having a sad day. One of those lay in bed till the last-minute, not get excited about anything, just counting down the minutes till I can go back home and lay on my bed again days. Then I checked my Facebook and got a notification saying Andrew had written on my wall. Not expecting it to change my day, I clicked on it and it read “Hope you are wearing your purple!”

See it is a tradition with us that the week before Husky football starts we wear purple every day. Now, truthfully, I had forgotten this morning. In my haze of not wanting to start the day, it didn’t happen to cross my mind that in five short days I would be sitting watching the Huskies take the field. But I did have purple on. Maybe it was my subconscious reminding me, maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it was that on bad days my purple husky sweatshirt makes me feel better-whatever it was I was sitting at work fulfilling the tradition.   

Now, I know many husky fans but I don’t know a lot that are as intense about it as my family. I may have learned it from my Dad and brothers but now I’m right there with them.  I can’t name every single player of the Huskies like my brothers could, though I can name a lot.  I can’t tell you all the stats and the depth chart for every position and I can’t tell you every single recruit. But I love Husky Football.

I love the echo of barking across the stadium as the Dawgs run out of the tunnel. I love the lights illuminating the field during a night game. I love the feeling in my stomach when the huskies are driving to score for the win. But most of all, I love that Husky Football brings back the feeling that sometimes I have been missing lately- Hope.

Anything is possible on game days. Hope hangs in the air and as I walk into the game, I wonder what amazing moment might happen that I will talk about with my family years down the line. Every kickoff just might be the moment when we run it back to score.  The next play could be another Kasen Williams hurdle over the head of a defensive player.  It might be the day that we beat USC and rush the field finally
getting the feeling we had waited through empty years for. Something could happen that I never imagined.

Husky Football has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. Fall Saturdays are for Husky games, whether sitting at the stadium yelling at the field or sitting on the couch yelling at the TV. These Saturdays are not just about sport for me but about family. I feel connected to my dad, like we can share something and he can understand me. I get to see my brothers when usually the Cascade Mountains separate us. Every thrill of the game and every disappointment, I get to share with the people who I am closest to. And sharing this makes me feel even closer to them.

This Saturday will be a little different. We won’t be taking the bus across the bridge to Husky Stadium and we won’t be able to look back at the lake during the game. Captain Husky won’t be around to lead cheers in the third quarter and things might feel a little weird.  But, it will still be Husky football and that is enough.

Because for me, that four hours of Husky football is an escape from real life. With my brothers and Dad by my side, the huskies on the field, and Seattle in the back ground, life just feels perfect. It is rare for me to stop worrying and just be in the moment. However, from the moment I leave for the game to the final play, I am able to just be there. I can forget work, and home and all the things I have to do the next day. I can forget why I happened to be sad this week. I can remember that sometimes life is perfect and sometimes there is reason to keep hoping.

So, back to my sad day….. Honestly, it really didn’t get a lot better but something did change with Andrew’s facebook message. When I looked down at my purple sweatshirt I remembered what this Saturday brings. It brings Keith Price and his joy lighting up the field. It brings the Husky marching band and their crazy pregame rituals. It brings high fives with all the fans around me when the Huskies make a big play and it brings the ear-splitting barking by husky fans on a third down.  Mostly it brings a hope and a happiness that I forget how much I miss until that first Saturday of Husky Football. And that is enough to get me through this week.

Go Dawgs.

Rachel Long

2 Comments

Filed under Huskies Football

Tagged as

by | August 27, 2012 · 3:29 pm

Getting To Know Your Dawgs – Offensive Line

We’re only five days away from Husky football now, which means I’m not going to go quite as in-depth on these because I want to get most of them done before the first game (and I have other things to write).  The Huskies offensive line is the biggest question mark on the offensive side of the ball but it doesn’t make me as nervous as many people feel.  Sark said last week that this was the best offensive line they’ve had since he took over and I don’t have any reason to not believe him.  I won’t have a lot to add about these guys because I don’t know a ton about offensive linemen and their technique.

I think the team will have about 8 offensive linemen who could play and then the rotation will become smaller as the season goes on, I would guess.  I’ll talk about those 8 guys and 2 of the true freshmen who are on the verge of playing.  Here we go! (I’ll try to list the starters first, as there’s only one position still in question)

LT – Micah Hatchie (RS So.)

It’s always a little bit nerve-wracking to start a season with an unproven left tackle.  With that being said, there wasn’t much competition for this job.  Hatchie won the spot fairly easily and received almost all of the first team reps all camp long.  Micah played some at right tackle last year but never started a game.  Scout rated Hatchie as the top recruit from Hawaii when he came out in 2010.  This spot will be tested early against LSU and it will be interesting to see if Hatchie holds up.

LG – Colin Tanigawa (RS So.)

Tanigawa started last year before suffering a knee injury in the Oregon State game that kept him out for the rest of the season.  He made his way back during camp and participated almost fully the last three weeks.  Tanigawa has a hold on the spot, as he played pretty well last year and he should only get better.  The only question with him is if the knee will hold up.

C – Drew Schaefer (RS Sr.)

Schaefer is the veteran of the group.  He’s played the last four years and has played pretty well.  It’s good to have a senior at such a critical position.  If Erik Kohler had been healthy all camp, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Schaefer ended up playing at left tackle this year.  Watch for that as we go forward, if the line isn’t succeeding.

RG – Erik Kohler (Jr.)

Kohler came in as a highly rated recruit and didn’t red-shirt his first year on campus.  He started most of that season and played well for being a true freshman.  Last year was a little bit up and down for him but he comes into this season as the second oldest starting lineman.  He was injured early in camp but came back last week and has since got more and more work.  He’s engaged in the only battle left in the O-line with James Atoe but I expect him to win.  If Atoe does win, look for Kohler to move around and play multiple positions.  I think the staff feels comfortable with him at every position save left tackle (although they might feel okay about that as well). Edit: Kohler has been named the starter in the depth chart.

RT – Ben Riva (RS So.)

Ben Riva makes the fourth starter out of five who came to U-Dub in the 2010 recruiting class.  There are a few more who could be in the rotation as well.  Riva is the only guy out of the five who didn’t see a lot of time last year.  That makes you wonder if the question marks regarding the offensive line aren’t overblown.  Riva comes from O’Dea and was a fairly heralded recruit.  He challenged for a spot last year but didn’t play much aside from on PAT attempts.  It is a little worrisome that the two starting tackles are unproven, especially considering the early season gauntlet, but the coaches seem to feel fairly comfortable with them.  If they didn’t, Kohler would have moved to one of these spots.

The next 5 in line:  LG (LT) – Dexter Charles (RS Fr.), RG James Atoe (RS So.), RT Mike Criste (RS So.), C – Siosifa Tufunga (RS Fr.) G Shane Brostek (FR.), Jake Eldrenkamp (FR.)

I don’t have a lot to add about these guys.  Charles, Atoe, and Criste will all probably see game action on the offensive line.  Tufunga is a large man who could play center if things go really bad.  The two true freshmen I list are both probably headed to red-shirt years but they are also the closest to playing out of all the true freshmen.  Brotesk is actually on the two-deep so he may play but hopefully he red-shirts.

That’s about all I have to add about these guys.  If you have any questions about any of these positions, post them in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Andrew

2 Comments

Filed under Huskies Football, Huskies Position Overviews

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | August 23, 2012 · 10:02 pm

Getting To Know Your Dawgs – Tight End

I meant to write this post about 2 days ago.  Thank you for being patient even though you didn’t know that this post was supposed to be 2 days ago.  Matthew and I have been painting our parents house and, it turns out, that’s a big job!

Today we move on to the tight end position for the Huskies.  This is one of the biggest strengths on the team with the Dawgs having 3 tight ends who could probably start on teams in the Pac-12.  One of those guys is a potential All-American.  There isn’t a lot of depth behind those 3 tight ends but we can worry about that down the road, since they’re all young right now.  Let’s get to it! (The order in which I list the players is the way I see the depth chart turning out)

Austin Seferian-Jenkins (So.)

ASJ had one of the best tight end seasons in U-Dub history and he was only a freshman.  There is no reason to believe he won’t keep getting better and stronger.  Most people know about the amazing athlete that this guy is (an all-conference tight end, a bruiser on the U-Dub basketball team) so I won’t get into it too much this year.  A lot has been made of the Huskies losing three of the their top offensive – (Polk, Kearse, and Aguilar) and that is a cause for concern.  I do think that it opens the door for Seferian-Jenkins to make an even bigger splash.  What kind of numbers can we expect?  I don’t think 800 yards receiving is out of the question.  He is probably the best pro prospect on the team and it’s time that we start treating him like that.

Michael Hartvigson (RS So.)

Hartvigson, the pride of Bothell and Dan Scansen, was a 4-star commit coming out of high school but wasn’t as high-profile as ASJ.  Michael is a quality player who will make an impact this year.  I expect to see quite a few double tight-end sets just because Sark will want to get his best players on the field.  Hartvigson is a solid blocker but we haven’t seen much of his receiving ability.  That’s not to say he doesn’t have any, he does, it just hasn’t been utilized as much as his blocking.  I fear that Hartvigson won’t escape ASJ’s shadow for the next few years and we may not know how good of a player he is.  With that being said, Sark will find a way to use his best players so, if Hartvigson is a top player, he’ll be used.

Evan Hudson (RS So.)

Hudson, also the pride of Bothell and Dan Scansen, decided to follow his buddy (Hartvigson) and walked on to the U-Dub football team.  Hudson could have had accepted a scholarship at a smaller school but he wanted to be a Dawg and has since been awarded a scholarship.  Because of the two studs in front of him, we don’t see much of Hudson on the field.  If there was an injury in front of him though, I would feel comfortable with Hudson in the game.  I’ve heard nothing but glowing reports from practice and in his limited game time.  I honestly have no idea how good Hudson is, but, if I had to guess, I think Hudson is a quality Pac-12 player.

Josh Perkins (RS Fr.)

Perkins had a fantastic spring and quite a few people had him pegged as an emerging number 3 receiver for the Huskies (I’m looking at you, Matthew Long).  It seemed like a good bet.  Perkins is a big guy, which is the type of receiver it seems that Sark likes.  Or is it really?  I guess that’s a debate for another blog post.  Anyway, Perkins was moved to the H-back position which is kind of a cross between a fullback, tight-end and wide receiver.  That paints a really clear picture, doesn’t it?  I think Josh may see the field this year, as a pass catcher or lining up in the way Marcel Reece does for the Oakland Raiders.  That’s just a guess on my part.  Perkins was kicked off the team for about 2 days for an undisclosed incident but then was reinstated.  I don’t know if that puts him in the doghouse or if it will decrease his playing time.  Time will tell.  Perkins is a guy who could definitely fill a role on this team.

As you can see, the tight end position is in fairly decent shape.  The depth is solid and young and there’s a whole lot of star power at the top.  I didn’t include a couple of walk-ons but I don’t think that they’ll play a huge role in the present or future.  I hope they prove me wrong, because I don’t really know much!

Thanks for reading!

Andrew

1 Comment

Filed under Huskies Football, Huskies Position Overviews

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | August 20, 2012 · 10:36 am

Likes and Dislikes – The Beginning!

I’m going to be trying something new here on the blog.  Once a week or so (you know how good we are with schedules here on the blog), I’m going to put up things I like and I dislike on the blog.  Usually they’ll have to do with the previous week.  Please, add things you like and dislike in the comments.  Try to make them creative and somewhat sports related, but if they aren’t that’s okay as well.  These will usually be light-hearted and hopefully fun.

This could be a good idea that we continue, it could be a bad idea that we don’t continue.  It also might be a bad idea that we continue and in that case, haha.  This weeks will include a few things from the Olympics because I feel like they are still in everyone’s mind.  Anyway, without further ado, your first likes and dislikes!

Likes:

Felix’s Perfecto!

For about a day, Seattle was on top of the baseball world, Felix got the recognition he deserved, and the town caught baseball fever.  It was a blast!  The team, and the fans, have played pretty well since the all-star break and the perfection made everyone notice.  It was a day I’ll never forget and has a glow to it that the Mariners and their fans are still basking in.

19 inning games!

Jeff Sullivan once said something like, “When extra inning games first get into extra innings you want your team to win, then after a while you just want the game to end.  If it gets past that point, you cheer for the game to go on as long as possible.”  The Cardinals and Pirates played 19 innings on Sunday and I wish it had gone another 19 innings.

Handball

Handball joined Curling as my favorite Olympic sport.  America doesn’t have a team, which is a pity, but if you haven’t seen handball go watch a clip on Youtube right now.  I’m starting a team.

Felixing!

This is ‘Felixing’!  Think of it as Tebowing but more awesome.  Everyone’s doing it and you should as well.People who make fun of NBC’s coverage of the Olympics

I mean, why wouldn’t you?  Ryan Seacrest is great and all (not really) but if you’re cutting away in the middle of a basketball game for a commercial (just one example) I think most people should be making fun of you.  Also, I understand that having national pride is part of the Olympics but did anyone else think NBC took it overboard at points?  I heard Bob Costas accuse two countries of cheating and scold athletes for showboating… Unless they were American.

Olympians who cheat at Badminton

That was fantastic.  It’s by far my favorite sports scandal of the year.

Dislikes:

People who get upset about friends posting Olympic news when it actually happens and not waiting until it’s shown in prime-time…

I had friends on Facebook who were begging people to stop posting Olympic results before they actually happened.  Wait, what?  That doesn’t make any sense.  If it meant that much to you, watch it live or stay off of Facebook.  Crazy, I know.  Also, by the time NBC showed the event in their prime time slot you could have watched the event live, watched it again (assuming you recorded it, since it obviously meant a lot to you), drove 20 minutes to dinner, taken an hour to eat a burrito, rented a movie from Redbox, driven home, watched the movie, watched the event on your computer and then watched the event in prime time again.  This is assuming that this event wasn’t 10 P.M. London time, the event wasn’t longer than an hour and a half (most weren’t), and the movie you rented wasn’t John Carter (because that movie is at least 7 hours long).

Jon Heyman…

Injuries to football players on teams that I like to root for…

Not only is it just bad news but it puts all fans into panic mode and then no one’s reasonable.

The Wind

Matthew and I just spent a good share of yesterday evening putting plastic over windows so that we would be ready to paint our parents house tomorrow.  Now, the wind decided to show up and blow some of it off.  You’re just showing up here wind and disrespecting our hard work?  And no, I didn’t forget to put Jon Heyman’s explanation, I just didn’t think he was worthy of an explanation.

The Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox

The Mariners never have good luck against these teams.  Paul Konerko hits over .1000 when he plays Seattle (please, don’t check those stats) and the Orioles hit a walk-off each night they play the Mariners.  Lets hope that changes over the course of the next few weeks as the M’s march toward the wild card.

Again, add yours below.  Thanks for reading,

Andrew

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | August 18, 2012 · 1:14 pm

Getting To Know Your Dawgs – Wide Receiver

Camp is almost half over and the first game is 2 weeks away.  It seems as if training camp has brought a new injury with it everyday.  When you list everything out (which I will do after I run through the wide receivers) it doesn’t look as bad as what the perception is.

I’ve written about quarterbacks, running backs, and fullbacks so far in this series and I move on to receiver today.  The position is going through what seems to be a little bit of a face lift this year, with Jermaine Kearse and Devin Aguilar graduating.  Those two had very good careers at U-Dub, although they both came with their fair share of frustrations.  Most fans agree that, while the 2012 group is young, they have a good amount of talent and shouldn’t see a huge drop off in production.  On to the names!  I’ll include most players (I will probably leave off some walk-ons who I don’t see as contributors this year).  The order I list them is in the order I perceive as the current depth chart.

Kasen Williams (SO.)

I was just reading Ted Miller’s blog (which is fantastic) and he was asked to compare Kasen Williams and Marquess Wilson.  He said that it wasn’t a fair comparison in comparing someone who is an All-American and someone who is mostly based on potential at this point.  This is exactly right.  Kasen Williams has as much potential as any receiver in the Pac-12 and maybe the country.  No, really he does.  He flashed it at times last year but he has hardly proven himself.  He’s not in the Pac-12 elite but I would be surprised if he wasn’t in that group by the end of the season.  Every Husky fan (and a few WSU fans) have the picture of Kasen leaping over a defensive back in the Apple Cup cemented into their memory bank and these are the type of plays that we hope to see all year.  Last year, Kasen caught 36 passes for 427 yards.  I expect him to double those yards.  By all accounts, Williams should be a star at some point, the question is if that will happen this year.  I sure hope so.

James Johnson (SR.) 

James Johnson has had an interesting career as a Husky.  He scored the first touchdown of the Sark era, as a true freshman.  Johnson then went on to have a great freshman year (39 catches for 422 yards), particularly in the first half.  He was then injured before his sophomore year and somehow got lost in the mix at the position.  He never really saw the field, aside from a few plays here and there.  Last year brought something of a comeback for Johnson (28 receptions for 366 yards).  He would have a few great games (Nebraska comes to mind) and then disappear for a game it seemed.  He did miss a few games due to injury.  This year is off to an ominous start, as he’s suffered a dislocated wrist and a few torn ligaments.  Sarkisian said that he’ll be out 4-6 weeks.  This is a blow to the Dawgs for the first few games as most people had James penciled in as the number 2 receiver.

Cody Bruns (RS SR.)

Speaking of interesting careers, I’m not sure any player could top Bruns in that category.  Cody Bruns played in his first game half way through his freshman year because Ty wanted to run some trick plays.  Cody would get on the field for about 3 plays a game and it wasn’t usually to catch passes.  Bruns was a bit lost in the depth his sophomore year and then played a little more his junior year.  He’s been labeled as a player who could do everything from holding on field goals, to passing the ball, to punt coverage, to actually receiving.  Last year, he was dealt an emotional blow as his father passed away.  The coaches and Bruns decided that a redshirt year would be best for all involved.  Now Bruns enters his last year and figures to be an integral part in the receiving corps.  He may be used in a more conventional way than usual but don’t be surprised to see him be on the field in many different capacities.  He has surprising speed and is said to be a sharp route runner.

Kevin Smith (JR.)

It’s easy to forget that Kevin Smith didn’t play all 4 years of high school football.  He started later but his athletic ability made up for however raw he was.  Now he’s an upper class-man who could be a pretty big contributor (208 yards receiving last year).  Smith is still recovering from an ACL injury and could be limited for the first month of the season.  If he does come back to 100% healthy, there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s one of the Huskies 4 best receivers.  You may also see him back returning kicks and showing off his speed.

Jaydon Mickens (FR.)

Mickens was rated as a four-star recruit coming out of California and has been turning heads in the first 2 weeks of camp.  He has even been running with the starters in the last couple of days due to injuries ahead of him and his good play.  Mickens is the smallest of the receivers (5-10, 170) but has a ton of speed.  He’s almost assured to play this year and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start in 2 weeks.

Kendyl Taylor (FR.)

Much of what I said about Mickens rings true for Taylor.  He was a highly rated recruit coming out of Arizona who has been making plenty of plays thus far in camp.  He’s also 5-10 but a little bulkier than Mickens.  His high school mascot was a Husky so that’s cool, I guess.  Taylor will see plenty of playing time, especially as Johnson and Smith work their way back as the season progresses.  Sure, these 2 freshmen probably have their best days a few years down the road but we don’t have the luxury to wait for that since the Dawgs need them now.  I’m guessing they’ll come through with only a few hiccups along the way.

A few more guys and notes after the jump. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Huskies Football, Huskies Position Overviews

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | August 16, 2012 · 12:03 am

Perfection

Nothing is perfect.  We hear that phrase thrown around often, especially when things aren’t going well in our lives.  In fact, we probably hear it too often.

Humans often get caught up in the fact that no one lives a perfect, innocent life and don’t realize that there are perfect moments, events and things that happen everyday.  We drive down a country road at sunset and don’t think twice about the view.  We slow dance with our closest friend, swaying to the song that makes your heart do flips but we can’t stop thinking about what we have to do tomorrow.  We watch the perfection slip by while we worry.  Those moments that don’t slip by are the memories we keep forever.

Felix in his perfection

Today, I was driving back from dinner with my brother, 2 sisters and girlfriend.  We stumbled upon the topic of pausing moments.  There are always moments that we wish we could keep going, yet they pass.  I believe that if we had the ability to pause them our minds would just move on to what’s wrong with it instead of soaking it in.  Humans are cynical, no matter the amount of cheer they possess.  But, we don’t have the ability to pause moments and dissect them, break them down to their core and pick out what’s wrong with them.  That’s why they’re perfect.  You can breathe them in, realize how beautiful life is at the moment and then, before you know it, you’re back at your job on a Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday afternoon, August 16th, Felix Hernandez was perfect.  He didn’t strike out 27 batters on 81 strikes, never allowing a batter to put the bat on the ball.  It may have not been the best pitching performance the world has ever seen.  But, perfection shouldn’t be weighed and measured, it should be clung to and then turned into a memory.

Every year, college football players who are headed for the NFL gather before the draft at the combine.  They all have their height taken.  Some are too short, some are too tall.  They all run a timed sprint.  Many are too slow.  At the end of the week, players have gone up or down the draft board but no player is judged as perfect.  There were flaws in even Andrew Luck’s game.  Believe it or not, there are flaws in Felix’s game.  His pitches can appear unhittable, but they aren’t.  They aren’t perfect.

I was walking in from the hot tub today (I’m on vacation) around 2:15 and flipped on the TV just to see what was going on in the Mariners game.  I was more interested in taking a shower, to be honest.  Then, I saw what was happening.  I watched the last 3 innings of Felix Hernandez’s perfect game with my brother, cousin, and sister.  I honestly don’t know if there was a better circumstance to watch it under, probably, but the moment was perfect when I saw the final out of the game.

My friend Derek went to Felix’s first ever home start with me about 7 years ago (I believe that’s right).  That was the only time he saw Felix pitch until today, when he sat in the King’s Court with his fiance.  For there not being anything perfect in this world, that seems like perfect poetry to me.

Around this time of the year, the blog starts to focus on football.  It’s not because we aren’t watching the Mariners, a couple of us usually are.  It’s just that football is fresh and exciting and the Mariners, well, they aren’t.  In the next couple days, we’ll probably put up posts that deal with football and move our attention away from the home town nine once again.  We could debate if this was the best pitching performance we’ve ever seen.  We could worry about the Seahawks quarterback controversy and who will start at linebacker for the Huskies.  But, we shouldn’t.  Today is reserved for dwelling in the perfect moment of Rodriguez taking a devastating 92 MPH change-up on the inside corner, Felix throwing his arms into the sky and his teammates mobbing him.  We froze that moment in our minds, and filed them under the folder titled, ‘Felix Is Ours And You Can’t Have Him’.  We pause because Felix Hernandez faced 27 hitters and retired them in a row.  We pause, not in the perfect moment, but to realize that life can be perfect in some moments.

1 Comment

Filed under Mariners

Tagged as ,

by | August 12, 2012 · 8:59 pm

Getting To Know Your Dawgs – Fullback

Just in case anyone missed Matthew’s post below, here is the link.  I can’t say enough about the post.  If you haven’t read it, go do that now.

Today we get to know our Dawgs who play fullback.  This falls at a convenient time since there are two of them and I’m on vacation so I don’t really want to write that much.  Suckers.  With that being said, there is a few notes after the jump about the first week of the Huskies training camp.

Jonathan Amosa (SR)

Who scored the first touchdown of the 2011 Husky football season?  If you had Jonathan Amosa in that pool, you were probably the only one.  You were also correct.  Amosa was thrust into the starting role last season after Zach Fogerson retired due to injury.  The word I’d use to describe Amosa’s play is adequate.  He got the job done but nothing too much more.  He seemed like he blocked pretty well but he’s nowhere near the Stanley Havili type player that Sark had at USC.  He came to U-Dub as a walk-on but was awarded a scholarship two years ago and has since became a regular.  He seems like a good guy to root for.  I would expect him to be on the field about half of the offensive plays, splitting time with Dezden Petty and off the field when the Dawgs go with a one-back formation.

Psalm Wooching (FR)

Psalm has the best name on the team.  That’s a quality that really can’t be looked over.  While Amosa is adequate, Wooching has a chance to be something more.  He could be more of the Stanley Havili type I had mentioned above.  With that being said, it looks as if this Hawaiian is headed for a redshirt year.  I’m excited to see what Psalm could become but that might not come for another year or two.

More notes after the jump. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Huskies Football, Huskies Position Overviews

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,