Tag Archives: Jake Locker

by | September 1, 2010 · 1:53 pm

UW Huskies Offensive Preview

In 2009, the Husky offense was largely inconsistent, often showing excellent playmaking ability up until the time they needed to score on the goal line or keep a drive going late in the game.  The hope is this year they will find that consistency and become the high-powered threat that their talent suggests.

Quarterback

Starter: Jake Locker  Maybe you’ve heard of this guy.  Senior starter who passed up millions to try to lead his team to a bowl game and make a run at the Heisman trophy.  He could be the best quarterback in the country, but he does need to make improvements, chiefly with his accuracy.  Sarkisian has him aiming for a 70% completion rate and 3/1 touchdown to interception ratio, which would be a season for the ages.  He likely won’t quite make that, but there’s no bigger threat at the position in the country.

Depth: Keith Price & Nick Montana  The two backups are still fighting for the job, although it appears Price has pulled ahead for now.  Price is more of an athlete who has struggled with his accuracy at times.  Montana, son of Joe, has the smarts but maybe not quite the arm strength or physical maturity yet.  Price will likely backup on a game to game basis, but if Locker went down for an extended period, either might take over.

Analysis: If Locker stays healthy, it doesn’t get much better.  If he goes down, it’s hard to say what would happen with Price or Montana under center. Continue reading →

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by | August 20, 2010 · 6:06 pm

Who Are These Guys: Jake Locker

Sorry, you’re on your own on this one.  I think he plays quarterback.

-Matthew

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by | August 6, 2010 · 12:26 am

Countdown to Camp: Press Conference Notes

4 days!  Sark had his season opening press conference today which didn’t give off a whole lot of news.  Here were a few things that stuck out to me.

  • Sark said that starting tight end, Chris Izbicki, had the best off-season of anyone.  This is great news if true.  It’s impossible to know what Izbicki did his first two years here because he was in Willingham’s doghouse.  Maybe he worked hard, maybe he didn’t.  But, now we have proof that he’s making big strides and wants to help the team win ball games.  Chris will play a big role on this team and if he meets his initial potential (a 4-star recruit coming out of high school) he will be another weapon in this high-powered offense.
  • Brent Williams and John Timu will gray-shirt this year.  Timu is not a surprise but Williams is.  I thought Williams would come in and redshirt but he also had the possibility of playing because of the lack of depth.  Maybe this move shows that Sark has faith that the previously injured defensive ends (Aldrich and Thompson) are fine.  Maybe I’m reading too much into it. 
  • Sark stated that he thinks Jake should be above a 65% completion percentage and have a 3:1 touchdown to interception ratio.  If both of those things happen, I think the Huskies will win 9 games or more.  Those are some lofty goals but if anyone could get to them, Montlake Jake would be the guy to do it.
  • He gave the team a clean bill of health.  Justin Glenn will be monitored very closely with an ankle issue but the rest of the team is very healthy heading into camp.
  • The Huskies announced they have 2 walk-on quarterbacks that were added to their roster.  I won’t pretend like I know a thing  about either of them but they both put up some good high school numbers.  They are much needed extra bodies at that position.
  • Speaking of extra bodies, the Huskies reportedly have 81 scholarship players on the active roster (I thought it would be 78 or 79 and I’m not sure where I’m off) and have 23 walk-ons.  That’s 104 players if you don’t feel like doing the addition.  The NCAA limit is 105.
  • Josh Shirley will start out at defensive end.  Although this is where he’ll start, I think he’ll get a good look at the open linebacker position also. 
  • Perhaps the biggest news of the day were the listed weights of players.  Ivan Lewis is one crazy dude and our players seem to be getting in the shape that the coaches want them to be in.  Here are a few of the biggest increases/decreases (straight from Condotta’s blog):
    RB Demetrius Bronson was 206, now 221
    DE Talia Critchon was 229, now 246
    DT Alameda Ta’amu was 348, now 330
    DT Semisi Tokolahi was 340, now 298
    The theme of this was the big defensive lineman losing some weight while the younger guys at other positions put on some weight.  Bronson is obviously embracing the ‘big back’ role that he’ll have with the team.  It’s great to see Critchon up some so he won’t get man-handled this year.  Ta’amu looks like a different person, according to Sark.  Tokolahi lost 42 lbs.  That’s crazy.  I think he’ll be in a little bit better playing shape now.

I realize that now it’s only 3 days until camp now but I just got back to Yakima after a terrible Mariner game.  Poor Felix, he deserves better.  I’ll be back with more later today!

Andrew

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by | August 2, 2010 · 1:22 pm

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.

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by | April 29, 2010 · 8:52 pm

How to Cheer for the Spring Game

For the past few years I’ve made the drive with my dad from Yakima to Seattle for the Husky spring football game.  This year I only have to take the ten minute drive across the bridge to get there.  While this is a change from recent years, I will still be going into the game with one question on my mind: How do I cheer for this game? 

Come about 6 o’clock tomorrow night, I imagine I’ll take my seat, save spots for my fellow good guys and a few friends, watch the game and just cheer along when everyone else does.  But I’ve found often times that I don’t want to do this.  Maybe it’s because I’m looking for things that other people aren’t looking for.  Maybe it’s because I’m a rebel (not really).  The truth is when 8,000-10,000 people get together to watch a team play against itself there is no set way of cheering.  I thought I’d throw out a few ideas I’ve had on how to cheer for the game tomorrow.  Some of these are pretty standard, some of these will get people to stare at you.  Here you go:

  • Cheer for big plays on offense and defense.  This is generally what happens.  It’s fine.  I don’t really have a lot of excitement towards this philosophy.  Even 3-year olds can shout exclamations after Jake Locker throws a touchdown.  It’s these other ideas that will set you apart.
  • Cheer every single time Jake Locker touches the ball.  I know this may sound dumb but think about it.  If anyone deserves to hear our shrieks it’s #10.  If there is a roar every time he takes a snap and drops back I think he’ll begin to feel the sense of appreciation we have for him sticking around for one more year.  Call it stupid, call it brilliant, I tend to think that Jake is deserving of this treatment.
  • Cheer every time Senio Kelemente knocks a defensive lineman to the ground.  People will look at you but you’ll get the last laugh when Senio is named to the all pac-10 team this year or next year.  Trust me on this one.
  • Cheer for good plays by the defense.  Usually the focus is on the offense during these games because people like to see points scored.  I get that.  But, we know the offense is good; we don’t need to worry about the offense.  The defense is another story so support them.  Most people whine and moan about an incomplete pass at these games but realize that it takes a good play on one side to make a bad play on the other.  This idea is the one I feel strongest about if that means anything.
  • Cheer for the punter, Will Mahen.  Punters are incredibly lame and they probably know this, therefore they may need a self-esteem boost. 

If you have anymore ideas post them in the comments!  I’ll be back tomorrow with a preview of the game and players to watch.  Thanks for reading!

Andrew

Note:  I didn’t attend practice today because it was only an hour long and mainly just special teams stuff.  If you’re looking for a practice report check out Condotta’s blog.

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by | April 1, 2010 · 10:53 pm

Huskies Practice Report – 4/1/10

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to the practice report sooner because I drove home to Yakima right after practice concluded.  It was another chilly day at Montlake today but the place was hoppin’!  There were softball and baseball games going on, those combined with the open practice made for a fun environment of about 3,000 people.  The team practiced without pads again today so it’s a little hard to get a read on who had a good day and who had a bad day.  They will get into pads and start tackling next week.

Sark seemed a little more animated today than he did on Tuesday (not that he wasn’t animated on Tuesday, just more so today).  He was getting after players when mistakes happened and shouting praise after good plays.  This coaching staff is extremely fun to watch; they’re almost as entertaining as watching the players sometimes.  If the team is lacking energy the coaching staff brings it.  I spent quite a bit of time watching the secondary coach, Demetrice Martin, and the running back coach, Joel Thomas.  These are two guys who move around as much as their players do.  Martin sticks up for his defensive backs and it’s easy to see that the players really enjoy him.

One of the stories of spring practice is the backup quarterback position battle.  The backup probably won’t be decided until Fall but it’d be nice if one or both of these guys had an amazing spring.  They both struggled at times today.  Montana threw some very good passes in the scrimmage session but during drills he threw 3 interceptions in a row.  Price is inconsistent and I don’t know if his arm will ever be something we can count on.  If the season started tomorrow I’d be worried.  Fortunately, it doesn’t and we have two of the best quarterback coaches in the country (Sark and Nuss) and one of the best quarterbacks in the country for these guys to learn from.  They are both trying to learn at every point; they are interacting with Locker in every opportunity they can and I saw both of them talking to Tui many times.  (Speaking of Tui, the quarterbacks were going through the routes and progressions with Nussmeier early in the practice and throwing the passes to Marques.  It was pretty cool to see.)

As if Locker wasn’t already a great leader, it’s obvious that he’s making even more of an effort this year.  It’s hard to explain just how much he interacts with the guys while trying to make himself better but it’s impressive to see.  I’m going to devote one of these practices to just watching him and will do a post on that. 

So, who had a good day today?  As I already mentioned it’s somewhat hard to tell without full contact but here are a few guys I came away impressed with:

  • Anthony Boyles.  Again.  I’m trying to not get too excited about him but it’s already getting difficult.  There were several times where I thought, “Wow, I need to text the fellow good guys to tell them how great Boyles looks.”  I’m not the only one who’s noticing either.  Jermaine Kearse, Devin Aguilar, and Jake Locker seem to be taking notice.  Boyles enjoys a little friendly trash talking after he or his fellow cornerbacks make a play.  Kearse doesn’t seem to enjoy that too much so after Boyles dominated for a while Kearse decided he would only go against A.B.  (that’s what the players call him, I figure the Good Guys might as well too.)  Kearse had his way a few times but Boyles held his own.  By my count, between drills and little scrimmages, Boyles had 3 pass breakups and an interception.  He got beat once by Kearse and heard about that from Locker and Kearse.  When he has those two talking trash to him about a completion I think that shows that he’s becoming a playmaker in the secondary.  (If you make it to a practice watch Boyles and Vonzell McDowell, they’re hilarious when they get going and extremely entertaining.)
  • Semisi Tokolahi.  I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to pronounce this guys name.  Tokolahi is a defensive tackle and it’s really hard to judge lineman when they aren’t blocking with all their effort.  Despite this Tokolahi has impressed the coaches enough to rotate with the other 1st defensive tackles (Alameda Ta’amu and Cameron Elisara).  Today he had a pass deflection and got in the backfield a few times.  He’s a big strong guy who could do a good job plugging up the middle of the defense.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tokolahi play himself into some playing time.
  • Jermaine Kearse.  Just get used to seeing his name on these lists.
  • Jake Locker.  Same as Kearse.
  • The entire secondary.  I already singled out Boyles for his good play but this entire secondary was pretty impressive today.  Especially during drills.  I really think we’ll see a lot more man-to-man defense this year.
  • Jesse Callier.  I forgot to mention him on Tuesday.  Him and Cooper are the two new freshmen running backs and both look like they could be Polk’s backup. 

Nothing really anything bad to report.  Sure there were some inconsistencies in the backup quarterbacks, a few dropped passes, a fumble or two, and some mixed up assignments but it’s the second day of spring practice and those problems are normal.

Cody Bruns appears to be the holder for the team.  The kicking was pretty bad today but I’m going to blame that on the wind and some bad holds.  I don’t think we need to worry about Erik Folk.

The punt-returners today were Deontae Cooper, Jesse Callier, Devin Aguilar, Jordan Polk and Johri Fogerson (I may have missed someone here).  My early money is on Cooper but I think any of these guys would be just fine returning kicks and/or punts.

One last practice note is that 2011 recruit WR Kasen Williams and 2012 recruit OL Zach Banner were at practice today.  Banner was standing on the field most of the day and is huge.  He was bigger than some of the Husky offensive lineman.  Williams was a little harder to find and wasn’t as involved in watching the practice as Banner was.  Williams is considered one of the best receiver recruits in the country and Banner is a lineman that the Huskies would love to get.

Well, that’s about it for today.  I write more words than I think I will on these.  As Dan noted earlier, this is our 100th post!  It’s a little bit of a shame that the 100th post is this lame but I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading.  This blog has been so much fun for me and I’m fairly sure the other Good Guys agree.  We look forward to keep writing to whatever audience is out there and we’re honored that you choose to read posts that we write.  As our friends over on Montlake Madness say, thanks for coming!

Andrew

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by | April 1, 2010 · 2:26 pm

Random Day Dreaming Thoughts…

  • Has it ever occurred to anyone that only in baseball do managers wear uniforms just like the players? In football, the coach dresses comfortably like the fans and in basketball and hockey, the coach wears a suit like a top executive. Imagine if coaches in football, basketball and hockey all wore the team’s uniform, similar to in baseball. Makes for a funny image in my mind.
  • Jake Locker could be a New England Patriot next year. Here’s how-
    When the Raiders acquired Richard Seymour from the Pats last year, they gave up their 1st round pick in 2011. Considering the Raiders could be awful this year, and possibly even the worst team, it’s likely New England will have a top 5 pick next year, which is of course a rarity for a good team like the Patriots. To add to the intrigue, Tom Brady’s contract runs up after the 2010 season, and while it is likely the team will re-sign or franchise him, another Brady injury could add some uncertainty. Even if Brady is extended, he will be 33 after this year, so the Pats may be looking ahead and who knows, Jake Locker could be their target with a top 3 pick.

  • Is it safe to say the Mariners have the best hitter, AND the top 2 pitchers in the AL West? Ichiro, Felix, and Lee might be the top 3 players in the division. A healthy Bedard could contend for 3rd best pitcher too.
  • In other Mariners topics, does anyone find it odd that Chone Figgins came to Seattle as a great lead off hitting 3rd baseman, and now he is 2nd in the order and playing 2nd base? Obviously Ichiro is tough to beat out for the lead off spot, but in a year where production from the 3 hole could be difficult to come by, I think the team should have seriously considered Ichiro in that spot. Wouldn’t be the first time that discussion has come up though.
  • Finally, what’s to make of the Huskies wearing all Gold jerseys in their home opener just to draw attention to Jake Locker and his Heisman trophy campaign. Sounds odd to me…

    (Ok April fools on that last one)

    Although speaking of jerseys, I would love to see UW bust out black unis at some point this year!

    PS- Our next post will be our 100th by the Good Guys!

    -Dan

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    by | March 30, 2010 · 7:23 pm

    Huskies Practice Report – 3/30/10

    The first spring practice of the year was held at Husky Stadium today on a windy, cold spring day.   It was fun walking up to the stadium; the baseball team was starting a game, the softball team was practicing (I only hope Danielle Lawrie saw me and fell in love at first sight) and there were a couple hundred people watching practice.  There was a good amount of energy in the air and the players seemed happy to be on the field.  The team wasn’t in pads yet and won’t be until next week.

    I remember coming to the first spring practice last year and being blown away by the amount of energy the coaches brought.  Today was no different.  On numerous occasions I watched coaches sprint 20 or 30 yards to a player to either tell them what they did wrong or to give them praise for a good play.  I was also impressed by the amount of time the staff puts into one-on-one  coaching.  From Jake Locker to Clarence Trent, the coaches give a good amount of effort to get their point across to each player in one way or another.

    I was watching the quarterbacks for a good share of the time today and it was about what I expected.  Jake Locker looked good, Keith Price and Nick Montana had some good moments but also had some shaky moments.  The wind gusts blowing off the lake often affected their deep passes.  My first impression of Nick Montana is that he has a good arm but is very skinny.  He threw some very good balls and will improve as he becomes more comfortable with the speed of practice.  Keith Price is an amazing athlete and if he ever develops into a good passer he could become quite the threat at quarterback.  Right now he reminds me of Dennis Dixon in his first few years at Oregon.

    Alvin Logan was the starting strongside linebacker, as expected.  He rushed off the edge many times and looked very quick doing it.   The news of the day was Clarence Trent (UW basketball player) walking on to the football team as a defensive end.  Nick Holt coached him up numerous times and although Trent looked lost at times, he seems to have some raw talent.  For whatever it’s worth, he’s the tallest player on the defense and probably the team.

    Greg Christine appears to be the backup center behind Drew Shaeffer.  I thought this was interesting at first because he was a starting guard last year but the more I think about it the more it makes sense.  Who else do the Huskies have to put there?  Christine seems like the best option as a backup and it’s good to have him understand both spots. 

    A few more notes after the jump on players who had a good day.  Continue reading →

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