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<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) UW quarterback Jake Locker (10) runs away from defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (66) during the first half of Saturday's game.   ADVERTISEMENT   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • University of Washington athletics (External Link)   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, April 27, 2008 Huskies' coaches, players encouraged after low-scoring spring game Both quarterbacks -- Jake Locker and Ronnie Fouch -- play well and the defense turns in a strong performance in Saturday's intrasquad game. By John Boyle Herald Writer SEATTLE -- A question following Washington's spring game, which went in the books as a 10-7 gold team victory over the purple squad: Should fans be excited that, following last season, Washington's defenses held a team, any team, even with a running clock, to 10 and seven points ... or should fans be concerned that the offense, which is expected to be a strength of the team, couldn't accomplish more? Those answers, of course, won't be known until the fall, but on a postcard perfect day at Husky stadium, coaches and players said they saw plenty of positives out of the 2008 spring game. For the record, the gold team, which was made up primarily of the first-team defense and second-team offense, beat the purple (No. 1 offense and No. 2 defense) by three points thanks to a Ronnie Fouch touchdown pass to Devin Aguilar early in the fourth quarter. The purple team had two drives to tie or take the lead, but by then coaches decided to put Fouch in with the first team and rest Jake Locker. Both of those final two drives ended in missed field goal attempts of 49 and 47 yards. Most of the estimated 9,000 fans in attendance probably weren't too concerned with that end result, however. Instead people wanted to see how Locker, a 47.3 percent passer last season, would throw the ball. The redshirt sophomore was sharp, completing 13 of 17 passes for 159 yards and an interception. He connected with D'Andre Goodwin for an 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter to put his team up 7-3. He went 7-for-7 passing the ball on that drive. Locker's completion percentage of 76.5 was higher than in any game last season when he had only one game (73.7 percent vs. Syracuse) over 60 percent. "I felt comfortable today, I had fun, I saw things really well, and I felt like I was really accurate when I was throwing the ball," said Locker. "I think everything's coming along. I felt more comfortable in the offense this year, felt more comfortable running the show and making those throws that last year I wasn't as comfortable with. It's just a combination of that and having confidence when I throw it." Locker's top target Saturday was Goodwin, who has emerged as Washington's most productive receiver this spring. Goodwin, a redshirt sophomore, caught seven passes for 109 yards. Locker's backup, Fouch, had what offensive coordinator Tim Lappano called his "best day as a Husky," throwing for 99 yards with the second team and 54 more with the first. He completed 16 of 33 passes, but was the victim of a number of drops, including one by Charles Hawkins in the first quarter that would have been a 40-yard touchdown. As is the norm in these games, the offense was a pretty vanilla version of what the Huskies will likely use in the fall. "We saw a lot of green shirts in the stands, so there's a reason why we're not going to show a lot of things," said Lappano, referring to Washington's opening opponent, Oregon. "We were pretty limited in what we did because we knew there were going to be a lot of green shirts." That combined with the fact that Locker hardly ran the ball -- quarterbacks were off limits to contact -- limited Washington's ground game. Willie Griffin, running with the second team, was solid with 71 yards on 20 carries. Brandon Johnson, who has been limited in practice with a minor knee injury, carried six times for 20 yards, while Brandon Yakaboski had 18 yards on five carries. Chris Polk, a freshman next season who graduated from high school early to participate in spring practice, saw time, as expected, playing receiver and in the backfield. He caught four passes for 25 yards and rushed five times for 20. And while Polk showed glimpses of the athleticism that has his coaches and teammates excited, he also looked at times like the high school senior he would be had he not graduated ahead of schedule. Lined up in the backfield for the purple team's final drive, Polk was bowled over while pass blocking by Daniel Te'o-Nesheim on one play, then again four plays later by Chris Stevens. The defensive line, which only returns Te'o-Nesheim, seemed to hold its own pretty well against a veteran offensive line, something new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell liked. "We think this is a good Pac-10 line, our [offensive] line, and it's always a concern with young defensive lines that are undersized a little bit how they're going to hold up and we hung in there pretty good," Donatell said. "We still want to get better and we want to be a little more square, a little more stout, but they are indicators, at least we're putting them up against a quality Pac-10 line. We're still growing there as a group." Donatell's secondary took on a different look as well with converted safeties Mesphin Forrester and Quinton Richardson playing cornerback with the No. 1 defense. Richardson intercepted Locker for the game's only turnover, and with two 205-pound cornerbacks in the mix for playing time, the Huskies hope to be able to be more physical with big receivers. "Really the thing is we want to be a real physical secondary with some size," Donatell said. "Our intent is to line up with the best people in the Pac-10. And you go down to that one team that's been winning it most of the time, they have big people, and there are going to be times that there are match ups where you need big people on big people, so our intent is to put a big lineup out there." NOTES: E.J. Savannah, a starting linebacker last season and the team's leading tackler, worked with the second team Saturday. Savannah, a junior, was suspended for the first two weeks of spring practice and admitted he was a bit behind in learning the new defense. He said that he plans on being a starter again by the Huskies' opener in Eugene. Savannah said his suspension didn't start in the spring, but in the offseason. He did not get into detail as to why he was being punished. "I can't really tell why if coach didn't tell why," he said. "I'm just going to leave it at that." Matt Sedillo, the first-string center now that Juan Garcia is injured, played only a limited amount of snaps while nursing an ankle injury. Walk-on Greg Christine ended up playing with the No. 1 offense, and also spelled Sedillo with the No. 2 offense. ... Starting tight end Michael Gottlieb did not play due to an illness. Redshirt freshman Chris Izbicki made a pair of catches for 23 yards in Gottlieb's place, including a 15-yard catch and run on a third-and-14 play. Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on University of Washington sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog

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