SEATTLE — Washington’s seniors make their final walk tonight, one step closer to the end of a career that went nothing like they had planned.
Nineteen players will walk down the tunnel and into Husky Stadium for the final time as college players tonight when the Huskies face UCLA. On their way down that tunnel, they’ll pass numerous posters commemorating Washington’s trips to various bowl games, bowl games that until recently were a normal part of a UW football season.
They’ll likely notice those posters of Rose Bowls past and wonder what happened. Why weren’t they able to experience winning like that at Washington?
But while Washington’s seniors have not enjoyed the success they were hoping for in their four, five, and in the case of Juan Garcia, six years at Washington, they say they don’t regret the decision to become a Husky.
“It definitely didn’t end up the way we wanted it to,” said defensive tackle Johnie Kirton, a Jackson High graduate. “There were glimpses here and there the last couple of years, but things just didn’t work out the way (we wanted). … It’s not a perfect world, I guess you could say. But there are no regrets. Me and my classmates have gotten the best and the most out of the UW football and we’ve enjoyed our time here.”
Kirton, a fifth-year senior, hopes that his class will not be remembered for Washington’s record, which is now 12-44, but rather for what he thinks will be a bright future.
“I feel like we’re a big part of the program going up,” he said.
Of the 19 seniors honored today, only Juan Garcia was around for a non-losing season, as he redshirted in 2003 when the Huskies were 6-6. Because he lost two seasons to injuries, Garcia was granted a sixth year of eligibility. He then suffered a Lisfranc injury in the spring that threatened his final season, but elected to gamble and not have surgery. That gamble paid off, but Garcia’s reward for an early comeback has been a season of losing. Still, like everyone else, he says he has no regrets.
“If I would have got the surgery, it would have been killing me being like, ‘Man, I wish I was out there,’” Garcia said last week, one of the few times he’s talked to the media this year. “I’m glad I’m out here with these guys and losing with them instead of just watching it happen. It’s kind of tough, but hey, I don’t care man, I got to wear the uniform one last time. I don’t know if people understand how much I appreciate this university. This university has been great to me. I don’t care what the score is or how the season goes, I got a lot out of this university, and it took care of me and has given me an opportunity for the rest of my life that I would have never gotten if I hadn’t come here.”
In 2004, when this year’s fifth-year seniors were new at Washington, the Huskies went 1-10, which everyone assumed was rock bottom before the start of a turnaround. Instead, however, the Huskies have had losing seasons ever since, and are still searching for their first win in 2008.
“I grew up a Husky fan, so obviously my expectations were that we’re going to be with the best in the country,” said tight end Michael Gottlieb, who walked on from Mercer Island High School and soon after earned a scholarship. “The first season, it went by so fast, but I just remember feeling like I couldn’t believe what was happening. It just surprised me the way the season went downhill. I expected to be at the top.”
And while the final home game is likely going to be emotional for all of the seniors, perhaps none will appreciate the moment more than linebacker Trenton Tuiasosopo, a Mariner High School graduate. Tuiasosopo, Washington’s starting middle linebacker, suffered a serious head injury in a 2005 bicycle accident that threatened not just his football career, but also his life. So although Tuiasosopo would have rather finished his career with a winning season, he is still appreciative of his second chance.
“I’m just blessed to be able to play ball, to actually be able to function and play on the team,” he said. “Every game day, every practice, I just feel blessed to be out there. I’m just really thankful to be out there.”
Today will also be a day of mixed-emotions for UW coach Tyrone Willingham, who is also experiencing his last home game at Washington.
“Hopefully we’ll have a win, but when you look out there and you’re coming into your final one in this stadium, you have a lot of thoughts,” said Willingham, who learned earlier this season that his career at Washington ends when the season does. “I don’t know what all of them will be at this time, but obviously it’ll be emotional for me also.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog
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