STANFORD, Calif. – The Washington Huskies find nothing palatable in their 0-4 record, the first time they’ve been 0-4 since 1969.
They shouldn’t. Oh-and-four throws alums and boosters into hissy fits. Oh-and-four gets coaches fired. Oh-and-four cuts revenue.
It’s sad, of course. The current coaching staff had little to do with the condition the football program is in today. It did little to deserve an all-out NCAA investigation on the heels of Rick Neuheisel’s almost constant tap dance around the rules and regs. It had little to do with an exodus of offensive and defensive linemen, another characteristic of the Neuheisel Era, albeit one that’s less publicized.
The UW football program, obviously, is in it pretty deeply. It won’t dig out of it tomorrow.
And the sad thing is, given the climate of impatient mucky-mucks intolerant of lopsided win/loss ledgers, a coaching staff fully capable of digging the program out of the quicksand may not get the chance to do it.
Check the message boards. Check the media.
It’s getting pretty nasty out there.
If new UW president Mark Emmert and new athletic director Todd Turner are as sharp as billed, however, they should recognize that a program’s consistency is the key to its success. Emmert and Turner have good people working under them. Yes, it will take time to rebuild, but the components already are in place: talented coaches who have shown to be solid recruiters, shiny, new facilities with plans in place for more and a loyal, generous, passionate foundation of boosters.
If they were observant this weekend, they needed only to look at Washington’s opponent as an example of the process.
After two seasons of struggle and surly boosters, Buddy Teevens is turning things around at Stanford. He has done so despite not having the advantages Washington has. He has had to work through Stanford’s most rigorous entry requirements and has had to do without the benefit of junior college transfers to fill gaps.
The Cardinal are 3-1, fell three points short of top-ranked USC and rolled over Washington. Stanford has a big, strong, fast and athletic roster, many of whose starters have played (and have taken ghastly learning lumps over the years) since they were freshmen.
Teevens’ keister has been squarely and firmly on the hotseat since the middle of last season. He was 6-16 his first two years, including 2-9 in 2002, and more than a few in Palo Alto were howling.
Imagine. How would 6-16 float at Montlake? It would look like the Watts riots.
Yet, Teevens knew what he was doing. He played freshmen and sophomores before they were physically and mentally ready to be competitive in the Pacific-10 Conference. But Teevens was building for the future. The players got valuable experience, lived in the weight room and now, the Cardinal, almost incredibly, are a bowl-capable team that looks to get even better in the next few years.
To athletic director Ted Leland’s credit, he held off the campus hysteria and ignored the demands to can Teevens. Now he’s got a juggernaut in the making.
All because Teevens built from the ground up. And he had an AD who gave him the time.
In his second year at Washington, Keith Gilbertson’s doing the same.
Recognizing holes in the talent base handed to him by the previous regime, Gilbertson has opened the door for younger players, especially to true freshmen defensive linemen who make up a recruiting class touted as Washington’s best in years. A crowd of redshirt freshmen and sophomores also are on their way as well.
You’ll hear plenty about Jordan White-Frisbee, Greyson Gunheim and Erick Lobos in the next four years. You’ve already seen redshirt freshman quarterback Carl Bonnell. Sophomore linebacker Scott White was all over the field against the Cardinal.
Linebacker Dan Howell, another true freshman, is seeing the field regularly, as are sophomore defensive linemen Dan Milsten, Brandon Ala and Donny Mateaki. Gilbertson routinely raved about Trenton Tuiasosopo, a true freshman linebacker, until knee tendinitis sent him to the bench.
Receivers Bobby Whithorne and Anthony Russo, both redshirt freshmen, are getting extensive playing time, as is sophomore Quintin Daniels. Sophomore Corey Williams was showing signs of breakout before he fractured his wrist on a Notre Dame Stadium wall.
And you haven’t seen the freshmen Gilbertson wants to redshirt this year, names such as linebacker/defensive end Walt Winter, defensive end Caesar Rayford, offensive guard Juan Garcia, defensive tackle Jasper Henry, Jackson High School tailback Johnie Kirton, offensive tackle Casey Bulyca, among others.
And don’t forget safety Keauntea Bankhead, the state’s consensus player of the year last season, who will enroll in January, go through spring drills and be ready to play next fall.
These are talented, athletic guys who figure to dot all-conference teams in the years ahead. Most or all will see the field next season. They are the foundation of Husky football for the future.
And as Teevens’ youngsters experienced in their formative years, they will have tough lessons to learn. It will take time. It may even take a couple of losing seasons in a row.
Here’s hoping, though, that they have the current coaching staff to show them the right way to play, not to mention the patience of the university’s higher-ups to allow it to happen.
For the program’s long-term health, it’s the correct path to take.
John Sleeper is The Herald’s college writer.
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