SEATTLE — In a sense, Steve Sarkisian has been working on this Saturday’s pre-game speech for years.
The University of Washington’s football coach, who has been on the job — this job, anyway — for almost 10 months, is just days away from delivering the first pre-game speech of his career.
“Just as, (when) you are a kid and you dream of things, as a coach you dream of the first time you’re in the locker room with your team,” Sarkisian said Monday, five days before the longtime USC assistant leads his Huskies onto the field for the season opener against LSU. “You dream about that first pre-game speech and your best Jim Owens or Don James or Knute Rockne impression you can make.”
While it might take a staff that includes Owens, James and Rockne to upset the 11th-ranked Tigers, Sarkisian is excited that the first game week of his head coaching career has finally arrived.
He’s also realistic about his team’s chances. Sarkisian is not making any promises about knocking off a nationally-ranked team in his debut.
Asked during his Monday press conference how he’ll measure success with this year’s Huskies, Sarkisian said: “That when the football game is over our opponent respect us — regardless of the score when they walk off the field, they respect us.”
Wins and respect were hard to come by during the Tyrone Willingham era, so the current Huskies are hoping for a few more nail-biters this season.
That UW has many of its starters back from past teams — 17 of the 22 projected starters have started in either 2007 or 2008 — could be both helpful and hurtful for this year’s Huskies. The same group that stumbled to an 0-12 record last season has mostly the same talent base but is also able to find inspiration from past failures.
“I think (the winless 2008 season) was motivation for everyone — not just me — and just helped fuel the fire for this season,” said junior quarterback Jake Locker, who watched the final eight games of 2008 while nursing a thumb injury.
The 2008 season might have other advantages, too, as starting offensive lineman Cody Habben noted during Monday’s press event.
“A lot of teams don’t have a lot of respect for us,” the redshirt freshman said. “We could possibly catch (LSU) off guard. They’ll definitely look at the season last year, and watch film from last year, and hopefully we don’t show up the same team as we did last year. And I don’t think we will.”
While even the most fervent members of Husky Nation might not be looking at Saturday’s game with a sense of optimism, there is certainly a spreading curiosity when it comes to the beginning of the Sarkisian era. The Huskies, and their fans, are eager to turn the page on 2008 and have a more competitive product on the field this fall.
“We want to prove to everyone a lot of things,” junior receiver D’Andre Goodwin said Monday. “We’ve been working hard since Coach Sark has been here. We’ve been grinding, and Sept. 5 is the time to show everyone how hard we’ve been working.”
Senior linebacker Donald Butler pronounced that his goal is to play in a bowl game, adding that a win Saturday would be a good start.
“We expect to win,” Butler said of Saturday’s game against LSU. “That is what the coaching staff has brought … and that is what we’re thinking. It’s not too far-fetched.”
Regardless of how Saturday night turns out, the players and coaches are eager to get a new era in Husky football started.
As Sarkisian himself joked Monday: “This is the new era of Washington football. We’ve got new uniforms.”
Sarkisian is careful not to make too many promises about the 2009 Huskies. But there is one thing that he can say with conviction, that he’s excited game week is finally here.
“It’s been a long time coming,” the 35-year-old coach said Monday afternoon. “A lot of hard work, a lot of hours, a lot of blood, sweat tears for everybody involved.
“I think we’re excited, as a staff (and) as a football team, to go play.”
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