Picture Day fun for the players, too

Published 11:58 pm Friday, August 10, 2007

SEATTLE – Fans looking to get up close to their favorite University of Washington football (or soccer, or volleyball, they’ll be there too) players can come to Husky Stadium this afternoon for the team’s annual picture day.

According to Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, the day provides an opportunity for his players, not just for autograph-seeking and picture-taking fans.

“Picture day is a good day for our guys to really understand their value to the community,” he said. “For me, the fond moments are watching little kids that one day want to be those big kids, and to me that’s a fun day when you get a chance to do that. And hopefully our guys value that experience and value that they are being looked at a little bit different than even they perceive themselves … They have to understand what that means and live up to it and be the role models that we need for young kids.”

One of the most popular players is sure to be quarterback Jake Locker. Posing for pictures and signing autographs will be nothing new for Locker, however. It was pretty much the norm for him by the time he was a senior at Ferndale High School.

“You get to have some fun with people who are really interested in the program, big time Husky fans,” he said. “It’s always fun to see those guys come out and get excited about. It’s fun. Little kids are probably my favorite part of it. They’re out there running around and having a good time.”

Picture day starts at 1:30 p.m. and goes to 3:30.

Hang time: Willingham said the team’s kicking and punting jobs are still up in the air. Freshman kicker Erik Folk, who many expected to come in and immediately win the starting role, has been unable to kick this week thanks to a back injury that crept up over the summer.

“It’s really frustrating,” he said. “A few months ago it just started hurting. When it started off it wasn’t bad, so I tried to push through it and it kept getting worse. Now it hurts whenever I kick.”

Folk is still unsure how long it will be before he is able to resume kicking.

Other kickers vying for the job are Jared Ballman, who is also in the punting race, Ryan Perkins, who is recovering from two reconstructive knee surgeries, and freshman walk-on Cory Rutkowski.

Also in the running for the punting job with Ballman are freshman walk-on Kyle Rasp from Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, and Perkins.

“We’re not consistent yet,” Willingham said of the punting. “But you see each of those guys hit really nice ones. So you know we have something to work with, now we’ve just got to get the consistency.”

Willingham’s sentiments were demonstrated later in the day Friday as the team did punting drills at the beginning of practice. All three players boomed several punts, but also hit some less-than-stellar kicks.

Working hard: Friday was the first day of two-a-day practices. The team had a full-contact practice in pads in the morning, then went with helmets only in the afternoon.