Huskies count on another frosh

Published 11:50 pm Tuesday, August 28, 2007

SEATTLE – Washington fans needn’t worry when freshman Vonzell McDowell Jr. lines up as a starting cornerback in Washington’s season opener at Syracuse.

He may not have a lick of college football experience, but the Rainier Beach High product has gone on the road to play a big-time opponent before. In fact, McDowell learned all about the pressures of the road when his high school team traveled east all the way to, um, Pasco.

OK, so maybe a drive over the Cascades isn’t quite a cross-country flight, and Edgar Brown Stadium might be a slightly less hostile environment than the Carrier Dome, but ready or not, McDowell is poised to start Friday’s nationally-televised game.

Barring a drastic change between now and Friday night, McDowell will become the first true freshman to start at cornerback for the Huskies since fellow Rainier Beach standout Nate Robinson started six games in 2002.

Addressing a large media contingency Tuesday — possibly the largest non-Jake Locker crowd of reporters to assemble around a player this season — McDowell indicated that he was nervous, but that he was ready.

Less than a year removed from high school football, McDowell never imagined he would be playing such a big role so soon.

“I never really thought about it,” he said. “I thought I would have just been on the sideline getting used to it, getting the feel for it. I’m getting thrown into the fire pretty early, but I asked for it. I’m ready for it too … Hopefully I can do my job and not mess up on Friday.”

The answer to the question, “how does a freshman become a starting cornerback?” sounds like something from the old Johnny Carson bit on the Tonight Show when he played the character Carnac the Magnificent.

The answer: A hamstring, a night in jail, and a groin.

The hamstring belongs to UCLA transfer Byron Davenport, who suffered the injury in the first week of camp. Davenport has recently upped his participation at practice, and Tyrone Willingham said that he has about 60 percent chance of playing. Even if Davenport can play, McDowell will start, Willingham said.

The night in jail? That was cornerback Jordan Murchison, who was arrested the day after Davenport was injured for missing a court date for a felony assault charge. The junior college transfer has been away from the team since.

A third blow came to the secondary over the weekend when walk-on cornerback Cory Nicol, who had been battling McDowell for the starting job, left the team. Nicol said a groin injury suffered while in junior college, one that required surgery, was causing too much trouble for him to play.

To be fair, McDowell has been praised by teammates and coaches for the progress he has made in the short time he has been a Husky. He wouldn’t be in this position if they didn’t think he could handle it.

“I have the utmost confidence in Vonzell,” said senior Roy Lewis, Washington’s other starting cornerback. “He may be young, but one thing Vonzell does, he competes. He loves to compete, and you can’t coach that, you can’t teach that. Let’s just hope that he can go out there and block out the fact that it’s his first game, that it’s big college football, and just play to his ability.”

Lewis is one of several players helping McDowell with the transition to college football.

“Roy, [safeties] Mesphin [Forrester] and Jason [Wells], those are like big brothers to me,” he said. “They’re back there giving me clues and a lot of hand signals on what to do. Just listening to those guys is making it a lot better.”

On Friday night, in an environment that will be like nothing he has experienced before, McDowell will rely on his athletic prowess, less than a month of practice, and the advice of those “big brothers” as he starts his college career directly in the spotlight.

“I’m a little nervous right now,” he said. “I’m only a freshman, but when the game comes, I will be ready.”

Then he repeated the statement quietly, almost as if to reassure himself more than the assembled media, “I will be ready.”

Young promising QB: No, not that one. Like the Huskies, Syracuse features a young and inexperienced starting quarterback. Andrew Robinson did not redshirt last year like Locker, but he played very sparingly, attempting just eight passes.

Just like Washington, Syracuse is confident in its young quarterback’s leadership abilities.

“Since the day he got here, he’s had nice presence about himself where he’s not a pushy guy, but he’s got a nice confidence about him,” said Syracuse coach Greg Robinson. “I think that being a leader, your actions speak so loudly that we can hardly hear you talk, and I think it’s his actions that have propelled him into a role of leadership. I always say I don’t think he demands respect, he commands respect, and there’s a difference. We really like Andrew and he’s going into his first real ballgame where he’s the guy.”

Game-day decision: The last couple of unsolved position battles likely won’t be decided until game day, Willingham said. Cody Habben and Ben Ossai continue to split time with the first team at left tackle, while freshmen Curtis Shaw and Brandon Jonson are still battling J.R. Hasty for the backup tailback spot. Hasty has been limited with an apparent ankle injury recently, but Willingham said he is making progress. On special teams, Jared Ballman and Ryan Perkins will split the kicking and punting duties, but Willingham is still deciding who will do what.