UW senior Trew gets first start

Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 16, 2007

SEATTLE — In his five years at Washington, playing time has come sparingly for Kyle Trew.

The fifth-year senior outside linebacker from Edmonds did not play at all in two seasons, one a redshirt year. He played almost exclusively on special teams through two more seasons, plus the opener two weeks ago against Syracuse.

Against Boise State last week, Trew never got off the bench.

But a knee strain suffered by starting linebacker Dan Howell allowed Trew not only to be on the field against Ohio State on Saturday, but to be in the opening lineup for the first time in his college career.

Even a disappointing 33-14 loss to the Buckeyes couldn’t take away Trew’s smile afterward.

“It was my first start here as a Husky, so I was excited,” said the red-headed Trew, a 2003 graduate of Edmonds-Woodway High School. “My nerves just kept going. I was jacked up, I can’t lie about that. I was just ready to go out there and hit somebody and have a good time.

“I was so excited to get my first start and that this day actually came,” he said. “It’s a very big moment.”

Howell hurt his knee against Boise State, and although the injury seemed minor at the time he got very little practice time during the week. Trew worked with the starters all week, although the coaches didn’t make a final decision about keeping Howell out until minutes before Saturday’s kickoff.

Shortly before the team headed down the tunnel to the field, “they came and told me, ‘Kyle, you have to step up, it’s your turn to go.’ That’s when I knew. Right before the game,” Trew said.

“That was a tough situation for Kyle,” said UW defensive coordinator Kent Baer. “I think he kind of knew he was going to play some this week. But then for us to say 20 minutes before the ballgame, ‘Hey, you’re out there,’ for the most part I think he did a pretty decent job.”

He finished with three tackles, including a dandy stop of Buckeyes tailback Chris Wells for a 2-yard loss on a third-and-1 play late in the first quarter. The play forced an Ohio State punt, though the Huskies promptly gave the ball back to the visitors with a roughing-the-kicker penalty.

“Personally, I think I did pretty well,” Trew said. “There were a few mistakes, but this was my first start. … I think my adrenaline was just kicking the whole game. I didn’t get tired.”

“Kyle did a nice job stepping in for Dan,” said UW head coach Tyrone Willingham. “He made some big plays.”

Since arriving at Washington _ he was recruited by previous coach Keith Gilbertson — Trew has wondered if his chance would ever come. The lowest point came in Willingham’s first season as head coach, when Trew did not play at all.

That year, he said, “I kind of got a little depressed. I was just like, ‘Damn, am I ever going to be able to make that next step?’ But last year I got back on some special teams and my attitude kind of changed. I was just looking for all the positives I could and trying to do the best I could every day. I just tried to stay strong and believe that I would get my chance.”

The waiting game, he admitted, “was definitely a hard thing to deal with. But I feel like I’m pretty strong mentally, and that’s helped me out a lot. You have to have strong character to be a backup, even though I don’t like to think of myself as a backup. I like to think of myself as an equal (to the starter).”

“Dan (Howell) is definitely the starter at that position and Dan has played awfully well the first two games,” Baer said. “But I can see Kyle helping us down the road some more. If Dan is not totally healthy (against UCLA next Saturday), I wouldn’t feel bad at all about playing Kyle some more.”

In the locker room after Saturday’s game, Trew did something most players never do. The UW game helmets have stripes across the top and large Ws on the side, which are decals that are affixed anew before each game. After the game, they are pealed and discarded.

“I’ve never tried to keep them before,” he said. “But today I peeled them off and put them in my locker. Because I’m going to keep them. This was my first start and I wanted something to remember it by.”