Gator aid for Huskies

Published 12:29 am Friday, August 8, 2008

SEATTLE — Calling Jake Locker the Tim Tebow of the west might be a bit of a stretch for now.

Sure, both are big, fast, strong-armed quarterbacks running similar spread offenses. But Locker certainly lacks the credentials so far of Florida’s Heisman Trophy winning quarterback. Nonetheless, the two are sure to draw comparisons as Locker prepares for his sophomore season and Tebow his junior year.

Count Washington offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Lappano amongst those who thinks that he two quarterbacks have a lot in common.

“I stood right behind him for two days and watched him throw every ball and hand off and the whole thing,” Lappano said. “They’re a lot alike. (Tebow) is a great kid, a first-class kid, polite. A good-looking kid, big, strong, sharp. A really good kid. They’re a lot alike. It’s scary almost how much… Scary good.”

Lappano has had a better view of both quarterbacks than most, so Husky fans can only hope he is right in that assessment. Before Washington started spring football, Lappano and members of the Huskies offensive staff went to Florida, which started spring football earlier than Washington, to get an up-close view of the Gators’ offense.

“We met with their offense,” Lappano said. “I wanted to watch them practice to see how they practice, and watch their offensive linemen and receivers and everybody to kind of get a comparison of where they’re at and where we’re at. They’re probably the best offense in the country right now. They’re very, very talented.”

Such idea sharing obviously wouldn’t happen between conference teams, but given how unlikely Washington and Florida are to see each other in the next couple of seasons, Florida was willing to host Washington’s coaches for a visit.

“It’s a small fraternity really when you think about it,” Lappano said. “A lot of guys in this profession know each other and help each other. We contacted to Urban Meyer and he didn’t have any problem with it. You usually don’t share ideas with teams you’re going to face or even could face, but he had no problem with it at all.”

Teams exchanging ideas is nothing new, Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said, and given Florida’s success and similar offense, the Gators were a good fit for the Huskies.

“We wanted to look at a system that does something similar to our system,” said Willingham, who said members of his defensive staff took a similar trip to Missouri in the offseason. “Obviously we’re different in terms of some of the things we do and some of the things we like, but you’re seeking more information to let you grow and be better at what you do. And it was not just us receiving information but an exchange of information. We offered them some insights and things that they might be able to do and make them better.”

Willingham wouldn’t go into very much detail on what his coaching staff brought back from Florida, but did mention that they liked the way Florida has used two quarterbacks in the past. Willingham also said the Huskies have hosted schools on similar visit recently, but would not say which ones.

UW notes

Polk enjoying time at tailback: One of the interesting things to come out of the first week of fall camp has been the presence of freshman Chris Polk at tailback. Polk, who graduated high school early to participate in spring football, spent April playing slotback and was listed at the top of the depth chart at the position.

So far this week, however, he has spent all of his time working with the running backs. That’s just fine for Polk, who played both receiver and running back in high school, but has been a running back for most of his life.

“I like playing tailback,” he said. “I only played receiver two years my whole life, so I’m a natural-born running back. Running back just comes naturally. I don’t have to think about anything, I just react.”

Coaches aren’t saying where Polk will end up if they have already decided, and Polk said Thursday that he has been told he will get work at both positions in camp.

During his time at running back, he said fellow backs are giving him a hard time as a one-time receiver playing their position.

“The competition is way harder than I expected,” he said. “The running backs don’t want an ex-receiver to come in and take their spot, so they’re all running 100 percent and saying, ‘Oh, you’re soft, you play receiver.’ So I’ve got to prove myself to them at their position.”

Roster updates: Freshman receiver Vince Taylor has cleared whatever academic hurdles he needed to clear this week, as has walk-on linebacker Fred Wiggs, bringing the total number of players on Washington’s roster up to 103, two short of the NCAA limit. Freshmen Senio Kelemete is also believed to be close to becoming eligible, and the Huskies are hoping to still get defensive lineman Craig Noble into camp. Add currently ineligible linebacker E.J. Savannah to the mix, and the Huskies could find themselves needed to make room for a player if everyone becomes eligible.

“We can’t go over 105, it’s just that simple,” Willingham said, though he would not give any details on how the Huskies will stay at 105 should everyone become eligible. “I anticipate that we would not go over 105.”

Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on University of Washington sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog