SEATTLE – Cody Habben knows that he’s not likely to play this season, but that doesn’t mean the freshman offensive lineman from Sammamish is taking things easy.
Habben, one of Washington’s top in-state recruits this season, has impressed coaches with his willingness to work as well as with his athleticism. He’s not playing like someone resigned to redshirting.
“Cody has come in from the first day and shown that he’s here to work and learn,” UW offensive line coach Mike Denbrock said. “It’s a big jump for a freshman to come here. There’s a lot they have to learn. But Cody is a guy we believe is going to put in the work to get better.”
“You still have to get after it,” Habben said. “If I don’t get out there (and play in games), then I don’t get out there. But you might as well go hard in practice. I don’t take any plays off, it would be stupid to do that.”
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Habben clearly didn’t take any plays off in high school. Habben anchored an offensive line that helped Skyline average more than 42 points a game as the Spartans went 14-0 and won the Class 4A state championship. Habben was named the KingCo 4A Lineman of the Year and a first-team all-state choice. He was ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect in the state and No. 26 offensive lineman in the nation by Rivals.com.
Habben picked Washington over Iowa State, giving Washington three of the top five in-state recruits (along with Jake Locker and Cameron Elisara). He said it’s been an adjustment not being able to rely on just being the biggest and strongest player on the field anymore. But he said it just forces him to work harder, and if it pays off with playing time, great, if not, that’s OK too.
“I’m fine with it,” Habben said of redshirting. “If they want me to redshirt, it’s their choice. The odds are against me for playing. I’m fine with redshirting, and hopefully I can come back even better than when I got here.”
The Husky Room: The family room in Luke Kravitz’s parents’ house is nicknamed the “Husky Room.” Kravitz, Washington’s sophomore fullback, is the son of Al Kravitz, who played defensive end for the Huskies in 1970 and ‘71.
“For their anniversary, my dad was gone on a business trip and my mom decided to paint the room up,” Kravitz said. “It’s all purple with the gold ‘W’ and a big mural of a dog. It’s got paraphernalia and pictures of my dad and now pictures of me. It’s pretty cool.”
Practice report: The Huskies had their first practice in full pads on Saturday and head coach Tyrone Willingham said it went about as expected, with good things and bad things. Officials were brought in for the scrimmage part of the practice and according to one person in attendance, Isaiah Stanback executed a run of about 65 yards during the scrimmage.
Injury report: Linebacker Scott White and defensive end Darrion Jones both suffered minor head injuries during the practice, and linebacker Matt Houston had a groin injury.
Gold shirt winners: The daily winners of the gold No. 1 jersey were linebacker Dan Howell on special teams and tight end Michael Gottlieb on offense. No defensive jersey was awarded. It was the fourth-straight day Howell won the award.
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