Looking back, it kind of seemed inevitable, didn’t it? Was anyone really that surprised to see Isaiah Stanback lying face down on the Husky Stadium turf, unable to move? Really, it was a case of when, not if, Stanback would get hurt.
And that’s a compliment.
Stanback played so hard, threw his body around so recklessly, and took so many hits, that it was only a matter of time before the Husky senior quarterback failed to get up. All you could hope was that when he went down, it wasn’t too bad.
Unfortunately, it was.
Stanback’s college career is over, and now the Huskies are faced with moving forward without their leader, and we in the media are faced with determining Stanback’s legacy at Washington.
Truly, we won’t know for a few years, when we learn how far coach Tyrone Willingham takes this program. This year is a good start, but a turnaround rarely happens in one season. It takes time.
But it also has to start somewhere, and that likely will be Stanback’s legacy.
It’s not an outrageous idea to mention Stanback in the same breath as Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, Will Conroy and Mike Jensen in the history of Husky sports. Highly touted local guys who could have gone elsewhere but stayed home to help the local team. Of course, Stanback couldn’t have envisioned what would become of the Husky football program when he signed out of Garfield High School, but Stanback had other offers from solid programs that he could have taken.
But he stayed for two reasons: He wanted to play quarterback, and he wanted to be a Husky.
It didn’t happen right away. Stanback had three head coaches and a position move. He heard that he would help the team more at another spot. He heard that he never won at Garfield, so why would he win at Washington? Could the Huskies win a game with an ex-wide receiver from a losing high school program at quarterback?
Stanback didn’t listen. He knew he was a quarterback, and he knew he was a winner. And this year, he finally showed that.
Was he a perfect quarterback? No, not even close. He finished his career completing barely more than 50 percent of his passes. Some of his decisions were maddening. And, boy, was he ever hard on himself.
But anyone who thinks Washington would be at four wins – two shy of bowl-game eligibility – without Stanback at quarterback hasn’t been paying attention. Yes, maybe Carl Bonnell will come in and lead the team to those two victories. He’s certainly capable. But Stanback simply made plays this season that no other player on the Huskies – and few quarterbacks in the country – can make.
Think the Huskies have allowed so few sacks because the offensive line has been particularly good? Think Washington ranks high in the league in rushing because the running backs have been great? And some of his throws were passes few others can make because Stanback has a rocket arm, inaccurate or not.
There were times this season that Stanback put the Huskies on his shoulders and won the game. It wasn’t because he was a polished football player. But he was a great athlete with an incredible drive to win, and that attitude spread to the rest of his team. There are other leaders on this team, but even they followed Stanback.
That’s Stanback’s legacy. If you are looking at his numbers, or what his future as an NFL quarterback is, or at his total wins at Washington, you’re missing the point. In those aspects, he can’t measure up to the great Husky quarterbacks of the past. But in the way he faced adversity that few others faced, and the drive he showed to both make himself into a good player and his team into a good team, his impact is up there with anyone.
We may never look back and say Isaiah Stanback was a great quarterback. We may never marvel at his career numbers, or his NFL success. But we can and should always look back and say that Isaiah Stanback was a winner.
Mike Allende is The Herald’s college football writer. His blog can be read at www.heraldnet.com/huskies.
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