SEATTLE — After setting almost every University of Idaho passing record, spending five seasons as an NFL backup and leading the British Columbia Lions to a Grey Cup title, Doug Nussmeier has no reason to look back on his playing career with regret.
But when the University of Washington’s 40-year-old offensive coordinator watches UW’s 6-foot-6 tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins make plays all over the field as a true freshman, Nussmeier can’t help but wonder what it would be like to throw to someone with that size, that agility and those big, soft hands.
“I might still be playing,” Nussmeier said with a big grin this week.
Through four games of his freshman season, Seferian-Jenkins already has lived up to the sky-high hype that followed him to UW. He’s also almost single-handedly revived the tight end position at a school that used to turn out starting NFL tight ends year after year.
But to hear Seferian-Jenkins talk about it, he hasn’t done anything yet.
“It’s only been four games,” he said, practically rolling his eyes at the praise he’s already receiving.
Four games is all it has taken for Seferian-Jenkins to eclipse the Huskies’ 2010 totals for tight end receptions (six; Seferian-Jenkins has nine) and tight end touchdowns (one; Seferian-Jenkins has three). His 20-yard catch-and-rumble score in the first quarter of last Saturday’s win over Cal took on a Bunyanesque quality when he bowled over a pair of smaller defenders at the goal line.
In the face of all the fan excitement about Washington’s big tight end, both Seferian-Jenkins and head coach Steve Sarkisian are making sure to temper the hyperbole this week.
When Sarkisian was asked earlier this week about Seferian-Jenkins’ solid start, the coach started by saying: “The next step in this thing for Austin is the consistency factor, you know, of really trying to do things right, down after down after down. That’s one of the challenges for a lot of young players.”
Seferian-Jenkins himself took a similar stance on his play.
“There’s a lot of stuff in my game that I can keep improving on,” he said Wednesday. “It’s not anywhere close to where it should be or where it’s going to be eventually.”
Whatever Seferian-Jenkins might become, he already has — at the very least — provided UW with a receiving threat at the tight end position. Last year, the Huskies basically gave up on the position due to a combination of factors.
Prized 2008 recruit Kavario Middleton was susspended and eventually transferred to Montana and top 2010 recruit Michael Hartvigson missed the season with a shoulder injury, Then there was inconsistency at the position. After a quick start, Chris Izbicki fell out of favor and disappeared from the offense. By the final month of the 2010 season, the Huskies were using offensive lineman Daniel Kanczugowski as a sixth blocker rather than utilizing a receiving threat at the tight end position.
Sarkisian said in the spring that the Huskies would re-incorporate tight ends into the offense, and it’s turned out to be more than lip service.
Despite featuring a corps that had just four career receptions — all by Marlion Barnett, who quit the team two weeks ago — the Huskies have brought the position back to the forefront. Seferian-Jenkins and Hartvigson have combined for 12 receptions through four games, including the three touchdowns.
Sarkisian came into the spring confident that the new tight ends would re-energize the position, and he said that it didn’t take long to see Seferian-Jenkins in action to realize that his star freshman would contribute right away.
“Day 1, spring ball,” he said when asked this week when he decided for sure that Seferian-Jenkins would be an immediate contributor. “He’s a talented guy. And Michael Hartvigson — we’ve got a lot of things we can do with those two guys. So I knew we were going to have something. I just didn’t know how long it was going to take to get to that point.”
It certainly hasn’t taken long. Seferian-Jenkins, who enrolled in school early so that he could participate in spring football, said that while no promises made of immediate playing time, he was pretty confident he would come in and contribute right away.
He also said that he’s just scratching the surface.
“I’m happy I’m getting the ball,” Seferian-Jenkins said. “But I’ve just got to take care of the ball, for one, when I’ve got the ball in my hands. I’m happy but I want to do a lot better.”
The Huskies are pretty happy with what they’ve seen so far.
“Oh, man, he’s great,” quarterback Keith Price said. “He’ll catch everything. Anything you throw, he’s willing to catch it. It’s great having a guy to throw to like that.”
If only Nussmeier could have been so fortunate.
Notable
UW could have as many as five new starters on defense this week. Injuries to defensive end Hau’oli Jamora and linebacker John Timu, as well as possible demotions at cornerback and outside linebacker, could leave the Huskies featuring a new-look unit. Defensive end Josh Shirley and outside linebacker Jamaal Kearse worked with the No. 1 defense all week and appear in line to get their first career starts today. Outside linebacker Garret Gilliland and cornerback Gregory Ducre could also move back into the starting lineup in place of struggling teammates, while a likely inside-outside move from defensive lineman Everette Thompson might also lead the way to a new starter at defensive tackle. … Utah is 6-0 under coach Kyle Whittingham when coming off byes. The Utes were idle last weekend. … Sarkisian said that defensive tackle Danny Shelton (foot) and Timu (neck) would travel today despite minimal practice time this week. Not including the players who are out for the season, safety Taz Stevenson (knee) is the only one not expected to make the trip due to injury. The Huskies will take 70 players to Utah.
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