High marks for Husky RBs

Published 11:32 pm Friday, August 22, 2008

SEATTLE — There’s still mystery surrounding the tailback position for Washington.

Who will start against Oregon next weekend? Which freshmen will play, and which are likely to redshirt? But while questions still remain regarding the Huskies’ backfield one week prior to Washington’s season opener, doubt no longer does.

Not in the coaches’ minds anyway.

“The nice thing about our backfield right now, it was probably the biggest question mark for all of us, and I don’t think it’s a question mark anymore,” offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said.

The Huskies scrimmaged Thursday afternoon for the second time in less than a week. After both scrimmages, coaches have raved about the play of Washington’s young — and for the most part unproven — tailbacks.

“Our young running backs showed up (Thursday) and did some good things,” Lappano said. “They’re young, and I’m not saying they’re not going to make a mistake here and there, but they can make some plays and they have made plays. In the two scrimmages that we’ve had, they’ve made plays.”

With the departure of Louis Rankin, a 1,294-yard rusher last season, the Huskies have only one experienced tailback heading into the season, and that players — sophomore Brandon Johnson — had only 51 carries for 196 yards last season.

Everyone else the Huskies will rely on has zero game experience. Redshirt freshmen Brandon Yakaboski and Willie Griffin have both battled injuries this fall, as has Johnson, opening the door for a talented freshmen class to battle for playing time. Leading the way is Chris Polk, who has a chance to start against Oregon. Fellow freshmen Johri Fogerson and David Freeman also could earn playing time.

Lappano said Friday that he hopes to use three tailbacks this season, and it seems likely that Johnson and Polk will be two of those, with Freeman and Fogerson battling for the third spot.

Asked where he thought he fit into that rotation, Polk started to answer, smiled, then said he couldn’t answer because “I’m going to say something I’m going to get in trouble for.”

Polk did, however, concede that he expects to be on the field against Oregon.

“Yeah, I like my chances, they’re real good,” he said. “They’re looking real good right now.”

Whoever gets the carries next weekend, Lappano is confident that running back is no longer a worrisome position, but rather an exciting one.

“There’s talent there, and they’ve stepped up every time we’ve been in a live situation,” he said. “They’ve stepped up and shown up every time, so it’s not a question mark.”

Of note

Garcia clears another hurdle: Juan Garcia went into Thursday’s scrimmage hoping to test out his still-recovering foot, and came away happy with the results. Washington’s sixth-year center, who suffered a Lisfranc sprain during spring football, now has a good chance to play against Oregon, something that seemed almost impossible when the injury occurred.

Garcia said his foot held up well in the scrimmage, and that there was no pain the next day.

“I did more plays than I’ve done all of camp, and it looks like it’s holding, so it’s pretty good,” he said. “It felt pretty good, because (Thursday) how I pushed it, and I came back today and the pain wasn’t there.”

Garcia remains cautiously optimistic about playing next week, and admits he is surprised that it’s even a possibility.

Asked if he thought Garcia would play in the opener against Oregon, Lappano said. “I’m sure he’s going to play. I see him playing. I think he’ll get on that field definitely and play. We’ve just got to keep our fingers crossed that it holds up. But it’s held up. He’s been out there quite a bit practicing and going pretty hard. Just knock on wood and hope it holds up.”

Receiving jobs still unsettled: Lappano said that, aside from D’Andre Goodwin, no receivers have earned starting jobs yet. The Huskies will use five or six receivers, Lappano said, but who those are is still unclear.

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