SEATTLE – With Tuesday night’s rain in Seattle, the Washington football team practiced on a somewhat damp field for the first time this fall. But Huskies coach Tyrone Willingham said he doesn’t worry about the weather conditions so long as it doesn’t affect his team’s ability to get its work in.
“The conditions are not that critical to me,” Willingham said. “What’s important is you get your work done. If it’s too hot, you don’t get anything done. If it’s too cold, you don’t get anything done. If it’s too wet, you don’t get anything done. So you just want to get your work done.”
Weather isn’t much of a problem for Washington. The FieldTurf of Husky Stadium keeps the field in pretty good condition regardless of the weather. Also, in the event of poor weather, the team can practice in the Dempsey Indoor facility. The Huskies held most of their winter conditioning in Dempsey.
“I’ll use whatever facilities are available to get our work done,” Willingham said.
No Air Force prep yet: Willingham said that although the team is constantly preparing for Air Force, specific preparation has not begun yet.
“The Air Force portion is kind of invisible to a degree right now,” Willingham said. “There are things you know you’ll be utilizing for Air Force but at the same time, that’s not the focus right now.”
Kirton getting looks at TE: With several injuries at tight end, redshirt freshman running back Johnie Kirton, the former Jackson High star, is being looked at by coaches at that position as well as fullback.
Kirton certainly has the size for tight end at 6-foot-3, 275 pounds, though in the past Kirton has maintained his preference to remain at tail back.
“I still think he’s a halfback for us,” Willingham said. “I still think he’s a fullback for us. And right now, being down at tight end, I’ll give him a little more work there.”
Position battles clearing up? Willingham said there could be between “12-to-16” players he has in mind who could be starting in the Air Force game, though he would not name names. He says that he doesn’t make a depth chart known to the players and is content to continue to look at the positions as competitions.
“On good teams, you’ve got a lot of competition,” he said. “The lesser the team, the lesser the competition you have throughout your team.”
Injury update: Tight ends Jared Bronson and Michael Gottlieb will both miss some time. One has an arm injury and the other has an eye infection, though Willingham wasn’t sure which player had which injury.
“You guys worry more about injuries than I do,” Willingham said. “I just move on to the next guy.”
The injuries leave Washington thin at tight end, with just Robert Lewis and Tim Williams active. Kirton and Jason Benn, who played tight end last season before moving to offensive tackle this year, are also being used at tight end.
Several players, including running back Kenny James (shoulder bruise) and quarterback Carl Bonnell (quadriceps bruise) continue to be limited by injuries.
Keep the votes private: Willingham is not in favor of the new rule that will make coaches Top 25 votes public.
“I don’t think it’s the correct way to do it,” Willingham said. “I think it’s always been the American policy that when you vote, you vote for the person that you believe is the best person. It’s no different here.”
Willingham believes the move will just create more controversy without helping the system.
“You’ll have people worried about the sway of the public (instead of) voting for who is the best team,” he said.
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