SEATTLE — Chris Polk always claimed his toughness was a byproduct of his mother, but it was not until he went off to the University of Washington that he learned how to be a man.
And so it is that one of the most productive runners in school history has effectively graduated and announced his intention to move on.
Polk, who ran for 4,049 yards during three full seasons at UW but will end up 57 yards shy of Napoleon Kaufman’s school record, has decided to pass up his final year of eligibility and will instead enter the April NFL draft. The 5-foot-11, 222-pound bruiser announced through the school Monday morning that he won’t be back next season.
“Chris had a terrific career at Washington and deserves the opportunity to move on to the next level,” coach Steve Sarkisian said in a press release. “We wish him nothing but the best in what I’m sure will be a great professional career.”
Polk, who is considered among the top five backs in a draft class filled with recognizable names, will go down as one of the best runners in UW history. He said during the season that he hoped to break Kaufman’s record but ended up falling just short.
He’ll best be remembered for his pounding running style, but Polk used his junior season to add receiving and pass blocking to an already impressive resume. He said last month that his decision about whether to leave school early would be mainly based on how well-rounded he felt his game was, and so Monday’s announcement turned out to be a self-presented diploma from college football.
After honing his running style while trying to run past his mother, Edrena, in childhood drills, Polk spent most of his high school career in Redlands, Calif., as a receiver. He verbally accepted a scholarship offer to USC but later changed direction and signed with UW coach Tyrone Willingham. Polk’s freshman season included just 20 carries in two games before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
Having been granted a redshirt for that 2008 season, Polk returned to UW with four years of eligibility remaining in 2009 and wowed the new coaching staff led by Sarkisian and running backs coach Joel Thomas. But after earning the starting job, and putting up a record for rushing yards by a UW freshman (1,113), Polk still had a lot of work to do in both the classroom and his personal life. Having briefly considered dropping out of school and quitting the game, Polk rededicated himself to school and sport on the way to one of the greatest careers by any runner in UW history.
During what would turn out to be Polk’s final season at UW last fall, Sarkisian marveled at Polk’s personal growth and singled out the running back as the most important player to the rebuilding of the Huskies.
“We can talk about Jake (Locker), we can talk about Keith (Price) or Mason (Foster) or those guys, but Chris has really been the foundation of all of it,” Sarkisian told The Herald in late October.
Sarkisian has been equally as impressed with Polk’s transition off the field. The fourth-year junior walked for graduation in the summer and was on schedule to earn a degree in American Ethnic Studies in December.
“The thought that he’s already been able to walk for graduation,” Sarkisian said late last summer. “Forget the 1,000-yard seasons. He’s really changed. And that, as a coach, is why we do what we do: to inspire young men and to watch them go on and do great things. He’s been awesome. He’s been great.”
NFL scouts also seem enamored with Polk, at least if the draft projections are to be believed. In a draft class that could include big names like Trent Richardson (Alabama), LaMichael James (Oregon) and Montee Ball (Wisconsin), Polk is right in the mix among the top four or five halfbacks. He’s generally considered a second- or third-round pick and could be an immediate starter for some NFL team next fall.
Without him, the Huskies have a few options but no obvious replacement. Sophomore Jesse Callier has been Polk’s main backup the past two seasons but still has not established himself as a 25-carries-per-game threat. Freshman Bishop Sankey has shown some glimmers of hope, and redshirt freshman Deontae Cooper was considered the heir apparent before a series of knee injuries sidelined him for each of the past two seasons. The Huskies also expect to get back Johri Fogerson, a senior who is applying for a medical redshirt after struggling with a hip injury in 2011.
Until someone from that group emerges as the leader in the spring, all the Huskies can do is look back on Polk’s career at UW and marvel.
Perhaps it was senior teammate Cort Dennison who most aptly summed up Polk’s career at UW when he said after an Oct. 29 win over Arizona: “The kid’s a stud. One word.”
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