SEATTLE — Prior to the start of fall camp Monday, Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said that his team is going to need to play older.
Sophomore’s and juniors will need to play like experienced veterans, and the freshmen, well, they certainly can’t afford to play like freshmen this year if the Huskies are to have a breakout season.
Very few players on the field will need to do a better job of playing beyond their years and experience levels than the Huskies’ defensive linemen.
The Huskies feel good about one defensive end position, which will be anchored by Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, who as a sophomore was named the team’s defensive MVP. Te’o-Nesheim, who recorded 15 tackles for loss and had 8.5 sacks last season, has started 25 straight games — every game since his redshirt year in 2005.
The drop off in experience after Te’o-Nesheim, however, is substantial. As of now, the Huskies starting lineup looks to be Darrion Jones at the other end position, and De’Shon Matthews and Cameron Elisara at tackle. While that trio consisting of a redshirt junior, Jones, and a pair of redshirt sophomores, has some experience in the program, their game experience is limited at best. A handful of freshmen could also work their way into the rotation, including tackle Alameda Ta’amu and end Everette Thompson, though both have a lot to learn if they hope to play as freshmen.
“I’ve just got to learn first, that’s what every freshman’s got to do,” said Ta’amu, who at 348 pounds is by far the team’s biggest defensive player. “When I learn, I guess I’ll be all right … Those are big play books we have. It’s like a dictionary.”
And despite the fact that defensive line is normally regarded as a position that requires a lot of experience, Washington’s new-look line is convinced it can still succeed in 2008.
“Just because we’re inexperienced doesn’t me we can’t go out there and play well and win,” said the 6-foot-4, 275-pound Matthews, who has gained about 20 pounds since moving from end to tackle in spring football. “I feel like we’re going to be successful because of how hard we work every day. I’m sure that we’re going to be fine.”
It used to be that the Huskies were known for stout defensive lines and tough defense. This group, though unproven, thinks it can help steer the defense back in that direction after one of the worst defensive seasons in the program’s history.
“Everybody is looking to turn this around, not just the defense,” said Jones, who is rooming with Te’o-Nesheim during fall camp. “But I know the Husky defense has had some of the legends around here like Steve Emtman and Larry Tripplett. I would love to get back to those days. I know good things are sure to come, and we can be there soon.”
But despite that confidence, the reality is that there is a lot to learn and a lot to accomplish between now and Washington’s Aug. 30 opener. To do that, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell says practices will be geared towards getting inexperienced players ready.
“What we want to do is have deliberate situations in our practice that help them get more repetition,” he said. “So it’s different than a normal camp in that, at certain positions, we’re going to help grow these kids and grow their experience. We want to make everybody smarter and make our whole team see better. Seeing better means reacting. How can we build reaction time quicker? That makes you a faster team. That’s our intent right now.”
Johnson still recovering: Tyrone Willingham said Wednesday that, while able to practice, tailback Brandon Johnson is not quite 100 percent. Johnson, a sophomore, is the leading candidate to win the starting job, but had his knee scoped after spring football to clean up minor damage suffered last spring.
“He’s not quite there yet,” Willingham said. “I don’t think he’s back to 100 percent yet, but he’s moving well, making some good runs and good cuts.”
Stanford game time set: The Huskies Sept. 27 home game against Stanford will be televised on FSN Northwest, and will kick off at 7 p.m.
Enjoying the heat: If his players are sweating in the August heat at practice this week, Willingham is just fine with that.
“I love hot days,” he said. “Obviously there’s always a concern when you have heat — even heat in this part of the country — about dehydration and those kinds of things. That’s something very serious, you don’t play with that, but when you talk about adding another factor for the mind to have to deal with and negotiate with, all of those things are wonderful.”
Willingham went on to say that any break from routine, be it heat, rain, a change in practice schedule, can help a team.
“Everyone likes to get into set routine, know this is what’s going to happen, this is where we’ll be, this is what we’ll do, but any change forces you to adjust and those things make us a better football team,” he said.
Well-conditioned QB: In a not even remotely shocking revelation, Willingham said that quarterback Jake Locker was one of the top performers in the team’s conditioning test held Monday.
“I don’t say he’s any different, but you are continually amazed by the effort of our quarterback,” Willingham said. “He had obviously one of the fastest times in our conditioning test, and it’s not just a time test, but it’s the ability to bounce back under stressful conditions. He shows that kind of resilience, and that’s why he should be one of the better players in the country, because he has that mental toughness about everything he does and that will and that drive.”
Willingham also singled out receiver D’Andre Goodwin and cornerback Mesphin Forrester as strong performers, and said he was pleased overall with the team’s conditioning coming into camp.
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
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