SEATTLE – The University of Washington coaching staff has committed to redshirting promising freshman quarterback Jake Locker, which became evident on Saturday when reserve QB Johnny DuRocher entered the game to replace injured starter Carl Bonnell against Arizona State.
The status of Locker, the prize player in Washington’s 2006 recruiting class, had been up in the air since a season-ending injury to starting quarterback Isaiah Stanback in an Oct. 14 game against Oregon State.
A week ago, Locker was the backup to Carl Bonnell when the Huskies played at California. Had Bonnell been hurt against the Golden Bears, Locker would likely have been summoned, thus ending his redshirt season.
Even in practice leading up to the Arizona State game, Locker seemed like the No. 2 player behind Bonnell, with Bonnell getting most of the practice plays and Locker getting the balance. DuRocher, said UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano, ”didn’t take a snap all week.”
In the last few days, though, head coach Tyrone Willingham evidently made the decision to keep Locker on the sidelines for the team’s final four games. And when Bonnell suffered an apparent concussion with 7:35 left in Saturday’s game after a late hit, it was DuRocher who trotted onto the field.
”My ultimate goal if I can … would be to hold Jake out and give him a whole year,” Willingham said after the 26-23 overtime loss to the Sun Devils.
”We were looking at (using Locker as a backup) last week,” Lappano said, ”but we made our decision to sit him for the rest of this year, which is the right decision.”
All that bodes well for Washington’s future, since Locker is a hugely talented prospect. The problem may be in the short term, with Stanback out for the season and Bonnell still uncertain to play next Saturday at Oregon.
If Bonnell cannot play or if he should be reinjured, the Huskies would have DuRocher and senior walk-on Felix Sweetman as the team’s only two remaining quarterbacks.
”We’re running out of players,” Lappano acknowledged. Then with a wry chuckle, he added, ”You got anybody else? Maybe it’s Sonny Shackleford (a UW receiver who threw a scoring pass off a lateral in Saturday’s game). Sonny threw a touchdown pass, so he moves to (third-team quarterback).”
In fact, there is no guarantee Bonnell will start Saturday’s game at Oregon even if he is healthy.
Against ASU, the fourth-year junior from Kent was decidedly inconsistent, completing just nine of 23 passing attempts with two interceptions for just 67 yards.
DuRocher, meanwhile, completed four consecutive passes at the end of regulation (two incomplete passes were negated by ASU penalties) to take the Huskies 41 yards to a game-tying touchdown. The fourth-year junior from Graham capped the march by rolling to his right and finding Shackleford, a secondary receiver, for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 2:24 to play in the fourth quarter.
DuRocher had one incomplete pass in the final moments of regulation, followed by three straight misses in overtime, making him 4-for-8 for 40 yards and a touchdown in the game.
Not great, but also not bad for a player making his first appearance of the season, and considering he has received scant work at practice.
”I thought Johnny DuRocher did a real good job,” Lappano said. ”I thought his accuracy was good, but his ability to run the offense and his knowledge of where to go with the ball was also good. He knows the system.”
”I felt good coming in,” DuRocher said. ”I had a few butterflies, but I felt confident. And guys were confident in me to go out there and make some throws.”
Willingham said that ”as of right now, Carl will be the starter” at Oregon, though he hinted that could change once the coaches evaluate film of the loss to ASU and get into the week of practice.
If DuRocher plays next week at Oregon, it would be ironic since that is where his college career began. He left that school after his redshirt season in 2003, sat out the 2004 season when he transferred to Washington, then played in five games a year ago, all as a backup.
DuRocher did not play when the Huskies traveled to Eugene last season, but the fans at frenzied Autzen Stadium made sure to give him a hard time anyway.
”They don’t really like me a whole lot (at Oregon), and we learned that last year,” he said with a thin smile. ”But it’ll be fun for me personally to go in there. They’ll be booing and it’ll be loud, but I’ve still got some friends on the team so it’ll be fun. I’ll look forward to it if I get the chance. I’ve been sitting on the bench for awhile now, so if it’s my turn to go in and play I’ll be ready.”
Locker, meanwhile, remains the quarterback of the future, perhaps as soon as next season (Stanback and Sweetman will graduate, while Bonnell and DuRocher will be seniors).
”Two weeks ago, (Locker) wanted to play,” Lappano said. ”He’s a competitor. But as we get this thing down to our last three games, he can do the math.”
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