SEATTLE – Shelton Sampson took a swing pass from Casey Paus and looked upfield.
Only inside linebacker Joe Lobendahn was between him and the end zone.
One-on-one with a 230-pound linebacker. Drool.
A three-time state high hurdles champion, Shelton had to love the mismatch.
Touchdown City, baby.
Until, that is, Lobendahn bulleted into Sampson and brought him down.
“Joe brings so much speed to us,” said Phil Snow, defensive coordinator for the University of Washington football team. “He’s so fast blitzing and in space.”
Speed is the biggest difference in the Washington defense between 2003 and 2004, especially among the linebackers. Few outrun Lobendahn in post-practice wind sprints. Outside linebacker Evan Benjamin is a converted safety and can run all day. Scott White is quick and a ferocious hitter.
Senior Tim Galloway isn’t in their league, but his experience and just enough quickness was enough for him to roll up 84 tackles, second on the team.
“They’re looking for people who can fly around and hit people,” White said. “They simplified things on defense so you don’t have to think as much. You can just fly around.”
At 235 pounds, Galloway is the biggest of the four linebackers who will get the majority of the work. Linebackers coach Chris Tormey said the defense’s increasingly aggressive, attacking scheme calls for quickness in its linebackers.
“We’re not real big, but we do have a lot of speed,” he said. “Overall, they have good instincts, they like to play the game and they learn well.”
Benjamin is a huge addition to the linebackers. As Greg Carothers did before him, Benjamin learned the position in the spring and perfected it in fall camp.
Only, Carothers wishes he had Benjamin’s speed. Benjamin was everywhere in the scrimmage Sunday, piling up 10 tackles, seven for loss, and three sacks.
” (The adjustment) wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be,” Benjamin said. “I’m more comfortable now with the inside runs and stuff. But the way we play now, my quickness helps in getting after the ball and getting after the quarterback.”
Tormey agreed.
“He’s done very well,” he said. “He’s always been a guy who’s more comfortable around the line of scrimmage. He was very effective as a blitzer at safety, so we brought him down. As a linebacker, that’s pretty much what he’s doing full-time. He’s really picked it up well.”
Snow streamlined the system, which many criticized as being excessively specialized and confusing. Snow likes to say that the guys can just go out and play.
“The best thing we have is quickness,” Benjamin said. “We have to use that to our advantage. We’re all really quick and athletic. If we can get to the ball, blitz a little more, pressure the quarterback, that makes our corners’ and safeties’ job easier.”
Under the new scheme, the Huskies may get burned occasionally should they miss an assignment or take the wrong gamble. Yet, as they get more accustomed to the system, they should make more big plays and cause more turnovers.
“We’re going to be aggressive not only in the way the players play, but also in the way we call plays,” Snow said.
QB watch (cont.): Gilbertson said nothing monumental struck him after viewing the video from Sunday’s scrimmage. In the quarterback battle, Casey Paus and Isaiah Stanback stood out, while Carl Bonnell had an off-day.
“Each quarterback had his moments when I thought he really looked good and others when he obviously didn’t,” Gilbertson said.
He wouldn’t rule out choosing the starter shortly before kickoff in the opener Sept. 5 against Fresno State.
Short bursts: Defensive end Mike Mapu is now Mike Mapuolesega, which is his complete last name. Mapuolesega is from American Samoa … Wideout Charles Smith, who has missed most of fall camp because of a pulled hamstring, returned to practice Monday … Wideout Charles Frederick’s sprained ankle has shown improvement, but Gilbertson wouldn’t predict when Frederick would practice next … Tight end Ben Bandel is receiving injections to help lubricate his injured knee. Bandel has practiced little since camp opened. His is a chronic condition, a result of past injuries.
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