SEATTLE — In the second game of what Washington hopes is a breakout season, E.J. Savannah had what he hopes can be his breakout game.
After two years in which the linebacker’s potential was overshadowed by injury, Savannah looked on Saturday like he might be on his way to becoming the linebacker the Huskies hoped for when they recruited him at Bellevue High School.
Savannah had a team-high 13 tackles and a fumble recovery in the Huskies 24-10 win over Boise State, and he think he’s just getting started.
“I think it was my breakout game, but I can do a lot better than that,” he said. “I missed a lot of tackles. I don’t think my performance has peaked or anything like that. I think that we’re going to see a lot more performances like that.”
Savannah redshirted his freshman year, and was plagued by neck stingers that started while he was in high school. He played in nine games last year, but was slowed by a broken hand and lingering neck problems.
He said a summer of neck exercises have him playing pain free for the first time since high school.
Growing up a Husky fan, Savannah says he came to Washington because he wanted to help restore the tradition of winning.
“That was the major attraction,” he said. “That was something I really wanted to help do: bring the program back where it was when I was a little kid. That’s my main reason for coming here, to bring it back.”
Like his teammates, Savannah thinks the Huskies are on their way.
“What’s different is how we’re talking to each other,” he said. “We’re talking not like, ‘Aw man, let’s go out and win,’ it’s ‘we’re about to win this game. Let’s go out and show them why we’re going to win this game.’ I think that’s what has changed. Last year it was like, ‘Man, we can beat these guys.’ Now it’s just like, ‘Let’s go beat these guys.’”
And after a big game against Boise State, Savannah is ready to do it again against Ohio State.
“I just want to play this game, get in there and get nasty,” he said.
Who’s No. 2?: The backup running situation is still undecided, said offensive coordinator Tim Lappano, though he’d like to figure it out soon.
J.R. Hasty, who came into fall camp as the backup has been slowed by an ankle injury, but should be getting back to full speed this week. Hasty has been pushed by freshmen Curtis Shaw and Brandon Johnson, both of whom have seen more playing time than Hasty so far.
“We’re going to have to evaluate that and have a plan ready for No. 2,” Lappano said. “It’s really important, because you never know how long Louis Rankin is going to hold up. … It’s really important that we can find someone who can hold onto the football and make some plays.”
Not loud enough: Apparently the noise at Husky Stadium wasn’t enough to bother Boise State running back Ian Johnson, who told reporters after the game that the crowd noise didn’t bother the Broncos.
Tyrone Willingham, who no doubt wants the crowd to be a factor against Ohio State, said he hopes fans will use the comment as motivation.
“To me that is kind of an affront to our fans and hopefully they’ll turn it up for Ohio State,” he said.
Ticket update: School officials said “a couple thousand” tickets still remain, but that there will almost definitely be some tickets available the day of the Ohio State game regardless of how many are sold in the next few days.
Good as gold: Receiver Anthony Russo, cornerback Roy Lewis, fullback Paul Homer and Savannah were the players who earned gold jerseys for their efforts in the Boise State game.
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