SEATTLE – It wasn’t the easiest circumstance for Durrell Moss to make his first career start as a Husky.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
Still learning to play cornerback after being moved from fullback at the beginning of fall camp, Moss then had to go against the nation’s most potent offense.
Fun, right?
”I just had to do my job,” said Moss, a 215-pound sophomore. ”You can’t look at it as being scared going against the No. 1 team in the nation.”
Moss was called on to start earlier in the week when first-string cornerback Matt Fountaine was suspended for disciplinary reasons. Coach Tyrone Willingham said the suspension was not related to any legal problems and would not go beyond the USC game.
Moss responded against USC by leading the team with 10 tackles and picking up the Huskies’ only sack. But it’s been a learning experience for a guy who never played defense in high school.
”I’m really proud of him,” defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. ”It was a tough situation for him and I thought he stepped up.”
Moss starred at running back at Orange (Calif.) High School, running for over 2,500 yards and scoring 39 touchdowns in his last two years. But since coming to Washington, he played safety and linebacker before being moved to fullback, not a spot he wanted to be. When Willingham approached Moss about moving to a new position in the summer, he jumped at it.
”I didn’t see myself playing fullback,” Moss said. ”(Willingham) asked me ‘When you were little, where did you see yourself playing in the NFL?’ I said cornerback and he said let’s try that. I just didn’t want to play fullback. I would have been happy with pretty much anything else he suggested.”
Moss has played in five games this season while steadily moving up the depth chart. But until Saturday, he’d had just two tackles.
”I’m still learning,” Moss said. ”But it’s a good spot for me.”
Bad break for Wood: It was an explosive beginning for the Huskies, but it brought their best return man’s season likely to an end.
Marlon Wood fielding the game’s opening kickoff and ran it back 92 yards, the longest non-scoring kick return in Washington history. But at the end of the play, Wood was brought down from behind and in the process fractured his left ankle. The sophomore receiver, who had emerged as the Huskies’ most dangerous return threat, says he expects to miss about six weeks, which would end his season.
”As soon as I caught it, everything slowed down,” Wood said. ”I took 10 steps and saw a guy come at me. I looked to my left briefly and I saw a block that sprung the hole wide open. As soon as I cleared that, I didn’t see anything else. I had to make a quick little move. I thought I was running slow because I felt so light. Then they got the back of my jersey. After that I just sat down because I knew something was wrong. I thought I’d come back, but I guess not.”
Wood said when he put pressure on his leg, it felt fine. The break was even more painful because it came in front of his family, including his dad Richard, a legendary All-American linebacker from USC. If his season is over, he finishes averaging 32.8 yards on five kick returns and 8.3 yards on three punt returns.
DuRocher relieves late: Johnny DuRocher came on with about five minutes left and led one Husky drive, completing 7 of 11 passes for 69 yards but failed to get in the end zone.
”He held the ball too long, which led to the sack,” offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said. ”But he did some good things. He threw the ball well. It’s tough because he’s not getting a lot of reps in practice.”
Willingham reiterated that Stanback will continue to be the starter.
Hasty likely to redshirt: Lappano said that some thought had been given to activating true freshman running back J.R. Hasty earlier this season, but at this point it appears the former Bellevue star will redshirt. James Sims Jr. stepped in when starter Louis Rankin and backup Kenny James left with injuries against USC and Hasty did not play.
”We just decided it’s so late now,” Lappano said. ”It would take him a few games to get adjusted to the game speed, and by then we only have a couple games left, so why do that?”
Tight ends step up: For the first time this season, Washington’s tight ends had a truly solid game. Robert Lewis had the best game of his career, catching four passes for 50 yards. Johnie Kirton had two catches for 22 yards. Lappano said he saw on film that he may be able to utilize his tight ends more against USC.
Toledo returns: Senior offensive tackle Joe Toledo played for the first time since spraining his ankle in the season opener. Toledo, though, was moved from left tackle to right tackle.
”It felt good to be back out there,” Toledo said. ”It will take a little while to get back into it but I felt pretty good.”
Third-down success: Washington finally had success on third downs, which had been a season-long problem. The Huskies converted 8 of 14 and held USC to 5-for-12. But the Trojans were 4-for-6 on fourth downs.
Goldson reaches end zone: Dashon Goldson’s 76-yard interception return was the first time a Husky has scored on an interception since Marquis Cooper did so in the 2003 Apple Cup. It was also the first touchdown by the defense this season.
Strong second-half for defense: USC’s seven third-quarter points tied for its fewest of the season for that quarter (it did the same last week at Notre Dame). The Huskies also held the Trojans to its lowest second-half scoring output of the season, 14 points. Prior to Saturday, USC had 188 second-half points.
Dawg captains: Washington’s captains were quarterback Casey Paus, running back Sims, safety Goldson and defensive end Donny Mateaki. The Huskies don’t have set captains.
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