SEATTLE – University of Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham said there may be a small negative in splitting his team up into two groups for practice, but the positives outweigh anything bad.
The Huskies began having practices for two separate groups of players Wednesday and the system will continue at least through fall camp. With 103 players on the roster and an NCAA-mandated five-day acclimation period, Willingham said in order to ensure that all players get the necessary work, splitting the group up was needed.
“I think every player would say ‘Coach, let me play, let me have reps, give me a chance,’” said Willingham, who first split up his team last year at Notre Dame. “There’s no question that this does that. When they look behind them, there’s no one there. They have to get the work in.”
Willingham said the team was split into two groups at the beginning of practice, though there are first-string players in both groups. He said the groups would be adjusted throughout practice based on what is needed in particular workouts. Besides getting needed work in, Willingham said the split helps from a focus standpoint.
“There are very few of us that can go out there for three hours and go hard and play with the kind of intensity that you need,” Willingham said. “So you can shorten that time down and still give them the kind of work that they need and still be able to coach every individual. I think it’s a far better situation.”
So what’s the downside of the situation?
“You’re not able to have your full team there,” Willingham said. “There’s a certain amount of energy you gain by having your full team around. Everyone is there and working together. But I would believe that’s a very minor negative when it comes to getting the players what they need.”
Progressing slowly: Willingham said that while he’s been impressed by some aspects of practice, things are not where he’d like them to be.
“There’s still a lot of learning taking place,” Willingham said. “The speed of it is not where I’d like it to be yet. It was fairly intense the first day but still not where I’d like it to go. And without question we’re nowhere near the execution we’d like.”
Wood on the move: Marlon Wood has been moved from cornerback to wide receiver. Wood, a sophomore who transferred from Pasadena Community College, came to Washington as both a receiver and a defensive back. He spent the first couple of days of camp at cornerback, where he played at Pasadena last season, making 26 tackles, three interceptions and being named team MVP. Wood also is expected to help the Huskies as a return man. He averaged 10.1 yards on punt returns and 40.4 yards on five kickoff returns last season.
Injury update: Junior defensive tackle Dan Milsten, who missed the last five games of last year and all of spring drills after breaking his leg against Oregon State, has been limited by a pulled hamstring.
Freshman linebacker E.J. Savannah continues to be bothered by a nerve injury in his neck that bothered him at Bellevue High last season. Willingham said he will be cautious with Savannah.
“I don’t think it will be a career-ending situation but we have to take precautions,” Willingham said. “If you don’t take care of it properly, it turns into a longer-term problem.”
Freshmen must keep up: In the past, there was some time for freshmen to come into camp prior to veterans to get acclimated with the practice procedures. But the new NCAA rules regarding acclimation periods have changed that, and now freshmen are thrown right into the practice routine. Willingham said that’s not an excuse for them to lag behind.
“The pace of camp has already been dictated by the fact that we have a game coming up,” Willingham said. “Based on the number of opportunities you have in practice, I don’t feel we can slow down because of the freshmen. We expect the freshmen to jump on board while the train’s running.”
Emerald Bowl, Pac-10 reach agreement: The Emerald Bowl and the Pacific-10 Conference have reached a four-year agreement that would send the No. 4 or No. 5 team from the Pac-10 to the bowl game from 2006-09.
The game currently matches the Pac-10’s No. 6 team with the Mountain West’s No. 2 or 3 team. Last week, the bowl game announced a new agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference beginning in 2006.
The Emerald Bowl shares the No. 4 and No. 5 Pac-10 teams with the Las Vegas Bowl, with Las Vegas getting the No. 4 team in 2006 and ‘08 and the Emerald getting it in ‘07 and ‘09. The Emerald Bowl is played in San Francisco.
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