SEATTLE – Isaiah Stanback leaned on his crutches, a protective boot on his right foot, talking about the direction of the football program of which he officially became a “former” days ago.
Stanback won’t be thought of in the same manner as other quarterbacks at the University of Washington. His numbers simply don’t compare with those of Marques Tuiasosopo or Don Heinrich or Cody Pickett or Warren Moon or Chris Chandler.
His teams didn’t win. His era was marred by circumstances he had no part of. He went through three coaching regimes and had to learn three offensive systems. There even was a time when he played wide receiver – not because he lacked skill at his preferred position, but because he was needed there.
Yet, few Huskies – make that few college athletes, regardless of sport or school – displayed more class than Stanback did at Washington. Rarely did he complain publicly about his plight. Only once, when he believed as a sophomore that an injured ankle was fully healed, did he question why he was on the shelf.
That’s why people listen to Stanback. He cuts through the extraneous rubbish and speaks with intelligence and frankness in both good times and bad. It’s easy to respect Stanback and pull for him as he moves on.
On this day, Monday, he talked to several media members about the direction of the program and its designated quarterback of the future, Jake Locker.
“Jake’s gonna be all right; he’s going to be really good,” Stanback said, smiling. “He’s going to be way better than I was because of the talent he has and the person he is.
“And he’s going to have the same coaches. That’s a big plus.”
Once again, Stanback hit it dead on.
The UW football program is one year past its bottoming out: three victories in 22 games in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Its last bowl game was the 2002 Sun Bowl, which was Rick Neuheisel’s last game as head coach. How long ago was that? Team captains were Paul Arnold, Ben Mahdavi, Jafar Williams and Elliot Zajac.
Only now is the program showing stability.
The calls for Tyrone Willingham’s head were as loud as they were misguided. Only the most lunatic of the lunatic fringe demanded an instant turnaround once Willingham came on board on Dec. 12, 2004. Predictably, those were the ones who screamed loudest when the Huskies finished 2-9 in 2005.
Look at Cal under Jeff Tedford, critics screamed. But the critics fail to recognize that Tedford’s cupboard was talent-rich, thanks to two straight solid recruiting years and included a quarterback, Kyle Boller, who went on to start in the NFL.
Tedford simply didn’t have the challenge Willingham has taken on.
The blare didn’t stop Willingham to boldly announce in the spring that the goal in 2006 was a bowl game, a proclamation that set off a series of gasps and guffaws. The fringe was strangely silent once the Huskies won four of their first five, yet bellowed in full force during the six-game losing streak.
Saturday’s 35-32 Apple Cup victory gave Washington a 5-7 mark. The Huskies missed the goal, but in this bottom-line industry, 5-7 represents clear and unquestionable improvement.
That’s true even through a six-game losing streak, including an embarrassing 20-3 loss to Stanford. Never did the outrage from alums, boosters and media reach higher decibels than following that game, which must have made Apple Cup even more satisfying to those within the program.
It all means that any talk about replacing Willingham and his staff is to be ignored and round-filed.
Cal is a fluke. Building a football program takes multiple years and multiple good-to-great recruiting classes. Even then, it’s anything but an exact science. As long as athletes used to losing are in the program, six-game losing streaks and defeats to the Stanfords of the world are possible.
The best thing Willingham and his staff have done is to get as many players to believe in themselves and buy into the system as they did. He didn’t reach them all. “Seniorgate” proved that. But as new blood enters the program, look for continued upswing.
But only if the current coaching regime remains in place.
If Stanback is a symbol of bungled administrative efforts, he also should be considered the leader of the class that started the UW turnaround.
It’s a small token of appreciation for showing five years’ worth of honor, panache and resilience.
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