SEATTLE — Curfew would have to wait.
Washington defensive line coach Randy Hart was in Terry Johnson’s room after midnight a week ago, diagramming plays on a napkin for his newest defensive end.
On the eve of Washington’s game at Oregon State, a crash course in Defensive End 101 was more important than sleep.
"At first, it was kind of hard because I’d never played out there," Johnson said. "Dropping into pass coverage isn’t something I’d EVER do here. Coach Hart kept me up after bed check to talk about my zone blitzes."
Johnson dropped into pass coverage three or four times in Washington’s 38-17 win at Oregon State. But it wasn’t his pass coverage that was most effective.
Johnson served as a human Do Not Enter sign for the Beavers. And his switch to end was the most dramatic and immediately effective change the Huskies have pulled in years.
Johnson’s switch from tackle to end, coupled with redshirt freshman defensive tackle Donny Mateaki’s insertion into the starting lineup, worked better than anyone could have expected, under the circumstances. But it worked almost immediately in the week’s practices.
What the Huskies were looking for up front was size. They had experimented with 230-pound Ty Eriks at end and found that, while he had the speed, size mattered as well.
Looming was Oregon State tailback Steven Jackson, a 230-pound Heisman Trophy candidate who had the speed to run outside. Obviously, the Beavers had planned to block Eriks with a tight end, run Jackson to that side and give him the option of either running around end or cutting back inside.
What they didn’t expect was Johnson, all 285 pounds of him, waiting. It must also be said that Johnson is more than your garden-variety 285-pounder. He has extraordinary quickness and athletic ability for his size.
"You’re not going to block me with a tight end, ever," Johnson said. "That’s just not going to happen."
The other component was Mateaki, who says a major reason that he came to Washington was because the coaches said he could play defensive end if he wanted to.
Trouble was, Mateaki never got it down. He struggled for a year-plus at defensive end, only getting buried in the depth chart. Even though he weighs just 265, considered light for an interior lineman, the coaches asked him to try defensive tackle.
"I never really adjusted to end," Mateaki said. "Right now, I wouldn’t be a force at end. I guess I wasn’t cutting it."
Result: In his first start and first extended playing time as a Husky, Mateaki finished with six tackles, two for loss and a sack.
Donny can really run for a big kid," UW coach Keith Gilbertson said. "He goes in and he plays hard. He has a chance to be a really, really big guy. He’s just a redshirt freshman, so he’s got nothing but room to improve all the way up through his career here."
Johnson, the Huskies’ best defensive lineman, had just one assisted tackle, which was his worst statistical day of the season, but the Beavers knew he was there.
By turning traffic to the inside, Johnson sacrificed his numbers for Mateaki, tackle Jerome Stevens and end Manase Hopoi. He cut down blockers so linebackers could get to Jackson on running plays and quarterback Derek Anderson all night.
"Their game plan got shot up," Stevens said. "Donny gives us another big man in there. He had such a good week of practice that maybe we can use that for the whole season."
Jackson had just 49 yards, 100 fewer than his per-game average. He was caught behind the line of scrimmage eight times for 25 yards.
The Huskies sacked Anderson five times and intercepted three of his passes. Washington consistently whipped OSU’s offensive line.
"Pressure all day is better than one sack at the end of a game," Johnson said. "By moving me outside, you’ve got consistent quarterback movement and moving the quarterback is more important than me coming up with one sack with me at (tackle). That was the key.
"By me playing outside, I can push (the quarterback) up into Donny or up into Jerome or maybe force him out of the pocket, into Jerome. That’s a better feeling."
Look for the same Saturday against USC. The Trojans’ three main tailbacks, LenDale White, Hershel Dennis and Reggie Bush, all are solid runners inside and outside.
How effective Johnson is in turning the flow inside to Stevens and Mateaki will do much to determine the outcome of the game. As will whether the Trojans try to block Johnson with a tight end or double-team him. If they do, it frees up another lineman to rush USC quarterback Matt Leinart.
Ideally, the Huskies would able to do all of the above without an inordinate number of blitzes, in order to get the most out of pass coverage.
"We have to do it again against SC," Stevens said. "We have to come out with the same fire and same intensity. We can have an upset."
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