No real news came out of Tuesday’s media briefing, which means that the status of the players dealing with academic situations – Ashlee Palmer, Aaron Mason, Anthony Atkins and Chancellor Young – is apparently still “pending.” The only personnel update was that freshman Jake Merrill, who left the team this week, is no longer on scholarship.
Winners of the gold jerseys for Monday’s afternoon practice were Roy Lewis (defense), Sean Douglas (special teams) and Anthony Russo (offense). That marks the first time that Dan Howell did not win a jersey. Coach Tyrone Willingham joked that he thinks Howell will be OK with the disappointment. “I think he’s going to show up at practice,” Willingham said with a laugh.
Willingham said the team hasn’t spent much time on the return game, and said he expects the punt return job to go to Marlon Wood, Sonny Shackelford or Anthony Russo. Those three, along with Roy Lewis, Matt Fountaine and Alex Mercier, are in the mix for the kick return job, but Willingham said he’s “not remotely close” to naming a starter.
Dashon Goldson is back at practice after missing the beginning of camp with injury. While Goldson was out, Fountaine and Roy Lewis were running with the No. 1s at cornerback.
I talked to Morgan Rosborough, Alex Mercier and Johnie Kirton today and will have stories on them in the newspaper in the near future, but here’s a few impressions/notes:
Rosborough is gigantic, even if he says he’s losing weight. The guy is going to help the team just because it will take 2 days for a defender to get around him. But coaches have raved about his footwork and his ability to learn the system. He is listed at 390 pounds but says he’s now at about 375, and wants to get to 360. As a high school senior, he played at 415 pounds. Yes, 415 pounds. He said he doesn’t get tired of people asking him about his size or staring at him, because he’s used to it and accepts that the big guy will always get attention.
Kirton, the former Jackson High star, said he feels good and is completely recovered from the broken foot that kept him out of spring practice. He said he is practicing without restrictions, having gotten clearance on Monday from the doctors. He said he likes playing tight end now, which wasn’t necessarily the case when he was moved from running back last season. Kirton said that offensive coordinator Tim Lappano talked to him about using him out of the backfield in short-yardage situations but said he doesn’t expect that to happen much. He’s listed at No. 3 on the depth chart behind Michael Gottlieb and Robert Lewis but it seems likely that the Huskies will find a way to get someone with Kirton’s size and ability on the field.
Mercier, a walk-on from Edmonds who played at Blanchet High School, was the talk of spring with his ability to return kicks and his work at receiver. But he suffered a pulled hamstring late in the spring and he says it is still bothering him, though it’s getting better every day. Mercier said he’s worried that coaches will think he is just not giving full effort because a hamstring injury isn’t as visible as other injuries.
Mercier is a music major who has produced several CDs and last year recorded a song, “Husky Nation,” with several teammates. He has hooked up with a local charity that works with underprivelaged kids and sales of an upcoming CD would go to benefit the charity. He hopes the CD will be released in two weeks and will be available online and possibly during Husky games. He’s also trying to get some airplay on local radio stations. We’ll have more information on his project when I do a story on him in the next week.
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