SEATTLE – What’s good for a team one year may not be as good the next, Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham explained Friday, elaborating on a statement he made Thursday about the team’s condition not being any better than it was the year before.
Willingham said that he sets the bar higher every year, and so the expectations change every year.
“You always want to keep increasing,” Willingham said. “You want excellence to change. It was the new normal. That should always be changing. It should change for the individual player as well as the team.”
Willingham said one of the problems with athletics is that people set a goal and when it’s reached, don’t strive to get beyond the goal. That’s why he’s continually “raising the bar.”
“The standard last year is not the standard this year,” Willingham said.
Willingham said it is unfair to compare where this Husky team is compared to teams he took over at Stanford and Notre Dame. He said because he returned to Stanford just three years after he left as an assistant coach, the players knew what he expected and the transition was more seamless.
“That brought back a lot of the same philosophy a portion of that team was accustomed to,” Willingham said. “These guys (the Huskies) are adjusting to a new landscape.”
Willingham said he doesn’t believe his team has figured out exactly what he expects of them, and hasn’t achieved the level of consistency he expects. But he said that goal can be reached, and he expects it will be reached.
“At some point it will be,” he said. “It’s always fair. My standard is never unfair. But does it force you to stretch your arms out a little bit? It probably does.”
Injury updates: Left tackle Ben Ossai returned from his bump on the head, though linebacker Scott White and defensive end Darrion Jones are still limited or out with head injuries. Defensive tackle Jordan White-Frisbee wore a boot to protect his previously broken foot, but Willingham said it was just a precaution. Linebacker E.J. Savannah (neck) also has been wearing a red jersey as a precaution.
Willingham said this is about the time of the season when injuries begin to accumulate because the team has been practicing for awhile with no break, but he says there hasn’t been anything to worry about.
No Gold: Willingham did not award any gold jerseys for Thursday’s practice, the first time this season a Husky has failed to win recognition. Willingham said the practice was not one of the team’s better fall efforts.
Center of attention: Junior Juan Garcia, who because of injuries has yet to play in a game in his Husky career, is in line to be the starting center, and Willingham said he is impressed by the way Garcia has earned the respect of his teammates. Willingham said Ryan Bush or Clay Walker would be the backup center, and added all five starters on the line would likely be able to play all five positions.
Academic additions? None of the players with academic situations joined the team on Friday, though safety Ashlee Palmer was at practice Thursday. Friday was the last day of summer quarter at the UW, so some kind of decision likely will take place in the next couple of days.
Passing the test: Willingham said the position that is farthest ahead of where he thought it would be at this time is the quarterbacks, adding that Isaiah Stanback and Carl Bonnell have both shown a lot of growth.
Gimme a head with hair: Tight end Johnie Kirton showed up to Friday’s team lunch with an enormous Afro, but Willingham said he has no problem with anyone’s particular hair style as long as the player is presentable. He said his only real rule is that players keep their hair short enough so that it doesn’t hang down past the shoulder pads where it can be grabbed.
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