SEATTLE – We haven’t seen this much hoo-hah about a University of Washington true freshman since Paul Arnold.
Since Isaiah Stanback went down Saturday with a season-ending foot injury, the speculation about Jake Locker’s playing status has ranged from riotous to unruly.
The seemingly uncontrollable demands on the part of fans and media about playing Washington’s hottest recruit since Reggie Williams are twofold. One, in his last two seasons at Ferndale High School, Locker was visible to all in the state who own a television in leading the Golden Eagles to a near-upset of mighty Bellevue in the 2004 state 3A title game and then in a 47-12 thrashing of Prosser for the 2005 title.
The other factor is the kid appears almost too good to be true. While his jacked-up athleticism was obvious in the way he routinely broke down defenses with both his arm and his feet, all indications are that Locker is a coach’s dream – intelligent, humble, eager and a quick study.
Michael Jordan meets Wally Cleaver.
With Stanback unable to go, many want Locker to start – beginning Saturday against Cal, a fearsome team ranked 10th in the BCS standings. Wisely, UW head coach Tyrone Willingham named Carl Bonnell, a fourth-year junior, as the starter against the Golden Bears. He also named Johnny DuRocher, a junior transfer from Oregon, as Bonnell’s backup.
So where does that leave Locker?
It leaves him in the position of having a great argument for playing this season and an argument just as strong against it.
Much has been made about the possibility of burning Locker’s redshirt year just so he can play the second half of the season, if that. Locker’s participation largely depends on Bonnell’s level of play and the coaching staff’s evaluation of DuRocher, as well as of Locker himself.
Certainly, Bonnell is the logical replacement for Stanback. The two share similar traits. While Stanback is one of the nation’s great athletes at the position, Bonnell isn’t light years behind. Bonnell can run away from trouble and, when adequately protected, can complete any throw required of him.
However, Bonnell has had limited game experience and has shown to have a fragile body.
Should Locker be Bonnell’s backup instead of DuRocher? Reports are that, while Stanback took the vast majority of reps with the No. 1 offense in practice, Bonnell and Locker split the rest while DuRocher largely watched. If that’s the case, maybe Locker would be the logical choice to step in should Bonnell become injured or washes out.
If that happens, Willingham won’t base his decision on the color of Locker’s shirt or whether the kid should play three or 3 years. He will base it on whether he believes Locker can do the job.
That’s the only question. If, in Willingham’s eyes, Locker simply isn’t ready to run a sophisticated college offense against a sophisticated college defense, the shirt remains red.
As talented as Locker is, we’ve seen him only against other high-schoolers. The college game is both faster and cruelly unforgiving. The physical and mental differences between an 18-year-old freshman and a 22-year-old junior who’s been in a college system for years are vast indeed.
Willingham said it so many times in Monday’s press conference that it sounded like a mantra: “We will make a decision based on what’s in the best interest for the individual and best interest for the football team.”
As of today, that means Bonnell starts, backed by DuRocher. But Willingham allowed that the pecking order could change, depending on what happens this week in practice.
Willingham has made public the Huskies’ goal of going to a bowl game. He has made that commitment to this team, especially its seniors, that long-suffering bunch that has gone through three coaching staffs and more crushing defeats than they’d ever imagined the day they signed on.
He owes it to those seniors to put the best players available on the field.
If that’s a true freshman at quarterback, so be it, as long as he truly deserves and is prepared for the shot.
These are the decisions whereby coaches earn the big bucks.
And develop the big ulcers.
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