Until it wins again, Washington remains the worst BCS conference team in America. Yet a lot has happened since the Huskies closed out an 0–12 season, giving them a school-record 14 consecutive losses, making them the only winless FBS club in the country and leaving Seattle in total despair.

Tyrone Willingham is gone after four unproductive seasons, replaced as Huskies’ coach by former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. The team’s top offensive and defensive players — junior quarterback Jake Locker and senior linebacker E.J. Savannah, respectively — are back after either missing most of last season or all of it.

Sarkisian not only arrived in the Pacific Northwest with a Trojans pedigree, but he also brought Pete Carroll’s defensive coordinator, Nick Holt, and some of that team’s strength coaches with him. It wasn’t hard to pry Holt from his old job. The Huskies made a huge investment, paying Holt $2.1 million over three seasons, or $300,000 more than Washington State head coach Paul Wulff will earn.

Sarkisian made early demands, requiring everyone to get in far better shape. He made position changes. He turned practice into a fast-paced exercise, and he invited fans and the media inside to watch, something Willingham would never consider.

Still, what this all adds up to is that Washington is asking a third coach in seven seasons to fix a considerable mess, start the rebuilding process over once more and offer no immediate promises. Opening with LSU, the Huskies are practically assured of adding one more setback to their nation-worst losing ledger before receiving a fighting chance to right things against Idaho.

“How much talent we have, I’m not really sure,” Sarkisian says. “How much depth we have, I’m not really sure. But we’re starting to shape a football team.”

No question the new coach has a lot of work to do. The Huskies’ offense, operating mostly without Locker, averaged only 13.3 points per game, third-worst in the nation. The defense was no more effective, giving up 38.6 an outing, fourth-worst nationally. This team got blown out in nine of the 12 games it lost.

Winning again would go a long way toward restoring a beaten-down Washington program that has dropped 10 league, eight home and seven road outings consecutively.

Quarterbacks

The Huskies didn’t have the versatile Locker for eight and a half games after he broke the thumb on his passing hand while, of all things, throwing a block. Inexperienced Ronnie Fouch took over and couldn’t make anything positive happen as a redshirt freshman. Both players should benefit under the tutelage of Sarkisian, a former BYU quarterback who helped turn USC’s Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, John David Booty and Mark Sanchez into NFL quarterbacks. Locker, a scrambler who threw for 14 touchdowns and ran for 13 as a redshirt freshman, will be asked to stand in the pocket longer and improve his passing accuracy to more than 60 percent. “He’s a fantastic athlete,” Sarkisian says. “But he’s going to learn the position of quarterback, and there’s going to have to be some give and take.”

Running backs

Similar to the Trojans, Sarkisian will have a legion of running backs to choose from. However, the Washington ball-carriers are merely functional, not All-Americans. Sophomore Terrance Dailey topped the team in rushing with 338 yards. Chris Polk became the first true freshman to start an opener at tailback before he was lost to season-ending shoulder surgery in his second game. Sophomores Willie Griffin and David Freeman were given chances to run the ball. Highly regarded freshman Demitrius Bronson, ineligible last season and forced to delay his enrollment, finally joined the mix in the spring and was impressive. Add to that sophomore Curtis Shaw, a speedster who missed last season for personal reasons. The trick is finding one guy to stand out. Senior Paul Homer returns at fullback. Washington has to get better running the ball, after averaging a paltry 99.3 yards per game.

Receivers

There’s not much mystery here, as quality guys man most positions. Junior wideout D’Andre Goodwin, with 60 catches for 692 yards, was the only player on a bad team who had a respectable statistical season. He finished among the league leaders. Sophomore Jermaine Kearse, a legitimate deep threat who debuted with 20 catches for 301 yards, enjoyed a productive spring and was often Locker’s No. 1 option. At tight end is sophomore Kavario Middleton, the team’s top incoming recruit last season, and sophomore Chris Izbicki, the team’s most heralded recruit two years ago.

Offensive linemen

Sarkisian has put a high premium on this area, tinkering with the personnel more than at any other position. He moved junior Ryan Tolar, a two-year starting guard, to center. He switched senior Ben Ossai, who made 32 starts at tackle, to guard. He moved Senio Kelemete, a defensive tackle starter in his first season, to guard. “We needed to get a little more athletic on the offensive line,” the coach says. Cody Habben, an honors candidate, and redshirt freshman Drew Schaefer, a newcomer, are the tackles, and redshirt freshman Mykenna Ikehara is being groomed to be the center.

Defensive linemen

The Huskies will build around dependable senior Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, who will shift between end and tackle. Te’o-Nesheim was the only lineman able to get into opposing backfields with any frequency (a team-best eight sacks). Otherwise, the Huskies suffered with inexperienced players who couldn’t stop anyone and were often overpowered. It is hoped that promising youngsters Everrette Thompson and Alameda Ta’amu have gained strength and confidence, and that senior Darrion Jones and juniors Cameron Elisara and De’Shon Matthews have improved.

Linebackers

Savannah sat out last season after getting on Willingham’s bad side and having the situation deteriorate to the point he walked away. He broke his forearm while arm wrestling in the offseason. He was suspended for unspecified reasons. He quit the team a few games into the season. One of Sarkisian’s first moves was to give the senior outside linebacker a clean slate and welcome him back. “We expect great things out of him,” the coach says. Savannah will line up alongside senior Donald Butler and junior Mason Foster, both returning starters. If these veteran guys can get any help up front or in the secondary, they could prove to be a fairly effective group. Yet they can’t do it alone. “People just need to start making plays,” Savannah says. “We were fooling ourselves before.”

Defensive backs

The secondary has been a team weakness for several seasons, and the Huskies will rely mostly on guys who have been victimized time and time again in pass coverage. They include sophomore Quinton Richardson and junior Matt Mosley at cornerbacks, and junior Nate Williams and sophomore Johri Fogerson at safeties. They have two career interceptions among them. This group could be in a state of flux throughout the season. If that’s the case, Sarkisian might be forced to turn to any combination of junior Vonzell McDowell and sophomore Marquis Persley at cornerback, and senior Tripper Johnson and junior Victor Aiyewa at safety. Johnson, by default, started several games last season after he gave up an eight-year pro baseball career in the Baltimore organization. These guys need to create turnovers in the worst way.

Specialists

The Huskies will undergo a complete makeover in the kicking game, turning to players with no game experience, always a risky deal. Untested sophomore Erik Folk, younger brother of the Dallas Cowboys’ Nick Folk, is the only scholarship placekicker available. Incoming junior college transfer William Mahan likely gets the call at punter. For returners, there are more seasoned players. Sophomores Jordan Polk and Devin Aguilar were the leading kickoff and punt returners from last season, respectively.

This preview appears in the 2009 Athlon Sports Pac-10 Magazine. Click here to order yours today.

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds