February answers, Volume Two

Time for another set of questions and answers. ..

Q: KP (Keith Price) has three four star QB recruits competing for the starting position. Make a prediction.

A: As I have stated in previous chats, I will be surprised if Price is not the starter against Boise State. I just see it being really hard to unseat a quarterback who has a 54-24 career touchdown-to-interception ratio, among numerous numbers that are as good or better than anyone in school history. We’ve documented on here so often the various reasons for UW’s offensive struggles in 2012 so I won’t go into all of those again. Suffice to say, the coaching staff is as aware as anyone else what the issues were last season and that it was a team-wide deal.

Price is one of the most-respected players on the team, a fifth-year senior, an established leader who two years ago was voted by teammates as the team’s Most Inspirational Player. Heading into what is a critical year for the program, it’s hard to see Price not being the guy who gets the call at the beginning. What I think will be the case in 2013 is that one or more of the younger quarterbacks will emerge as a viable option if there are again offensive issues and UW coach Steve Sarkisian wants to make a change. There really wasn’t a viable option in 2012.

Q: I noticed there were no new Huskies from Hawaii this year and after last year’s haul from the islands, plus our strong history with Hawaiian players, I am wondering what happened? It wasn’t as if there was a lack of talent from Hawaii this year; recruits from the islands went to UCLA, A&M, Arkansas and Clemson among other schools, and in positions of need too, like offensive guard and d-tackle.

A: It probably doesn’t really need stating, but no one mainland school is ever going to corner the market on Hawaiian players. The trick is to get enough, especially for a school like UW that has always had some recruiting success there. But the general take from recruiting analysts this year is that there was not the depth of talent in Hawaii this year and simply not that many players to go around. For instance, in 2013, just five players on Rivals.com’s list of the top 10 players in Hawaii signed with BCS schools. In 2012, that number was eight. But every year is different, and we’ll see if there is a deeper pool of talent there for 2014 and if UW gets more involved.

Q: Whatever happened with the Devon Blackmon rumors to UW?

A: Those rumors appeared to be, at beast, premature as Blackmon instead ended up deciding to play in 2013 at Riverside Community College. He will have just one year of eligibility there and will surely be a target for schools for the Class of 2014. UW obviously has lots of young WRs on its roster so unclear if looking for a JC WR would be a real priority in 2014. That might be something to figure out later.

Q: My question is about Jesse Callier. How much added confidence would KP have if Callier was back full strength next season? I really think he adds a dimension to the offense which was missing this season. He is a smart player, and one who is able to help KP in desperate situations, he has experience and knows the offence. With Bishop Sankey being a reliable go-to back next season, what would it mean to KP to have him back as a full time player?

A: Sankey unquestionably surpassed what most may have figured he’d do once he was forced to step in for Callier. But no doubt there are things the Huskies could have done with the two of them together that would have given the offense a different dimension — Sarkisian said several times that he had an extensive set of plays for two backs that went out the window once Callier went down. Callier is also another who is a respected and valuable team leader. It would be going too far, obviously, to say his return would be all that is need to fix things. But his return would give the Huskies another option back there, and a player who would give the Huskies a different look out of the backfield. Given the nature of his injury, however, I don’t think you will see Callier at full strength until August.

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