Izbicki Will Be the Next Great Husky Tight End

Let's remember that the Huskies used to be one of the great tight end factories in the country, sending many to the NFL. Unsurprisingly this has dropped off considerably in recent years

It's hard for some people to really recognize that Chris Izbicki could be the next star, since he hasn't really ever seen the field, and many consider Kavario Middleton the star in waiting.

Izbicki, the star recruit out of the 2007 class, is going to have a monster year in 2009.

At times I am loathe to make such definitive statements with so many variables coming off a winless season, but this is something I'm convinced of.

Initially Izbicki struggled under the old regime; with off the field legal problems hampering his relationship with Willingham.

However, enter the new staff and the clean slate they brought and it has been a renaissance for the Kirkland, WA product.

During spring Izbicki's name was constantly on the tongue of the coaching staff, much to the surprise of many. Kavario Middleton is still considered one of the top potential talents on the team, following only maybe Jake Locker.

Izbicki put his nose to the grindstone and churned out enough effort to get named the starter at tight end following the spring game.

He has shown a really good presence on the field, with soft hands and a big frame to help with blocking.

What leads me to predict he will have a big year is coach Steve Sarkisian's preference for the tight end position. A lot of times Izbicki and Middleton will be on the field together, and will also get a lot of balls thrown their way.

Naturally, being on a team that was winless last year and probably won't win a ton of games this year means he probably won't be in contention for national awards. Relatively speaking though, Izbicki is sure to be one of the big names for the Huskies this season.

And frankly, I've said it once and I'll say it again, I can't wait for the season to start.

Practice Schedule

So the Huskies' fall practice is coming up in just a paltry 2 weeks. Building on the theme that Sarkisian brought in spring, the practices are going to be open to the public as well.

So I hope to see all of you there, practices are great fun if you are itching for a little taste of football.

The schedule starts on August 10 and goes as follows:

Mon., Aug. 10 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 11 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 12 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 13 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 14 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 15 - Two-a-Day Practices, 8:45 a.m. and 6:45 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 16 - Picture Day, 10:00 a.m. (no practice)
Mon., Aug. 17 - Two-a-Day Practices, 8:45 a.m. and 6:45 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 18 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 19 - Two-a-Day Practices, 8:45 a.m. and 6:45 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 20 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 21 - Two-a-Day Practices, 8:45 a.m. and 6:45 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 22 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 23 - Off Day
Mon., Aug. 24 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 25 - Two-a-Day Practices, 8:45 a.m. and 6:45 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 26 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 27 - Two-a-Day Practices, 8:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 28 - Practice, 3:00 p.m.; Raise the Woof! Dinner, 6:00 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 29 - Practice, 10:15 a.m. (Fall Camp Ends)
Sun., Aug. 30 - Off Day

(Schedule courtesy of gohuskies.com)

The games will start September 5th with LSU.

With football season fast approaching, thought I might share some of the photos I took last season. Maybe it will get the purple and gold blood pumping!

LSU pulls out the guns for the Huskies

No, not some super potent weapon in the LSU Tigers arsenal, nor is it some tricks up Les Miles' sleeves.

But the band is traveling to come see the Tigers play the University of Washington Huskies.

This comes on the back of a decision the college made to save money by not bringing the band on away games, to save money in this economic crisis.

However, in the face of criticism by many fans the school reversed its decision and the band is heading to Seattle.

It won't be the full band, just a pep band, but they will also send this smaller band to all the away games too.

This is why I love college football, the passion that goes into your team. What is a college game without the band, right?

Hey, maybe I'm stretching for news here, but I'm genuinely excited to see LSU come play up at Husky Stadium. The last time the SEC played in Seattle was 1978, so this is a rare treat.

The meeting of two vastly different cultures, not just football cultures, is going to be excellent. No matter what happens on the field I think it will be a good game for everyone involved.

Washington may be 0-12 coming in, but they will but up more of a fight than they did in most games last year. I think the fans and the players are buying what Sarkisian is selling at this point.

Ideally, I'd love for LSU fans to come away impressed with their experience in Seattle. I'm tired of SEC fans looking down their noses at the Pac-10.

So I say to you Husky fans, we've got a little over a month left until the game. Get your tickets, get your purple and gold facepaint and attire, practice your chants.

Let's give these guys the real Husky experience, because god knows they are going to give us the real Tigers experience even though they are 2,000 miles from home.

Part 2 of the Depth Chart: Defense

We've taken a look at the offensive side of the ball, so now let's look at the defense.

One of the most glaring issues in the 0-12 2008 campaign was just how bad the Huskies defense was. They couldn't defend against the pass, there was no pass rush or run stop, and it took well into the season for them to even record a sack.

New coach Steve Sarkisian made wholesale changes to the program, bringing in an all new staff headlined by defensive coordinator Nick Holt, late of USC.

Spring provided some good displays for the defense. However, while some positions are now crystal clear, others are still hopelessly muddy.

Let's take a look:

Defensive End - Daniel Teo'nesheim/Everette Thompson

Defensive Tackle - Alameda Ta'amu/Tyrone Duncan

Defensive Tackle - Cameron Elisara/De'Shon Matthews

Defensive End - Darrion Jones/Kalani Aldrich

Outside Linebacker - EJ Savannah/Josh Gage

Middle Linebacker - Donald Butler/Trenton Tuiasasopo

Outside Linebacker - Mason Foster/Fred Wiggs

Cornerback - Matt Mosley/Vonzell McDowell

Cornerback - Quinton Richardson/Adam Long

Strong Safety - Nate Williams/Victor Aiyewa

Free Safety - Johri Fogerson/Alvin Logan (if Jason Wells is healthy, expect him to make the strongest case for this positions starter slot)

Essentially, the defense is pretty easy to predict with the exception of the cornerback slot opposite Quinton Richardson.

The defensive ends are a lot stronger this year than they were last year. Teo'nesheim brings such a huge presence that the staff have had him rotating in and outside on the line all practice, to use his energy for the greatest effect.

Darrion Jones provides a solid foil for the opposite side as well. Kalani Aldrich and Everette Thompson are young backups but have the potential to be good defensive ends for the future.

The inside of the line really needs to step up, though. Cameron Elisara needs to fulfill his potential. The inside was very stale last season so this should be a priority for Nick Holt.

Alameda Ta'amu is a huge load up the middle, and if he has any kind of speed he can bowl over linemen and plug up gaps.

The backups are more or less untested, however, so the starters need to play well and play healthy.

The linebacker corps, as I've said all season, could be really good. Depending on how ready EJ Savannah is, the corps could be considered to have three returning starters.

Not only that, the backups in Gage, Tuiasasopo, and Wiggs all have game experience.

The secondary has only two clear starters, in Nate Williams at strong safety and Quinton Richardson at cornerback.

Williams, an honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection, has shown a penchant for hitting hard in his two years at UW. He could be a force for the team this year and next, and I truly believe he could be a late round pick for the NFL at least, but we'll see.

In the same way, Quinton Richardson had a solid debut last season, and reinforced his position with good play during spring.

The other cornerback spot is a mess, though, with four players listed at the spot. Mosely and McDowell have the most experience of the group, but one of them has to step up and grab the spot with both hands.

The same with the free safety spot, which I would defer to Jason Wells if he can prove that he is fit enough to play and can shake off the rust after missing last season.

If that's not the case, Johri Fogerson showed he could play the position last season. Alvin Logan is the wild card, since he was moved from receiver to defensive back at the end of spring. I only got to see him play the position once.

It is going to be an interesting year for the Huskies defense. Since expectations are essentially non-existent, if they can manage almost anything this year it would be considered a successful development year.

However, that's the worrying part. This is most likely a developmental/transitional year as the staff upgrades the talent at the positions.

We'll see, as with everything this offseason.

An Early Offensive Depth Chart

In the absence of anything completely newsworthy outside of recruiting the past few days, thought I might try my hand at predicting the Washington Huskies depth chart.

I'll profile each side of the ball in two separate posts.

Some positions are pretty easy to predict, like Jake Locker at quarterback. While others are incredibly difficult to predict, like offensive line and cornerback. Head coach Steve Sarkisian will have his hands full this fall trying to figure some of these out.

So here is what I think the offensive depth chart will look like next year:

• Quarterback - Jake Locker/Ronnie Fouch
• Running Back - Chris Polk/Willie Griffin
• Full Back - Paul Homer/Austin Sylvester
• Wide Receiver - D'Andre Goodwin/Anthony Boyles
• Wide Receiver - Jermaine Kearse/Devin Aguilar
• Wide Receiver - Jordan Polk/Cody Bruns
  
• Tight End - Chris Izbicki and Kavario Middleton (Expect Sarkisian to use a lot of two tight end sets)
• Left Tackle - Cody Habben/Mark Armelin
• Left Guard - Ben Ossai/(this is a position in flux to be certain)
• Center - Ryan Tolar/Mykenna Ikehara
• Right Guard - Senio Kelemete/Morgan Rosborough
• Right Tackle - Drew Schaefer/Skyler Fancher

Essentially there isn't too much surprise, but I threw in a couple surprising picks for starters just based on what I saw in spring. Does anyone expect Ronnie Fouch to unseat Jake Locker this fall? Austin Sylvester to unseat Paul Homer at fullback?

I think easily one of the most contraversial picks is that of Jordan Polk at wide-receiver rather than, say, Devin Aguilar. However, Polk was one of the most improved performers in my book, and showed some of the most drive out of all the receivers.

D'Andre Goodwin and Jermain Kearse are the other two locks at the position just based on their skillsets. Goodwin is a solid hands receiver with good run after the catch ability; while Kearse has shown excellent ability on the long passes.

I would say that the receiving corps has a lot of promise in the coming months. New recruit James Johnson is also highly regarded and could make a strong case for playing time this fall.

The Running Back slot is most likely going to be shouldered by Chris Polk, and I would go so far as to say the staff have him penciled in in the first slot. Griffin is good, but there are connections between Polk and Sarkisian going back to the recruiting phase when he originally was going to go to USC.

The offensive line, though, is the hardest to pick.

I'm going to say right now, that while the staff is high on Mykenna Ikehara at center, they go with experience in Ryan Tolar.

Ben Ossai and Cody Habben have gametime experience and are used to playing together on the line, so I think they are going to get the right side spots.

The left side, however, is anyone's game. No one has gametime experience on that side of the ball (Senio Kelemete played on the defensive line last year) and the chemistry may or may not be there.

For the purposes of this article I took Sarkisian at his word with the official depth chart. The play of the offensive line was adequate, but it is such a subtly nuanced position that it's tough for me to make the most of my spring judgements.

The real test for the offense will be how well they mesh together under the new offensive scheme. I wouldn't be surprised if it may be a mess during the first game or two, with mistakes inevitably going to happen.

I do think, though, that the team has the talent to really shine if given the opportunity too, they just need someone to bring it out.

Plus, they desperately need that next win to have something to bond around.

The 2009 Huskies Secondary: Good or Bad?

You know your secondary is terrible when looking through the Getty/Bleacher Report archive of pictures, you can't find any good pictures of your defensive backs making plays.

It's even worse when most of the pictures are of them getting burned.

It goes without saying that the Washington Huskies defense needs a complete transfusion of energy and talent at safety and cornerback.

That or they just need concentrated coaching and athletic conditioning.

Going into 2009, the defense seems more or less set in its rotation at defensive line, and the linebacker lineup is a forgone conclusion. However there has been a constant rotation of players and both safety and cornerback.

Guys like Nate Williams, an honorable mention for All-Pac-10 honors last season, seems to be the only sure shot at any of the position. For what it's worth, he could potentially be a huge star for the team. He plays the position well and loves to hit hard.

The return of Jason Wells at safety is absolutely vital to creating depth at the position. The other big name safety on the team, Victor Aiyewa, has had injury problems and this creates depth problems at the position.

Tyrone Willingham moved freshman running back Johri Fogerson to the position to add backup, and now Steve Sarkisian has move wide receiver Alvin Logan to safety as well.

The pattern emerging is that the coaches have been severely dissatisfied with either the talent or depth at the position.

At cornerback the problem isn't depth but who pairs up with Quinton Richardson. The coaches have penciled him in at the starting cornerback spot, but have no less than four players listed at the other one.

Through the entirety of spring, neither Justin Glenn, Matt Mosley, Anthony Gobern, or Vonzell McDowell staked a convincing claim to the position.

It is a worrying statistic that perhaps there is no leader, but perhaps it could lead to an increase in talent based on the competition for the slot.

It really just depends on whether these guys are playing up to get the spot or playing timid because they don't want to be the guy to screw up on saturdays.

Potentially, depending on how well he picks up the system, the Huskies may have a short term solution in junior college transfer Dominique Gaisie. However, he will have the least amount of time in the program since he'll be joining with the JC transfers in fall.

Gaisie, along with safety David Batts should add much needed cover to a unit that has just been atrocious the last couple years.

Baseline, it may be another year until the talent has matured enough to be an effective unit. Nick Holt needs to create schemes which will help out the players and provide the best possible cover for the field.

The offense will be learning all year long, so it will often be up to the defense to keep the Huskies in the game.

I wouldn't hold out too much hope for a massive turnaround, but the team has matured, and there is new energy.

We will find out starting September 5th whether that helps or not.

What is the Realistic Over Under for the Huskies

Ted Miller has this great piece on the Huskies, a bit optimistic to be sure, but good nonetheless. He puts the over-under on wins for the Huskies at four wins.

Seattle Times beat writer Bob Condotta, one of the best sources on the Huskies out there, agrees.

For what it's worth, I do too. Sorry to be a buzzkill for those looking for something different than what is out there currently. Looking at this squad and the schedule coming up, it just is the number that screams out of that mess.

Where those wins will come from is trickier to predict, and in truth could be in the two to three range.

The Idaho game is one that most are labeling as a given, and if the Sarkisian staff loses this game they really should be fired on the spot. I think most Husky fans agree that even though it is a lesser opponent it is still a certain must-win.

I agree with Miller also when he states that this team is deceiving in it's talent level. A healthy Jake Locker really raises this team, but that is hard to see over last year's 0-12 debacle.

In truth, I firmly believe that if the Huskies pull a win against BYU, instead of losing by one point, the Huskies would have gone on to have a much better season.

If Nick Holt can figure out the cornerbacks, this defense could be a lot more solid too. I've been a huge fan of Nate Williams since he got to campus, and I think he will look good this year after a year of experience.

The middle is going to be stronger, with Teo'nesheim moving all along the line throughout games and the season. Plus, adding EJ Savannah to this linebacker unit will be a huge boost.

Granted, this is a lot of optimism, and I'm sure someone will just label me a homer. It's true, I can't deny that sometimes I have a lot of bias for my team.

However, I do stand behind the things I say here, and if the Huskies pull out the four victories, this will be the reason why.

All things considered, I cannot wait for the season to start. I can't wait to see how the new staff and the players have gelled.

Less than two months left now...

Good Offensive Line News

Erik Kohler, offensive lineman out of Oaks Christian high in Westlake Village, CA, said that he has the Huskies out in front. Kohler is a teamate of current recruit Nick Montana and is a highly touted offensive line recruit.

I'm picking this story up from Rivals, but since that is a pay site you can get a somewhat abridged version from ESPN's Greg Biggins here.

Kohler remarked that his visit really helped to solidify the Huskies in his mind, as well as a very successful meeting with coach Steve Sarkisian and offensive line coach Dan Cozzetto. Here's a little excerpt of what he had to say:

"One coach that is outstanding, unbelievable and has always impressed me every single time I talk to him, and reassures me of what Washington will be able to do, is coach Sarkisian."

He has also stated that the Montana's have really been pushing the recruiting as well, with Montana's mom emailing Kohler's mom; to complement Nick pushing the school with his teamate.

That has to feel good if you are a Huskies fan to have such a prestigious football family backing UW.

Off-Field Attrition Claims Husky Running Backs

Leading into the 2009 season it looked like head coach Steve Sarkisian was going to suffer the same problem he had at USC, an overabundance of running backs. A committee system seemed just as likely at Washington.

The difference, of course, at Washington is that the running back who proved the least bad was going to get it. At USC it was the the player who was the best, and in truth it almost didn't matter who was played, they were all just as good.

Well, it seems that Sarkisian now has three less backs to worry about in his equation.

David Freeman and Brandon Johnson have both been declared academically ineligible and Brandon Yakaboski has had a setback on his knee injury.

Freeman is the biggest hit. A true freshman last season, he showed the most promise of all the backs played. He ran with the most purpose despite his small frame.

Johnson's career at UW has shown flashes of being quite promising, but has been held up by injury over the last two years.

Yakaboski has yet to suit up for the Huskies in a game situation.

It leaves the Huskies with four backs instead of seven, which could be more than enough if one of the remaining backs asserts himself.

Freshmen Chris Polk and Demetrius Bronson, along with sophomores Willie Griffin and Curtis Shaw are the only remaining backs.

Chris Polk is the most probable starter, after being listed at the top of the depth chart after spring along with Griffin.

Bronson as well made a good impression on the new staff during spring and there is no doubt he will see the field if the two starters in front of him falter.

This news affects two areas on the team, off the field, as well.

It frees up some scholarship room for players, with the current cap being 85 for the team. This has become a challenging issue for coaches across the country and has made recruiting a much more acute challenge.

That leads to the second part that this news affects, the recruiting front. Sarkisian has stated on several occasions that recruiting running backs is a priority in this class. Especially since none were signed in the last one.

Now with the loss of two, plus worrying injury problems for another, you can imagine the staff is redoubling efforts to sign more.

Currently the 2010 class only holds two running backs, with Zach Fogerson being slated as a fullback. This leaves Melvin Davis, of Harbor City, CA, has the only true running back slated to be signed.

It will be interesting to see how this saga plays itself out. It will also be interesting to see, if these players can get their academics back on track, if they can play for UW in the future.