Will The Huskies' Defense Get That Fire Back?

If you are a follower of the Washington Huskies and you don't frequent coach Steve Sarkisian's blog/website, it would benefit you to jump aboard now.

It's a great source for the behind the scenes information on the Purple and Gold.

This story caught my attention; it shows the cover of the Huskies' new defensive playbook.

The cover more or less speaks for itself on the direction of the new Husky defense under defensive coordinator Nick Holt.

The picture shows snarling Huskies, each with speech bubbles: 'Say Who?!' and 'Say What?!'

The words are part of a popular player chant, which, according to Seattle Times blogger Bob Condotta, has been forbidden the last couple years.

The story brings up the obvious question of whether fire can be breathed back into a unit that has been completely lifeless the last couple years.

The addition of Nick Holt was an excellent step in the right direction. Watching him in the last set of spring practices was a treat. I was getting pumped up just watching, imagine how it was for the players.

While Holt was the most high profile addition to the staff, some of the other coaches are real high energy and fiery. Defensive line coach Johnny Nansen is one of the loudest guys on the field behind Sarkisian and Holt.

The tradition at a place like Washington has been for good defenses with a lot of fire. It would be a great thing for the fans to get back to that.

In his opening press conference Sarkisian explicitly stated that's on of the things he wanted to bring back to Husky Stadium.

Steve Emtman, the defensive stalwart of the 1991 National Championship team, stated in an interview that what the current direction of the defense is back to the old ways.

He also said in the interview that his defensive line coach, Randy Hart, now of Notre Dame, coached them to play like animals.

Seeing the new defensive playbook, it's safe to assume that that mentality is back for the Huskies defense.

Let's hope it pays immediate dividends.

News and Notes

Safety Johri Fogerson has moved back to running back, the position he started his college career at. This is to add depth to the position, something I had questioned in my last article, but also throws the safety depth chart a bit out of whack.

This would mean Greg Walker has the lead for the free safety spot to couple with Nate Williams at strong safety. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see Fogerson back at safety if that unit continues to struggle.