Here's look back at the Oregon game (just what you need) from today's paper. And here's how it looked to the Eugene Register-Guard.

And below my quicker version:

LAST WEEK
The Huskies opened the season with a 44-10 loss at No. 21 Oregon, which was disappointing in a variety of ways. In cold numbers, UW is now 0-1 on the season and in Pac-10 play. However, it also was psychologically painful as all those new faces produced a distressingly family result.

SOMETHING TO BUILD ON
A lot of Huskies who had no college experience now have some. It wasn’t what they dreamed of, but now they have a better understanding of the college game. The saying goes if it didn’t kill them, it should make them stronger. TE Kavario Middleton was the rare freshman who exceeded expectations.

SOMETHING TO WORK ON
The offensive line didn’t live up to its advance billing as the strength of the team. Those faster and more athletic young receivers weren’t able to get separation from the skilled Oregon secondary. Ed Donatell’s defense gave up too many big plays. Jake Locker completed less than half his passes again.

PERSONNEL ISSUES
No major new injuries were reported. Locker’s hamstring strain seemed mostly a non-issue. And center Juan Garcia completed his amazing comeback. However, the Huskies apparently missed the blocking of tight end Michael Gottlieb, and they certainly could have used veteran safety Jason Wells in the secondary.

THE WEEK AHEAD
In terms of national rankings, Washington steps up in class this week as No. 16 Brigham Young visits Husky Stadium. The Cougars opened their BCS-bowl quest with a 41-17 thrashing of Northern Iowa. UW’s preseason optimism took a body shot last week, and a big performance is needed to restore it.

Here's my game story.

But the tight deadline didn't allow time for the usual number of notes and quotes, so we'll try to fill in some of the blanks here:

Anyone looking for a silver lining? The best I can do is pass along Coach Willingham's report that it looks like the team came though would any serious injuries. He said he pulled Locker just to protect him and to get Fouch some playing time, not because Locker was hurt.

Otherwise, there was a lot of disappointment. The Huskies seemed very surprised that they had so much trouble running -- just 95 yards on 43 carries for a 2.2 yard average. Oregon pushed eight and nine guys down around the line of scimmage, and Washington to try to win through the air. But the UW air game wasn't up to that either: 147 yards on 17-of-35 passing.

Individually, D'Andre Goodwin had a nice game: eight catches for 67 yards. And tight end Kavario Middleton was probably the outstanding freshman with four catches for 35 yards. But there weren't any running stars. Chris Polk debuted with 19 yards on 14 carries. Brandon Johnson had 13 yards on seven carries. Jake Locker -- the top returning rusher in the Pac-10 -- led UW with 57 yards on 16 carries.

"Maybe the best thing we did was defend Locker," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "He is their No. 1 weapon and very difficult to tackle in the open field. Our defense did a great job containing him."

There wasn't much to brag about on special teams, either. Mason Foster was the leading tackler, with 10. The UW defense recorded no sacks.

"I don't think we scored as many points as we could hae for the yardage that we gained (496 total offense)," Bellotti said. "We weren't as efficient on offense as we could have been."

Here's what the some of the Huskies had to say after the game:

TYRONE WILLINGHAM

OVERVIEW:
That was one that we didn’t anticipate. We felt coming in that we’d fare much better than this and that we’d have a chance to win this football game, even in this difficult environment. The disappoint thing, for one is we couldn’t run the football as we thought we would be able to run the football. And defensively we gave up a few too many big plays that didn’t allow us to keep their offense in check. We thought early in the ball game we got a little better on both sides once we kind of settled into the pace of the ball game. But obviously in the second half we couldn’t maintain that and they were able to pull away from us.

ON THE YOUNG PLAYERS
I thought it was a learning experience for them. I thought in some areas they did pretty good. Probably our tight end got his first start today and I thought he did a pretty good job overall. And I thought there were some other guys who played and made some plays. But still they’ve got to grow. There was no area that we could feel very comfortable about right now in terms of saying that area played very well.

ON BOUNCING BACK NEXT WEEK VS BYU
I think that’s the great thing about youth. They’re probably more resilient than anybody else. They’ll bounce back and they’ll be ready to play. (After the game) I simply told them that there’s a better team in our locker room than we showed on the field and that we do believe we can run the football, we do believe we can pass the football, we do believe we can tackle and eliminate big plays. And we’ll go about the task of doing in.

WERE THEY DISTRACTED BY AUTZEN?
We knew coming in this environment would be difficult. I don’t think anybody tried to downplay that. But I don’t think that was it. I just think we weren’t able to get our game going and generate some things.

QUARTERBACK JAKE LOCKER
We didn't play as well as we can. We're not a team that can just come out and win without trying. We have to play as well as we can to win games. No one in this league is a pushover.

LINEBACKER DONALD BUTLER
There is a lot of disappointment because we didn't expect to come down here and lose. Our expectations were high. I am very disappointed. Things turned out for the worse. ... No doubt we have a better team than last year.

FULLBACK PAUL HOMERWe'll let (the freshmen) know we're a good team. We'll get home and see what we did wrong.

TIGHT END KAVARIO MIDDLETON
I'm not too down about the loss. We'll be back next week. We knew what we did wrong in certain situations, and we'll get better next time.

10:55 of 3rd: Jeremiah Johnson went 13 yards for the TD. Johnson is now over 100 yards on the night, a career high. The drive was helped by a facemask call against the Huskies -- and those are all 15-yard penalties this season.

Note: I'm on a real tight deadline tonight, so I probably won't be blogging as much this half. Thanks for the halftime comments.

By the way, I don't know how much the TV crew is mentioning this, but it's no coincidence that all of the points so far have been scored by the team moving west-to-east. There's a pretty stiff breeze going that way, too.

Halftime: We are told that Oregon starting quarterback Justin Roper has suffered a hand injury and isn't expected to return. Roper, of course, seemed destined to be the No. 2 quarterback until Nate Costa suffered a season-ending knee injury late in camp.

3:17 of the second: The Huskies drove 60 yards in 13 plays, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Paul Homer.

12:15 of the 2nd quarter: The Huskies get their first points of the season on a 35-yard field goal by Ryan Perkins.

5:13 of the 1st quarter: UW switched to a 4-3. Then gave up a 60-yard screen to Terrence Scott for the second score.

10:20 of 1st quarter: UW had one first down and punted. Then Oregon needed four plays to march 63 yards -- all on the ground -- to take a 7-0 lead.

7:10 The season has kicked off. Kicked off into the UW end zone for a touch back. (Return men for the Huskies were Tripper Johnson and Jordan Polk.)

UW game captains are Donald Butler, Jake Locker, Juan Garcia and Daniel Te’o-Nesheim.

7 p.m. We're minutes from kickoff. The temperature is 68 degrees, there is a 10 mph breeze, and there are some dark but not-too-threatening-looking clouds floating by.

The pregame ceremonies included a moving tribute to Oregon football player Todd Doxey, who drowned on July 13. Also as tribute, a different Duck will wear Doxey's 29 each game, and there are "29-TD" helmet stickers on the helmets.

6:10 The Ducks now have taken the field. They are wearing green helmets, jerseys and pants. And I guess this is the odd day that the Ducks don't have the most double-take-inducing uniforms in the Pac-10. (Turn on the Cal game on ESPN.)

6 p.m. The first of the Huskies have just taken the field and we now know that two things haven't changed. UW is wearing the same road uniforms and they have over the past several seasons, and the Oregon students are still chanting the same classlessly crude chants that they've chanted in past season.s

5 p.m. It is a breezy and partly cloudy day at Auzten Stadium as we count down to the much-anticipated opening game of a much-anticipated season.

I plan to use this blog much as we have on past game days. I'll pass along any news as we get it before the game, then try for updates at the end of each quarter or as news breaks. After the game, I'll be absent for a while, as I head down to the locker room for quotes. But I hope that you'll pick up the slack, as you have in the past, with your impressions of what you saw.

One change this season is I'm going to keep everything on one long running blog. In the past, I've handled each piece of news with a new item. But my thinking is that a single running blog entry might allow for you guys to have a smoother comments/conversation than having to bounce around. At least, that's what I'll try tonight, and feel free to let me know if you like the old way better.

I'm down in Oregon for the first game of the season, and the Huskies only road game until October. (There's no doubt this UW schedule is tough, but at least they bring all of their out-of-conference opponents to Husky Stadium.) In any case, I noticed the cool animated tour of the Pac-10 stadiums above and through some of you might like to see it, too. (Although this still shows Stanford's old stadium.)

As far as road trips go, I think this is one of the best -- at least from the fan's perspective. Eugene's a nice town with a college town feel, but still a lot to do. And the stadium is one of the league's best. And the fans' are among the most intense.

The weather is fine upon my arrival: a little warmer than ideal for football, with mostly blue skies and a few fluffy clouds. The forecast for Saturday calls for partly cloudy skies, a slight chance of rain, and a gametime temperature of around 65 degrees.

My preview story in the Saturday paper, makes the point that all the things that UW fans are wondering about these Huskies are things Mike Bellotti is probably wondering, too. And that could work in UW's favor.

A quick game preview:

WASHINGTON (4-9 overall, 2-7 in Pac-10 in 2007)
AT NO. 21 OREGON (9-4, 5-4 in ’07)

Kickoff: 7 p.m., Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Ore.
Television: FSN. Radio: 950-AM.

The series: Washington leads, 58-37-5. However, Oregon leads 13-12 in Eugene, and the Ducks have won four straight in the series including 55-34 last season in Seattle. Oregon has never won five straight over Washington.

What to watch: UW fans could get their first looks at a dozen or more true and redshirt freshmen, including three true freshmen in the starting lineup: tailback Chris Polk, defensive tackle Senio Kelemete and kick returner Jordan Polk. True freshman Kavario Middleton also could start at tight end, filling in for Michael Gottlieb, who did not travel due to a hamstring injury. … Fans also will get their first look at the defensive changes installed by new coordinator Ed Donatell. … In a reversal from most of last season, UW will actually have the more experienced quarterback, as Jake Locker makes his 13th career start while Oregon’s Justin Roper makes his second. … The Ducks have scored 48 points in each of their last two home openers. ... Oregon starting offensive tackle Fenuki Tupou will miss the game following what is being called a violation of eligibility bylaws.

What’s at stake: It’s opening day. Someone is going to start 1-0, and someone 0-1. This also is the Pacific-10 Conference opener for both teams. And it’s one of the West Coast’s fiercest rivalries. The game will be played in front of the 56th consecutive sellout crowd at Autzen -- and a national television audience.

Pick: Oregon, 45-28. These young Huskies should be fascinating and fun. But this is a lot of ask of so many inexperienced players.

UW coach Tyrone Willingham, speaking to the media for the final time before the opener Saturday at Oregon, said the tight end Michael Gottlieb (hamstring), safety Jason Wells (knee) and one or more tailbacks won’t make the trip. He declined to name the tailbacks until he could announce the traveling squad to the team. However, he said that true freshman Kavario Middleton from Lakes High could draw significant playing time at tight end.

Willingham also confirmed that linebacker Joshua Gage and offensive tackle Nick Scott, who walked on after transferring from Drake, have been awarded scholarships. This is the second consecutive season Gage has earned a scholarship. (And I'll have a story on him in our Friday paper, which references the famous story of Notre Dame walk-on Rudy Ruettiger, which is recounted in the YouTube video above.) Willingham said additional scholarships might be granted before school starts Sept. 24.

The Huskies held thier final pre-Orgeon practice Thursday afternoon. The 64-man travel squad will bus to Eugene on Friday.

The college football -- and the Pac-10 season starts tonight. We have lots of special coverage in the Thursday paper, including my first column of the new college season and my Pac-10 and national power rankings.

However, we probably won't be getting my football picks into the paper for a couple of more weeks, so I figured we could get that started here on the blog instead. (After going 180-56 last season.)

THURSDAY
Stanford 27, Oregon State 24: I'll learn a lot from this one right out of the box because a lot of people see far more in this Beavers team than I do, and most folks don't see as much in this Cardinal team as I do.

SATURDAY
Arizona 53, Idaho 16: Arizona should have a very good offense this season ... and Tyrone Willingham can only wish he had a kind an opening game.

Arizona State 37, Northern Arizona 17: The Sun Devils out-of-conference schedule picks up a bit later. But not here.

California 31, Michigan State 24: The Golden Bears ended so badly last season that it's hard to have much faith in this. And questions -- maybe especially at quarterback -- linger into this year. So this is mostly a vote of confidence in Jeff Tedford ... and faith in the home field.

Southern California 33, Virginia 17: It may take the Trojans a while to get rolling -- both in this game and in this season. But a defense that appears to be the real thing should be able to buy them the time they need.

Oklahoma State 24, Washington State 17: The Cougars are having a pretty tough week. I like the early indications that Paul Wulff will be solid over there, but probably not right out of the box.

Oregon 45, Washington 28: These young Huskies should be fascinating and fun. But this is a lot to ask of so many young and inexperienced players.

MONDAY
Tennessee 35, UCLA 17: When your starting your No. 3 quarterback, you need to open with the Big West, not the SEC. Those newspaper ads could look pretty silly come Tuesday.

We've got a lot of special Pac-10 and NCAA football coverage in the Thursday newspaper, and that took me away from UW a little bit Wednesday.

However, I was there enough be part of a good conversation with Senio Kelemete, the true freshman out of Evergreen High, who will start at defensive tackle for the Huskies on Saturday night at Oregon.

I'll have a feature on him (and tailback Chris Polk, the other true freshman starter) in the Thursday paper.

Meanwhile, a few other notes from today:

The Huskies practiced under the lights for the second consecutive night, preparing for the 7 p.m. Saturday kickoff at Autzen Stadium. It also was the second consecutive practice that was fully closed, including the first 25 minutes that Coach Willingham has traditionally held open.

The team will hold an afternoon practice Thursday and bus down to Eugene, Ore., on Friday.

No new or unexpected health problems have been announced this week.

And finally, the UW Alumni Association reminds you folks heading down to Oregon that they will hold the first of their pregame tailgate parties -- called Washington Warm Ups -- starting three hours before kickoff Saturday. Details are available at uwalum.com.

We'll get to hear from Coach Willingham and the UW defensive players and coaches in the early afternoon. Until then, here's some reading material from this morning.

My TNT story looks a lot at the Washington-Oregon game and other opening games around the Pac-10.

Meanwhile, here's a look at the Huskies-Ducks match -- and Oregon's defensive plan for Jake Locker -- from the Eugene Register-Guard.

Game week has begun for the Huskies, and we got a few minutes with two of the players who represent the biggest stories of the preseason so far: center Juan Garcia and tailback Chris Polk.

Garcia said he feels healthy enough to play all game at Oregon -- both in terms of his injured foot and in terms of conditioning. However, he said he also had a sincere talk with line coach Mike Denbrock, telling his coach that he wants to play only to the degree that it will help the team. Garcia said that if his play isn't good enough, then he assured Denbrock that he wants to be pulled or moved down the depth chart -- his respect for his coach is good enough where he would understand.

Polk also was impressive. Early in camp we saw a very confident borderline cocky Polk. However, today -- the day after becoming the first true freshman tailback Tyrone Willingham can remember starting -- Polk seemed confident but humbled. He also explained -- in technicolor detail -- his tendency to vomit before games. For those of you wanting to know more -- and really, who wouldn't? -- I'll have a full story later in the week.

Here's what Willingham had to say about Polk: "The thing I've said that what I've seen from Chris is kind of that 'wow' factor that you stand there as a coach and watch some of the plays he makes as a coach and you stand there and go 'wow.' It's a wonderful sensation to have as a coach when you have a player who does that."

Earlier in the day we heard from all of the other Pac-10 coaches by conference call.

Oregon's Mike Bellotti said he seems some advantages to starting the season with a big conference game. I'll write in detail about that for the Wednesday paper.

Despite that, Bellotti called UW's Jake Locker the "biggest, fastest and most dangerous weapon in college football."

Finally, it didn't come up in the conference call, but the Oregonian's Ducks blog is reporting that Oregon receiver Ellis Krout won't play this week due to suspension by Bellotti.

You really want to run down to the corner newsstand and pick of, oh, five or six of today's News Tribune.

This is the day of our special preseason Huskies football coverage, and the section includes rosters and profiles and lots of good information including player-by-player profiles of the starters and game-by-game predictions of what I see as a 5-7 season.

Most of the coverage is also available in the Huskies section of The News Tribune website. But our hope is that the section is something you'll want to keep by the TV and refer to all season long.

Plus there's more ahead. Washington State gets similar treatment Wednesday, and then we'll preview the Pac-10 and national college seasons in the Thursday paper.

The Huskies put out their first depth chart since spring today and it contains major surprises on each side of the ball.

Jordan White-Frisbee is listed as the starter at left guard, beating out incumbent Ryan Tolar. (Juan Garcia is listed as the starting center. Chris Polk as the starting tailback.)

On defense, late-arriving true freshman Senio Kelemete is listed as the starter at defensive tackle alongside Cameron Elisara.

(The defense shown is a 4-3.)

And the team is young -- 10 freshmen or sophomores in the starting lineup -- five on offense, five on defense -- and only six seniors.

Meanwhile, the Eugene Register Guard is reporting that Oregon quarterback Nate Costa will miss eight to 10 weeks after undergoing knee surgery.

Oregon coach Mike Bellotti spoke to UW media today before that news was announced. However, the coach said that he expected redshirt sophomore Justin Roper to start against UW. Roper led the Ducks to their Sun Bowl win last season, and while he seemed to be running behind Costa in camp, Bellotti said Roper was the top quarterback in the Ducks' final two scrimmages.

I've finally gotten around to transcribing Oregon coach Mike Bellotti's remarks from Pac-10 media day. Though delayed, the offer a pretty good shapshot of the team that the Huskies will face at 7 p.m. Saturday in Autzen Stadium.

Some highlights:

Bellotti on the season opener: "We’re excited about opening the season with Washington – a conference game. I say that for a couple of reasons. For one thing it’s a conference game, and it’s had our young men’s attention since it was announced. Two, it is on television, it gives us an opportunity to showcase the Pac-10. And three, we get three weeks to prepare for Jake Locker, who’s probably one of the most difficult athletes in college football to defend.

"We jump right into the league race as does I think Stanford and Oregon State (on Thursday), so we’ll get some ideas very early about where the power in the conference lies. But I think it’s very competitive, I think it’s a dogfight all the way across. I think you just have to protect your players and be healthy."

Bellotti on his Ducks:
"Our team itself has a very positive attitude.

(In discussing his QB situation, Bellotti said Nate Costa started camp No. 1 on the depth chart. But Costa is now likely out with injury, so here are Bellotti's remarks on Saturday's probably stater Justin Roper) ... "Justin Roper did a tremendous job in our bowl game and probably his performance in practices leading up to that game and in the Civil War, gave our team the confidence, I believe, to win that football game.

"We have a pretty good supporting cast on offense. I think we have three returning starters on the offensive line led by Max Unger. Fenuki Tupou allowed us to move Max as an all-league player from left tackle to center, and then Mark Lewis could probably start at either guard or tackle for us. So, we have some flexibility there, and the game starts up front.

"Ed Dixon returns at tight end, we’ve very athletic. Jaison Williams will probably be our all-time leading receiver in the history of Oregon football this year, and he is working very very hard to lead that receiver corps.

"Defensively we talk about our secondary a lot … but we have three three-year starters in Patrick Chung, Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond. They are all great football players. They’re tough, they’re athletic and they’re playmakers. The playmaker thing is the difference because we’re not just going to try to contain people, I think we can try to attack people. (Jerome) Boyd and (John) Bacon return at linebacker and Nick Reed and Will Tukuafu return at ends. In places I think we have really positive experience and athleticism. We don’t have a great deal of depth. The question mark is our defensive tackle position, where we lost two guys.

"But the kicking game is in great hands. Matt Evensen and Josh Syria probably give me more confidence than we've had going into the season in quite a while in our kicking game.

"(Tailback Jeremiah Johnson is healthy and) can carry the lion’s share of the carries, but I see it much like last year with a one-two punch. … LeGarrett Blunt is 6-2 ½, almost 240 pounds … he’s a power runner. He can break a lot of tackles, he can go north and south, but he also can make people miss. (Johnson) is arguably one of the best athletes on our football team. He could play anywhere, he has a tremendous stiff-arm, is a waterbug out there in terms of his movement skills. I could see them complementing each other, I can see them both playing at the same time, I see them protecting each other into the fourth quarter of every game – keeping each other hungry and pushing each other – and also into the second half of the season."

(We'll hear from Bellotti again Monday -- as well as Ty Willingham and several Huskies. I'll pop in around noon with updates from that.)

The Washington Huskies are off today after closing fall camp on Saturday.

News out of Eugene is that Oregon starting quarterback Nate Costa is doubtful for the opener, vs. Washington at 7 p.m. Saturday at Autzen Stadium.

Even at that, the Ducks offense apparently looked pretty good in their final scrimmage, according to the Register-Guard.

Here's a link to Oregon's official football site.

And another to this Ducks' blog from the Oregonian.

There are no UW public/media events this week, but the countdown to Autzen begins seriously on Monday. So, I should be adding information all week leading up to the kickoff of a very big game in a very big season.

Just before noon as I write this, the Huskies are in Husky Stadium wearing shorts and shoulder pads, concluding fall camp for another season.

In the 25 minutes open to media, three players seemed to be missing: safety Jason Wells, tight end Michael Gottlieb and punter Jared Ballman. Wells has been slowed by a knee injury all camp, but the other two were unexplained for now.

Loud music -- mostly country -- was blaring from speakers, as the coaches apparently tried to simulate the noise the team will experience one week from today when the Huskies open the regular season at Oregon's Autzen Stadium.

The Huskies are off tomorrow and will return to the field for game-week preparations on Monday.

Monday also will bring the team's annual kickoff luncheon.

(Final note: Acting athletic director Scott Woodward took in practice, and repeated his hunch -- and he says it remains just a hunch -- that a permanent athletic director could be announced next week.)

The dates of Washington's home games in the College Basketball Experience Classic have been moved back one day each to Nov. 18 & 20. The Gazelle Group, which puts on the tournament, hopes to have a release on the teams in mid-September.

However, regardless of what the Huskies do in those two home games, they will advance to the semifinals and either consolation or championship games the following Nov. 24-25 in Kansas City.

Meanwhile, the CBE has introduced this blog as a source of information for the tournament.

Here is UW's full hoops schedule.

There's no media time with Coach Willingham today, but we just got a good briefing from both coordinators on their thoughts of the Thursday scrimmage and how it has influenced their thinking going into Oregon game week.

Some highlights...

from offensive coordinator TIM LAPPANO

*True freshman running backs Johri Fogerson, David Freeman and Terrance Daily all looked good. He likened Forgerson's running style to that of Marcus Allen.

*Tight end Kavario Middleton has apparently "got the attention" of the UW defensive backs, who apparently got pretty physical with him. Still, Lappano said Middleton has been "real steady" and used his basketball skills to go up and get balls in traffic.

* He also repeated Willingham's observation from yesterday that almost all of the young receivers will play. But he also added these details:
Jermaine Kearse: very smooth and came on strong last week.
Cody Bruns: Slowed by back injury recently.
D'Andre Goodwin: The only certain starter.
Charles Hawkins: Walk-on is running good routes and can play inside and outside."Could get on field some."
Jordan Polk: Will get on the field in special situations to take advantage of his speed.
Anthony Boyles: Needs to improve practice habits.
Devin Aguilar: Return to health has allowed him to pick up his pace from early camp.
Alvin Logan: Big body who could make contribution with run blocking.

*Lappano said he expects to play six receivers and three tailbacks.

*Lappano said Juan Garcia's foot injury passed its test and said "I'm sure he's going to play" at Oregon.

*Jake Locker didn't take part in the scrimmage, although he reportedly took all of the snaps in this morning's practice.

Comments from defensive coordinator ED DONATELL
*He went into the scrimmage looking for certain areas rather than overall play.

*He left the field feeling that the defense has underperformed at the point of attack, but said he felt better after watching film.

*Still not sure of his starting lineup and may not even be firm on his depth chart at the start of game week on Monday.

*Very interested in Oregon's quarterback questions (see earlier blog entries), but assumes the Ducks have good people ready to step in.

Nate Costs, Oregon's presumed No. 1 quarterback missed practice Thursday with a knee injury. However, there is no firm word on a prognosis regarding his availability for the Washington game yet. Maybe Monday.

Or maybe not until gametime, as coach Mike Bellotti seems to have a heightened interest in establishing a cone of silence over other camp issues too, as the opener ticks down to eight days and counting.

Meanwhile, the ever secretive Huskies camp also moves into something closer to lockdown mode as kickoff approaches. Coach Willingham isn't available to the media today. Neither Willingham nor his players are available Saturday. And next week's final two pre-opener practices -- Wednesday and Thursday -- will be fully closed, including the opeing 25 minutes of warmups that is usually open to writers and photographers.

I always look forward to getting my collection of college media guides because I've always thought they give an interesting look at what mindset the teams are trying to establish each season.

With the first game of the Pac-10 season now less than a week away, I thought we'd take a quick run through nine of the Pac-10 guides.

(The 10th -- the Huskies -- is covered in detail in a post below.)

There are multiple reports out of Oregon that Nate Costa, the Ducks' presumed starting quarterback, has sustained a knee injury. There is no clarity on the severity of the injury at this time.

Here's a blog item from The Oregonian. And another from the Eugene Register-Guard.

Here's Costa's profile from the Ducks' sports information department, along with that of Justin Roper, who would presumably top the depth chart in Costa's absence.

We just got our daily briefing with coach Tyrone Willingham. And that's likely all the news we're going to be getting today, because every second of this afternoon's practice is closed -- including those 25 minutes we usually get.

There wasn't much real news today, but there was an interesting answer. Willingham was asked what has excited him (Willingham almost never acknowledges surprise, so we've leared to ask differently) so far in fall camp. He had multiple answers: the "great news" of Juan Garcia's recovery, senior guard Casey Bulyca's leadership, which he called "really special," the development of the freshman running backs, receivers and defensive linemen, the "solid" linebackers and the competition in the secondary.

Speaking of Garcia, we just got an update from him, and it seems that his hopes are turning toward the excitement of realistic optimism. He had a little bit of a scare this week when Jordan White-Frisbee fell on his foot. (Which isn't advised for any foot, let alone an injured one.) But it appears that the scary pop he heard was simply scar tissue giving way. And while the coaches demanded that he call it a day at that point, Garcia said he plans to give his foot a major test in practice today. And if all goes well ... he figures he can split time with Matt Sedillo at Oregon.

(Shortly after I wrote that, the Garcia story got even a bit better. He was among 43 players named to the Rimington Trophy watch list -- one of seven Pac-10 players to be so honored.)

Willingham also spoke a bit about the offensive line rotation, noting a few injuries but calling guard/center Ryan Tolar "the rock ... pretty solid all the time."

Asked about tailback Brandon Johnson, Willingham said that first "he needs to get well." After that, Willingham also noted that Johnson needs to get better in all aspects of the passing game -- blocking and receiving.

The Huskies hold their single practice -- perhaps scrimmage -- at 4:30 today. They will enjoy the final two-a-days of camp tomorrow.

Pac-10 football is now only a week away as Stanford and Oregon State will open the season next Thursday in Corvallis.

Here is the the Pac-10's first football notebook of the season, with a roundup of next week's action.

Here are their notes about the Washington schools:

WASHINGTON: Dynamic QB Jake Locker earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors last season after accounting for 3,048 yards total offense and 27 TDs. Included were 986 yards rushing, a Conference record for a quarterback. . . . Locker's rushing prowess was one major reason the Huskies finished second in the Pac-10 in rushing offense last year at 203.1 yards per game. . . . Plus the offense averaged 29.2 points per game last year, its best mark since 2002. . . . Does any team have a more challenging early schedule than Washington? The Huskies first three opponents--No. 21 Oregon, No. 16 BYU and No. 4 Oklahoma.

WASHINGTON STATE: New head coach Paul Wulff, a former starting center for Washington State, will have the Cougars in an up-tempo, no-huddle spread offense this season. . . . WSU is expected to utilize a 4-3 on defense. . . . Senior QB Gary Rogers will direct the offense, finally getting his opportunity after backing up record-setting quarterback Alex Brink the last three seasons. . . . All-Pac-10 WR Brandon Gibson led the league in receiving yardage last year and was the only receiver to average more than 100 yards per game (107.3). He had 67 receptions for a school-record 1,180 yards.

Hey folks, Ryan Divish here, filling in for Don today, while he gets some stuff done at the office for the upcoming Huskies preview.

I guess the big news of the day was that Tyrone Willingham canceled today's afternoon practice. With 11 days before the first game, it seems a bit unusual. But Willingham, as only he can, downplayed the whole situation.

"We're probably going to change our schedule so this afternoon we won't be out on the field," Willingham said. "We'll spend a little more time meeting on working on some thing from that perspective. It's just a natural thing to do based on where our team is and how they are feeling. It should help them be even better to be where our goal is soon to be 11 days from now."

Um, OK.

Using a coach-speak translator, that seems to mean, some of the guys are a little beat up and have some tired legs.

"We feel like it's the right time to just put a little rest in there," Willingham said. "We have some naturally built into our schedule, but this we'll just add to it. We anticipated that we would need it at some point."

"The banged-up is not the key ingredient. It's just the fact of where your legs are as a moving unit," Willingham added .

Jake Locker update
I saw him he had post practice ice on his throwing shoulder and sore hamstring - both typical of this time of the season.

"Jake has been fine," Willingham said. "Obviously, he's still not doing everything and we're not including him in everything, but he could do everything."

* Juan Garcia missed practice this morning with a death in the family. He may return to campus sometime this afternoon or possibly tomorrow.

* Nate Williams was limping around practice and was limited this morning.

"One of his bruises caught up with him a little bit, so one of the precautions to slow him down a little bit," Willingham said.

Central Washington University, new home to former UW tailback J.R. Hasty and cornerback Jordan Murchison -- has been unanimously picked to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Here's a preview of the Wildcats.

Perhaps the most lowly anticipated position battle of fall camp now seems settled: Reserve quarterback Ronnie Fouch apparently will be the holder on field goals and extra points.

The position came open with the departure of senior Carl Bonnell.

Coach Tyrone Willingham initially lhad the other kickers try out for the job. That apparently didn’t work out, but Willingham figured that something else would. Scholarships are awarded to kickers and punters and even long snappers, but Willingham said he’s never had trouble finding an adequate holder somewhere on his roster.

And now he’s apparently found one in Fouch.

“It’s comfortable to me,” said Fouch, who hadn’t held since his freshman year in high school. “I just catch the ball and put it down. I do it how the kickers like it.”

The kickers don’t sound all that particular.

“A holder is basically a holder,” Jared Ballman said. “If he puts in down in the same spot the same way, that’s about all you can ask for.”

I'll be back on with Dave "The Groz" Grosby on KJR radio, 950-AM, at 5:20 p.m. today, talking about the Huskies' fall football camp as game week -- and the first game -- draw ever closer.

The conversation also will be streamed over the Internet.

Jake Locker has begun being eased back into practice this week, but he doesn't think any easing will last until Aug. 30. Locker said he doesn't expect to be anything less than 100 percent when the Huskies open this season at Oregon.

"I feel good," he said. "I got a chance to run around a little bit in practice yesterday, throw the ball around. It felt good. Limited stuff, but I hope to be able to be able to work more and more in as the week goes on.

Locker said he turned his 12 missed practices into learning experiences by watching No. 2 quarterback Ronnie Fouch, the defenses and the routes the receivers were running.

He said his recovery could be charted in a straight line so far -- meaning no setbacks along the way. And naturally, he hopes that continues.

No real news out of our briefing with coach Tyrone Willingham today. The closest, I guess, was his explanation that defensive tackle Cameron Elisara was missing from practice yesterday do to what is apparently a short-term academic issue, which could be cleared up as early as today.

Otherwise, I thought the most interesting thing might have been the increasing attention he seems to be paying to Oregon, as gameday nears its 10-day countdown. Willingham admitted that he's watching the Ducks' quarterback competition (see post below) closely, and that one advantage of playing Oregon in the opener is that the Huskies get extra time to prepare for the Ducks' unique and complex offense.

Willingham also said that in addition to his recent praise of the true freshman running backs, that Willie Griffin and Brandon Yakaboski are doing well also ... when healthy. Brandon Johnson, however, hasn't really been healthy enough yet to figure into the mix.

And speaking of those true freshman tailbacks, Willingham said that despite the depth at the position, Johri Fogerson has worked only with the offense and none with the secondary.

Meanwhile, we also got an update from secondary coach J.D. Williams, who said that his current No. 1 secondary would likely be Darin Harris and Nate Williams at the safeties with Quinton Richardson and Mesphin Forrester on the corners. Part of that could be due to injuries to Jason Wells, Victor Aiyewa and Byron Davenport.

The decision on Oregon's starting quarterback for the opener against UW is expected to be made soon, according to this Oregonian story.

Meanwhile, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel has settled on junior Kevin Craft as the season-opening QB of his injury-jinxed Bruins. (Despite Craft throwing three interceptions in UCLA's Saturday scrimmage.)

The Huskies' had a few more involved bodies at their morning practice today, including quarterback Jake Locker, who was in full pads. Coach Tyrone Willingham said that Locker remains limited in the work he's doing. “He’s not going to be (100 percent) probably for some time,” Willingham said. “Again, it’s going to be day-to-day when he reaches that point. But again, no concerns there.” Meanwhile, Willingham continues to take the approach that perhaps too much has been made of the injury list so far, and that current indications are that most of these guys will be ready for Oregon.

He added that safety Jason Wells (knee) remains the most limited member of the secondary. And -- interestingly -- he said that if the season started today two freshmen would likely be in the rotation at tailback. He didn't name them, but one would certainly be Chris Polk, the other likely either Johri Fogerson or David Freeman. (I'll have a story on the freshman tailbacks in the Tuesday paper.) That also indicates that the only TB with experience -- Brandon Johnson -- remains limited with a calf injury. It also means who-knows-what about returning redshirt freshmen Brandon Yakaboski and Willie Griffin.

The team practiced in rain in both sessions, which Willingham said the team probably enjoyed after the extreme heat of last week.

The coach also admitted that the Huskies ran through "a good, lengthy scrimmage" of almost two hours on Saturday. He said the skill and depth of those young tailbacks made them the "highlight group."

WEEK TWO

What happened?
The Huskies practiced nine times over six days, and may -- or may not -- have capped it with a Saturday scrimmage. But the bigger news is what didn't happen: Jake Locker didn't return to action. And by the end of the week, potential starters such as Michel Gottlieb, Victor Aiyewa and Brandon Johnson were out with him. And speedy receiver Curtis Shaw left the team to deal with an undisclosed family issue for an undisclosed amount of time.

Encouraging news
The coaches are still talking cautiously, but the idea of Juan Garcia playing at Oregon is becoming less a nice but unrealistic thought, and apparently more a real possibility. Maybe even probability. Freshmen RBs Johri Fogerson and David Freeman sound like their making the most of their add4ed reps. And true freshman DL Senio Kelemete reported to camp.

Bad news
The injury list remains longer than anyone would like. Even if all the key pieces are back by Aug. 30 -- even Aug. 25 -- so much missed time has to be costly ... especially with so young a team.

The week ahead
The Huskies will hold two-a-days Monday, Wednesday and Friday, single practices Tuesday and Thursday, and a split squad practice on Saturday. Friday will mark the end of two-a-days for another camp. ... According to what coach Tyrone Willingham said last week, there could be scrimmaging with game officials brought in for one or more of those sessions. ... UW fans gotta hope this is the week when the balance tips toward more players returning to the field than leaving it.

There has been a date change for the coming UW basketball schedule.

The game at Stanford previously scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7, has been pushed back for television coverage on Sunday, Feb. 8.

The fall camp schedule indicated that the Huskies will have a split-squad practice at 2:30 this afternoon. However, the practice was moved to 3:30, and there are indications that the team held its first scrimmage of camp. In any case, whatever they did, they did in private. The Huskies haven't had an open practice since the first day of camp, and no more are scheduled.

When asked Friday, coach Tyrone Willingham implied that the team wouldn't scrimmage -- at least not a full scrimmage with game officials -- until next week. And he didn't mention anything about a scrimmage when we spoke with him today... although he wasn't asked again.

(Meanwhile opening opponent Oregon certainly did scrimmage -- right out in the open -- and here's a report from the Oregonian.)

Otherwise, there wasn't much news coming from Willingham's media briefing today. However, the coach did try to put the team's injury situation into context. He said he went back and checked how many players were hobbled at this point last season, and found that only two more are hurt now. He granted that the impact may be multiplied by having starters out, especially a starter named Jake Locker. But Willingham added that of all the players currently missing time, only walk-on receiver T.J. Poe is clearly ruled out of the Oregon game.

The Associated Press' preseason football poll has been released.

The most interesting news is at the top -- where Georgia resides -- and at the bottom -- where the Washington Huskies picked up a single vote.

In between, there are 10 UW opponents: No. 3 USC, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 15 Arizona State, No. 16 BYU, No. 21 Oregon, along with Cal, UCLA, Oregon State, Arizona and Notre Dame who all received votes.

We got a few Friday morning minutes with UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano. He had several interesting things to say, as always, but like other coaches, he cautioned that some impressions are tentative at least until the team holds its first real scrimmage.

Some of his thoughts:

*Jake Locker is throwing passes in practice and working as hard at rehab as his hamstring will allow. Lappano doesn't think Locker's loss of camp days will retard the offense much, as long as it doesn't reach into game week.

*Lappano said that center Juan Garcia has passed every physical challenge of practice so far, and if that continues he could be in the mix for Oregon.

*We've heard a lot about the athleticism of this young receiving corps, but Lappano also says the group has pretty good hands. He volunteered Jermaine Kearse, Cody Bruns and Kavario Middleton as having really good hands, and also the consistency of Jordan Polk.

*He said the injuries to running backs Brandon Johnson, Brandon Yakaboski and Terrance Dailey is costing them, but it has really helped the rest of the young runners, who are improving faster through the increased reps.

*Overall, he called this crops of offensive recruits "as good as I've been around."

The Huskies are going a little deeper than usual into camp without a full scrimmage this season, but coach Tyrone Willingham said the first will likely come next week.

Another day another injury: This time it's starting safety Victor Aiyewa watching from the sideline with an injured groin.

In is media briefing today, Willingham also said tht CB Anthony Gobern, who was previously reported injured, has now undergone shoulder surgery.

Willingham -- always a big fan of practicing in heat -- allowed that an exceptionally hot day coming in the second week of game can at least be "a distraction."

The coach also clarified that former walk-ons, LB Josh Gage and WR Charles Hawkins, received one-year scholarships last season. Willingham implied that Gage seems likely to be put on scholarship again this season. Hawkins' status seemed less certain, but will be considered along with others later on.

The news today out of Huskies camp is mostly player comings and goings.

The arrival was true freshman defensive tackle Senio Kelemete, who went through his first practice Wednesday after getting NCAA clearninghouse issues behing him.

Coach Tyrone Willingham expressed more than usual appreciation to have him.

"He’s a young man that when we went through the recruiting process with him, some people thought that he might be one of the best defensive players around this year," Willingham said. "And we think we’ve added some other fine players to our squad who are in that freshman class. But he is an amazing worker. He is a young man who is humble, who wants to be successful, that’s willing to work and beat the odds. So you just enjoy being around a young man of that nature. And what we try to build our team on is young people that believe that work is the core of life. And I think he’s one of those young men that has that belief, is not afraid of it, and really will do everything he can do."

Otherwise, the news was less good, as the Huskies injury issues continue: We have no other additions but we do have a few injuries. Obviously. The most serious is to walk-on linebacker T.J. Poe, who suffered a clavicle injury and is expected to be out for what Willingham called "an extended period of time."

Willingham added that C Matt Sedillo (hamstring), TB Brandon Johnson (and presumably QB Jake Locker, although he wasn't mentioned) didn't work Wednesday afternoon. While TB Brandon Yakaboski, OL Jordan White-Frisbee, S Jason Wells were limited.

The Huskies will hold a single practice Thursday afternoon.

Before taking the field, they attended their annual luncheon with members of the 101 Club, which Willingham said is an important tradition.

"We’ve done this every year, and I think it’s gone on for – gosh – 20 or 30 years and maybe even longer than that," Willingham said. "Obviously, the 101 Club is one of the prominent groups in this community in terms of amateur athletics. They do so many things to make things better for amateur athletics in this community and we want to be one, part of that in having their support, but also introducing our young men to business professionals and kind of showing them what the responsibilities are that they have. And that is not just the fact that you play the game, but there is a responsibility after the game to be involved in the community and have other young people have opportunities similar to this."

The Sports Network has released its season preview of the Washington Huskies.

The bottom line seems to be that things are improving and this could be the year they top .500 ... but like everyone else, TSN has noticed that difficult schedule (which also is mentioned a couple of blog posts down).

Former Husky/current Trail Blazer Brandon Roy will undergo arthroscopic surgery today to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee.

The timetable for his return will be established after surgery.

Here's a report from ESPN.

This is one of the best guys I've dealt with in covering the Huskies. All the best to him.

Jon Wilner's terrific blog takes a look at the toughest college football schedules, and this time Washington comes in second behind Georgia.

Here's what he has to say about the UW schedule:

2. Washington: Once again Tyrone Willingham gets no breaks from the schedule. The Huskies played one of the toughest last season and in ‘08 get Oregon, USC and Cal on the road, Notre Dame, Arizona State, BYU and, um, Oklahoma at home. I count nine bowl teams on the schedule.

For the past couple of seasons, most folks have agreed that Washington has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, if not the toughest. And Wilner's No. 2 ranking affirms the degree of difficulty of a schedule that pours Brigham Young, Oklahoma and Notre Dame on top of a Pac-10 schedule. (I thought Wilner's pick of UCLA at No. 4 was interesting. I think if anyone in the Pac-10 has a schedule that rivals UW's it's USC ... with UW getting the nod because the Huskies have to play the Trojans, while the Trojans get to play the Huskies.)

That latter point, unfortunately, is reflected in Wilner's follow-up piece ranking the nation's five easiest schedules. And on that list are two teams whose out-of-conference schedule includes games against the Huskies: Oklahoma and Notre Dame.

True freshman defensive tackle Senio Kelemete reported to his first UW practice this afternoon, his academic issues now behind him.

Kelemete is a 6-4, 260 pounder from Evergreen High and was a News Tribune Northwest Nugget and a members of the TNT's Western 100. He is a talent, and while his late start certainly doesn't help, it seems he will be given the opportunity to contribute this season.

Meanwhile, watching from the sidelines was former UW quarterback Johnny DuRocher of Puyallup and Bethel High, now a pitcher in the Mariners' organization.

Another potential starter has gone down -- and is listed as day to day -- for the Huskies. This time it's center Matt Sedillo, who had apparently moved into the starting job filling in for the injured Juan Garcia.

Sedillo was kept out of morning practice after suffering a concussion, but there is no indication that he will be out long. And perhaps just as encouragingly, Garcia seems to be coming along well enough in the rehab of his injured foot that he has emerged as a viable candidate to step back into his old job.

This follows a steady stream of Huskies who have gone down in recent days, including QB Jake Locker (hamstring), TE Matt Gottlieb (hamstring), RB Brandon Johnson (recovering from knee, newly slowed by calf), and CB Byron Davenport (ankle), along with the loss of LB E.J. Savannah to off-field issues and WR Curtis Shaw to family issues.

In all, that would be a half-dozen or more potential starters who probably couldn't go if the Oregon game was tomorrow. But it isn't until Aug. 30, and Willingham doesn't seem concerned that the injury toll has become anything threatening, or even particularly unusual, just yet.

In other Wednesday camp notes:

Former coach Don James was a visitor today. He watched some of the morning practice and visited with the coaching staff but didn't address the players.

Willingham said there may be a personnel addition this afternoon.

Willingham also said that the team is looking for a way to get Trenton Tuiasosopo onto the field. Even with the starting linebacker corps apparently set, that could be accomplished with a change of either position, or at least responsibility, moving him closer to the line -- or, of course, in a 3-4 set.

The Huskies will practice again this afternoon.

Tavita Pritchard of Clover Park High School was at least temporarily moved to the top of the Stanford quarterback depth chart Tuesday after a team scrimmage.

Coach Jim Harbaugh stopped short of naming Pritchard the starter for Stanford's opening game against Oregon State, however.

Here is an Associated Press report. Meanwhile, ESPN blogger Ted Miller has this Q&A with the Tacoma QB.

Pritchard did not play during his first season at Stanford in 2005. However, he earned his first varsity letter in 2006, appearing in five games as quarterback, receiver and on special teams. Last season he appeared in nine games including seven consecutive starts at quarterback. He is best known for engineering the Cardinal's upset of USC.

Stanford visits Husky Stadium on Sept. 27.

We just got our daily briefing from coach Tyrone Willingham.

The top news of the day was the loss of apparent No. 1 tight end Michael Gotlieb to a hamstring pull during practice Monday.

"It got kind of tight," Gottlieb said. "I kind of felt something. It was pretty bad at first, but it's camled down a lot."

His status -- all together now -- is day-to-day.

(And speaking of day-to-day, that also remains QB Jake Locker's status.)

Willingham said he is pleased with the work of the other TE candidates, including Walt Winter, Romeo Savant, Chris Izbicki and Kavario Middleton.

Willingham also said he is looking to the current crop of receivers to ease the loss of Curtis Shaw, who left the team Monday to deal with family issues. Willingham said the other candidates may not be able to match Shaw's "blazing speed," but that he will be looking for athleticism in the eventual replacement. He also indicated that the replacement will not come from the currently overcrowded ranks of tailbacks.

The Huskies webt ion to a single practice in the afternoon. They'll have morning and afternoon practices Wednesday.

Finally, I spoke with several defensive linemen today, and that will be the focus of my story in the Wednesday paper.

The Central Washington Wildcats, new home to former Huskies tailback J.R. Hasty, shows up at No. 11 in the Division II coaches' preseason poll.

Here's part of the news release:

WACO, TEX.-- Defending national champion Valdosta State opens the season at No. 1 in the 2008 preseason American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll.

Valdosta State received 17 of a possible 26 first place votes and will look to win their third national title in five years in 2008. A semifinalist from last year, Grand Valley State received six first place votes and begins the season at No. 2. Last year’s national runner-up, Northwest Missouri State starts off 2008 at No. 3 and received one first place vote. North Alabama begins this year the same as it did last season, at No. 4. California (Pa.) comes in at No. 5 after its semifinal run in the 2007 NCAA playoffs.

Central Washington starts 2008 in the same place it ended last season, at No. 11.

And here's more from the CWU website.

The top three college programs based on football tradition are Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma, according to a national survey by Collegiate Licensing Co. and Learfield Sports.

You may notice that two of those schools -- the Irish and the Sooners -- will play in Husky Stadium this fall. (Here's the UW football schedule.)

One other unrelated note: There are reports that a group interested in bringing a Pac-10 affiliated bowl game back to Seattle will make their pitch this week to Pac-10 athletic directors. You may recall that such a bowl made a two-season run earlier this decade, with Stanford (under coach Tyrone Willingham) losing to Georgia Tech, 24-14, in 2001; and Oregon losing to Wake Forest, 38-17, in 2002.

The Washington Huskies announced today that receiver Curtis Shaw is leaving the team for family reasons. The school said that he is in no legal trouble and is in good standing with the team. He is free to return at some later date, but his absence is considered long-term.

Shaw is a sophomore from Stockton, Calif. He caught five passes last season, but even that figure would have made him the second-leading returning receiver behind D'Andre Goodwin, who had six catches.

Although no official depth chart has circulated this fall, Shaw seemed to be working mostly with the second team.

The Huskies are practicing twice today, and between sessions we got some time with Tyrone Willingham, offensive coordinator Tim Lappano and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.

Among the highlights:

*Jake Locker didn't practice this morning and remains day to day, as does CB Byron Davenport (ankle) and RB Brandon Johnson (knee).

*With Locker out, Lappano said expressed his confidence in redshirt freshman Ronnie Fouch, who he said is getting about 90 percent of the No. 1 reps. Lappano also said that walk-on Taylor Bean is probably next in line, partly because of his progress from last season and partly because the true freshmen behind him are swimming mentally.

*Starting linebacker Josh Gage missed this morning's workout with a viral issue. He may returning for the afternoon session.

*Willingham and Lappano both said that Juan Garcia has taken part in full-speed blocking and his injured foot seems to have weathered it encouragingly. Still, Plan B remains operative at center, with guard Ryan Tolar getting work there both as an emergency matter and to open some time at guard for Jordan White-Frisbee, who Willingham said has shown "amazing power."

*Lappano said that the middle of this week will force some decisions on the highly competitive positions such as tailback and receiver. Especially at tailback, there are just too many folks competing for reps, and by Friday, Lappano expects to decide on a top four and go forward with them while breaking the bad news to the others.

*Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell said there is no such urgency on the defensive side. He said on the defensive line his only standard is deciding who can play, and he plans to rotate those guys through regardless of who happens to be in the starting lineup. He agreed that the line's only experienced player and borderline star -- junior end Daniel Teo-Nesheim -- won't be rotated as much, but Donatell would even like to have him on the field for fewer snaps this season, trying to keep fuel in his high-energy motor. There will be less rotation among the linebackers and secondary, but even there Donatell seems in no rush to decide any meaningful pecking order yet.

*Willingham said that the various kickers are now being tried out as holders on field goals and extra points. Reserve quarterback Carl Bonnell handed that duty last season, but Willingham likes the idea of using kickers because kickers obviously spend all of practice on special teams work, while quarterbacks have to break away from their QB duties to practice holding. Willingham granted that having a QB back there might add some increase flexability in terms of fakes or bothed snaps ... but he added that some of the kickers might be able to throw a little bit, too.

*There was a minor camp fight this morning with OL Casey Bulyca and DL Johnie Kirton going at it. Lappano didn't seem entirely displeased, noting that it is sometime hard to get players going full speed after the off-day they enjoyed Sunday.

*Finally, acting UW athletic director Scott Woodward confirmed his feeling that a full-time athletic director might be in named before the start of football season.

With no UW practice on Sunday, and no coaches or players available, we'll turn elsewhere for some reading material ... at least until normal blogging resumes around noon Monday:

Sports Illustrated has ranked the 119 Division I-A (Football Bowl Subdivision...) teams, placing UW 70th overall and eighth in the Pac-10.

Speaking of the Pac-10, the big topic through the opening week of practices was injuries to starting quarterbacks.

UCLA quarterback Ben Olson is out at least eight weeks.

While USC quarterback Mark Sanchez hopes to be back by the season-opener.

The Los Angeles Times has this overview of the situation, reaching the not surprising conclusion that the Trojans have the horses to overcome such setbacks, while the Bruins will have a tougher time.

Amid all the quarterback concerns, the Tucson Citizen reports that Arizona believes it has the depth to survive an injury to starter Willie Tuitama ... although they're obviously hoping not to find out.

Someone must believe them, because the Associated Press projects the Wildcats among the country's likely surprise teams.

Finally, ESPN ranks the highest up-tempo offenses in college football and ranks UW season-opening opponent Oregon at the top of the list.

WEEK ONE

What happened?
The Huskies started practice in shorts on Monday, moved to helmets and shoulder pads on Wednesday, moved to full pads on Friday and began two-a-days Saturday.

Encouraging news
Chris Polk, who played slotback in spring, moved to tailback. That's his favored position, an even though there are a lot of talented young tailback candidates on the roster, there's every indication that Polk has the potential to be the true game-changing difference maker. ... Also drawing raves are true freshman receivers Cody Bruns and Jermaine Kearse. ... Coaches also were speaking well of No. 2 quarterback Ronnie Fouch even before Jake Locker went down with a hamstring injury. ... Meanwhile, center Juan Garcia participated in some drills with early indications that his injured foot is progressing ahead of schedule.

Bad news
Camp opened with the announcement that 2007 leading tackler E.J. Savannah is off the roster due to academic and other issues. And the first week closed with Locker nursing his hamstring injury ... meaning the Huskies ended their first week of camp with what is probably their best offensive player and their best defensive player on the shelf for undetermined periods.

The week ahead
The Huskies will hold two-a-days Monday, Wednesday and Friday, single practices Tuesday and Thursday, and a split squad practice on Saturday. ... Jake Locker's father, Scott, said there is a possibility that his son will return to work before the week is out.

I took a 17-second video spin of Picture Day from the floor of Husky Stadium on Saturday.

I expect no Academy Award nomination for cinematography. However, this does show that a pretty good crowd -- estimated at around 2,000 -- turned out, despite cloudy weather that eventually gave way to a short cool shower.

The fans at the start of the video are gathered at tables, meeting UW players. Toward the end, the long line running down the middle of the field is made up of fans waiting to meet coach Tyrone Willingham. However, the longest line of the day was -- not surprisingly -- for QB Jake Locker.

UW quarterback Jake Locker has a hamstring strain, his father said, which will keep him out of practice for at least few days.

However, Scott Locker said that his son might be ready to return by the end of next week and that he seems certain to be ready for the Aug. 30 opener at Oregon.

"The medical staff) just said just a minor strain there on the outside of his leg," Scott Locker said, noting that the terms strain, sprain and even tear are almost interchangable. "They can’t really give me a time frame because they said it depends on how it will heal. But they said it wouldn’t be too long and he’ll be back and ready to go.

"It wasn’t to the back side of his hamstring, they said it was more to the side of the leg, and they said that would be a quicker heal for him. They said if you’re going to have it happen, that might be one of the better places for it.

"They said there’s a chance (he can practice next week). They said it’s a wait and see kind of deal. I have little doubt that he’ll be on the field at Oregon.

"(Jake) said it’s not really all that painful, but they’ve got him pretty wrapped up. I saw him this morning and it looked like he was limping pretty good, but they’ve got him wrapped so tight because they want to keep it immobilized."

UW acting athletic director Scott Woodward wouldn't discuss the results of Locker's MRI test (nor would coach Tyrone Willingham, as you can see in the post below). But Woodward assured that Locker is receiving the best care, which is expected to return him to health by the opener.

"He'll be ready to play for Oregon," Woodward said. "He'll get the best medical care in America from the best training staff in America."

Other Saturday notes:

The Huskies practiced before and after the Picture Day festivities, marking their first two-a-day practices of fall camp. The Huskies are off today but will continue with two-a-days roughly every other day for the remaining two weeks leading up to Oregon game week.

Willingham said sophomore Brandon Johnson, the team’s top returning tailback, was “a little bit slower than we thought” during the morning drills due to lingering affects of a knee injury.

Willingham also reported that Byron Davenport was limited by what he called a “foot/ankle” injury.

Willingham also said that center Juan Garcia took part in contact drills and is “slowly progressing back” from the foot injury that once seemed to threaten his career.

UW coach Tyrone Willingham had no update today on the health of quarterback Jake Locker.

Willingham said that the medical staff has seen the results of the Friday MRI test on his injured left leg -- which was initially diagnosed as a hamstring strain. But Willingham said that he hasn't seen the test results or asked about what they showed.

"I haven't looked at them," Willingham said. "They're not a big concern for me."

To a follow-up question -- really, the same question, phrased differently in hopes of a better result -- Willingham said: "We said it'd be day by day. He'll be ready pretty soon and away we go."

Willingham did quote Locker as saying that he will be ready to go tomorrow, but Willingham said "That's not accurate."

Finally asked if there isn't some benefit in the coach actually knowing his quarterback's medical status, Willingham said, "Our medical staff can manage that. They know. I haven't looked at it. I haven't asked them about it."

Meanwhile, Locker isn't the only Pac-10 quarterback whose medical results are in the news.

Here's an LA Daily News report on the dislocated kneecap suffered by USC starting quarterback Mark Sanchez.

And another on UCLA quarterback Ben Olson's return to action from his foot injury.

UW will hold its annual picture day from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday at Husky Stadium. Visitors can walk on the field and meet and take pictures with players and coaches.

The event is free, and free hot dogs, soft drinks and fan items such as yard signs and pocket schedules will be available while supplies last.

“I think it’s always a fun day for the community to have a chance to get out and see the new team,” Willingham said. “And I think our attendance the last couple of years has really been impressive. It should be a fun day for the fans and for our players.”

Here are the details from Gohuskies.com.

The Huskies have decided to stick with the swoosh, agreeing to a 10-year, $35 million deal with Nike.

That figure -- which includes actual cash and product -- is nearly three times the value of UW's exisiting uniform contact, also with Nike.

And since Nike is the current uniform provider, this contract doesn't mean that the Huskies will necessarily have any uniform changes anytime soon ... and they certainly won't look Duck-like unless they want to. Woodward said the school decides its look and the uniform provider complies, not the other way around.

Speaking of Oregon ... Woodward also had an answer for those UW fans who fear that supporting Nike is an indirect way of supporting the Ducks through Phil Knight: "Last I saw, Oregon fans and citizens of the state of Oregon are flying Boeing airplanes, they shop at Costco and they use Microsoft Windows."

Finally, since Nike is the company that brought the "weasel" logo to Montlake, Woodward pointed out that it has almost been phased out in favor of the block "W." The decision on giving Nike another shot at another logo hasn't been made.

More details are available at Gohuskies.com.

I'll be back on with Dave "The Groz" Grosby on KJR radio, 950-AM, at 5:05 p.m. today, talking about the Jake Locker hamstring injury (see post below) and the start of UW fall football camp.

The conversation also will be streamed over the Internet.

Jake Locker suffered what is being called a left hamstring strain during practice on Thursday. Coach Tyrone Willingham said his status is day-to-day while awaiting results from an MRI.

Locker said he hurt himself without contact while rolling out on a passing play. He immediately left practice, and redshirt freshman Ronnie Fouch took over for the remainder of practice.

Willingham said he had no reason to beleive that Locker's availablity for the opener Aug. 30 at Eugene should be endangered. Locker also seemed to believe he would be out for a relatively short time.

WILLINGHAM:
Yes, he did sustain an injury. It was a hamstring strain. The degreee we do not know. We’re monitoring as we go. Our thought process is to just be very cautious and just move forward day to day.

LOCKER:
I kept on a read zone right around the outside and went to turn up and just couldn’t do what I nomally did. It’s just a little bit sore. … I didn’t go down, I just did a little hop and skip and they came to check me out and put a little ice on it.

UW quarterback Jake Locker tweaked a hamstring at practice on Thursday, according to KJR reports. Early indications are that this is something that will keep him out for days, not weeks.

However, we might hear directly from Locker late this morning and are scheduled to hear from coach Tyrone Willingham today at noon.

Naturally, I'll click back in as soon as possible after that.

Vince Taylor, a freshman from Issaquah, arrived in camp Thursday after clearing up the academic issues that delayed his arrival. Taylor, who was originally listed as a safety, worked out with the receivers.

Also noted, freshman cornerback Anthony Gobern worked in a red injury jersey ... the first Huskies to do so this season.

That means the red jersey came out before the gold one, because no one has yet been spotted in the golden No. 1 jersey Willingham awards each fall for excellence in practice.

Meanwhile, in a personnel matter from across the mountains, former Huskies tailback J.R. Hasty is resuming his football career as a member of the Central Washington University Wildcats.

Back on the shores of Lake Washington, kicker Ryan Perkins has been working bravely despite knees that he admits will never work as they once did. Coach Tyrone Willingham went out of his way to praise Perkins as "one of the most courageous guy's I've been around" who has been "spectacular" in his approach.

I spoke to Perkins a couple of days ago, and he said that this season he is competing only for the field goal job, because the toll on his knee no longer allows for punting or kickoffs.

Other than the health issues, however, the junior from North Thurston sounded like he was enjoying being a veteran in camp.

"It feels good (being out there)," he said. "This being my third or fourth camp, it feels nice to have all those years under the belt. It feels comfortable."

Addressing another health issue, Willingham said that tailback Brandon Johnson's knee isn't yet at 100 percent, but that he "hasn't been bad" and has gotten in "a lot of good work."

Willingham said Wednesday's practice was another good day of work, while Thursday marked their final day in helmets and shoulder pads before moving to full pads Friday.

And finally, Lakes High School coach Dave Miller was a sidelines visitor at practice Thursday. I talked with him briefly about Lancers-turned-UW-freshmen TE Kavario Middleton and WR Jermaine Kearse. A story from that conversation will show up in the paper soon.

UW sophomore Matthew Bryan-Amaning scored a game-high 41 points Thursday for the Great Britain U20 National Team, which fell to the Czech Republic at the U20 European Basketball Championships.

Byran-Amaning, a native of London, was 16-for-28 from the field, finished the game with a 57 percent shooting percentage and shot 9-for-12 from the free throw line. He also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and blocked four shots.

So far in the 35-team tournament, he is averaing 17.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks shots per game. He has three double-doubles.

More information is available at Gohuskies.com.

Gohuskies.com has launched a new Olympics page to help UW fans keep up with the 17 Huskies who are competing, coaching or otherwise participating in the Summer Games in Beijing Games.

Meanwhile, you can also follow along with the Games through this Web site, including this Olympics blog by the one, the only, The News Tribune's columnist John McGrath.

And this link will provide Olympics news and results throughout the Games.

UW announced today that its Sept. 27 game against Stanford will kick-off at 7 p.m.

The game will be televised live from Husky Stadium on FSN and also made available across the country on Fox Sports Channel.

Here is the UW schedule as it now stands, with five kickoff times yet to be determined.

UW’s practice pattern switches in a couple of ways today. First, the team dons shoulder pads for the first time this season.

Today also will mark the first of the split practices. That’s not the same as two-a-days (which begin Saturday). Split practices are more just two-a-days for the coaches, who do one session with one half of the team and then another session with the other half. It allows for more individual instruction.

The Huskies will continue in shoulder pads tomorrow, go to full pads – and therefore full contact – on Friday, and then begin two-a-days on Saturday – one session before the 1 p.m. Picture Day festivities, and another after. Then they rotate between single practices and two-a-days until game week, when the two-a-days end.

There was little real news today. Coach Willingham declared himself pleased with the work through the first two days. He seemed especially happy with today’s warm weather, viewing it as an aid to conditioning.

He singled out QB Jake Locker, WR D’Andre Goodwin and CB Mesphin Forrester as players who reported in especially good shape.

No player comings or goings were reported.

Willingham said that Brandon Johnson (knee), the top returning tailback, is practicing, but not yet at 100 percent. The coach also said that he’s impressed by the freshman running backs.

He also noted that those freshmen are still playing on skill and instinct, but they are nearing a time when their heads will begin swimming and more of the playbook is thrown at them from both sides of the ball.

Willingham also confirmed that he will award gold jerseys again this fall for top performers in practices … but that none have yet been awarded.

The Huskies did something unusual with their football guide this season. They changed it from primarily a media guide to a recruiting tool.

That's an increasingly common practice in some parts of the country, but UW is the first Pac-10 school to take the plunge, and coach Tyrone Willingham is happy to be the trend-setter.

"I think it's one of those smart moves that (our sports-information office has done) to keep us moving in the right direction," he said at UW football media day Monday. "As you know, the college football landscape is always changing, and you want to be at the front of the curve and not the back of the curve. And this is one of those things that pushes it more to be a recruiting brochure than anything else to help us along those lines."

After a brief nod to the fact that it makes the guide a little less useful to the media, he added, "I think this is the right direction for us to go."

The video above tries to show what has changed.

Our Tuesday briefing from coach Tyrone Willingham included these notes:

* Most Huskies did "pretty well" in their annual start-of-camp conditioning tests.

* Freshman defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu is being eased in while still nursing a foot issue from high school.

* Chris Polk is one of several players being looked at at multiple positions (slot and tailback). Polk said that he thinks of himself as a tailback, and Willingham said he understands that Polk has "more sense of self" at tailback.

* No. 2 quarterback Ronnie Fouch has earned the right to some playing time this season, giving Jake Locker some rest while gaining experience for himself.

* Walk-on linebacker Fred Wiggs has been added to the roster.

* And finally, Willingham added that redshirt freshman tight end Chris Izbicki, whose recent legal troubles are detailed in a post below, also has been spoken to and disciplined within the team.

One day next week, UW center Juan Garcia will throw his 305-pound body into some 280-pound defensive lineman and push. That will be the key test of how well his injured foot has healed over the off-season.

If the foot stands up to the test -- and the tests that will follow every down for the rest of his career -- Garcia believes he can be back playing for the Huskies far earlier in the season than anyone had suspected last fall when the lisfranc injury to his left foot put his career in jeopardy. Garcia -- always the optimist -- hopes he could be ready for the opener Aug. 30 at Oregon, although he admits week two or three may be more realistic ... at least in part because his conditioning has been hampered by the injury.

Of course, the other side of Garcia's decision to skip surgery is that if there is a setback now, it probably means his career as a Husky is over.

"I was talking to (offensive line coach Mike Denbrock) about one of these days I might have to go out there full speed and either I’m going to be able to go, or it’s going to be the end of that because I’m tired of waiting," Garcia said. "I hate seeing my guys out there and I’m not there with them."

Coaches Willingham and Denbrock are naturally hoping the best for Garcia, but they also need to be ready to go into the season -- and perhaps through the season -- without him.

Meanwhile, three veterans who have battled knee injuries gave updates on their situations heading into camp:

*Kicker Ryan Perkins: “I’m doing good. … It’ll always go down hill, but right now it’s pretty good at this point.”

*Linebacker Donald Butler: “I can definitely say that I’m 100 percent – finally. It’s exciting. It’s exciting to be back.”

*Safety Jason Wells: “I’m ready to go. … I’m probably going to ease into things right now because I haven’t really hit or been that explosive without having my knee brace on.”

Here's our overview story, setting the stage for the coming season.

Here's a compilation of personnel notes as camp begins.

And here's a look at opening opponent Oregon, as the Ducks begin camp in search of a No. 1 quarterback.

Meanwhile, the Huskies will take the field for their second practice at 3:30 this afternoon. This one won't be open to the media, so there will be fewer observations today.

However, we do get access to players at noon and will hear from Coach Willingham at 2:45, so I'll pop in later with any news that comes from those.

The Huskies are on the turf at a very sunny Husky Stadium, working out in shorts.

Early observations:

E.J. Savannah reported to the field in a T-shirt, rather than practice jersey, and he hung around his unit through the early going, but isn't practicing.

Chris Izbicki is practicing.

Chris Polk is working exclusively with the running backs ... so far.

Juan Garcia is on the field, and was with the linemen in early drills, but is now working alone with one of the trainers. Meanwhile, freshman Mykenna Ikehara is working at center along with Matt Sedillo, Gregory Christine and G/C Ryan Tolar.

D'Andre Goodwin and Alvin Logan appear to be the No. 1 wide outs. The twos seem to be Devin Aguilar and Curtis Shaw.

Basketball coach Lorenzo Romar is a sideline visitor.

Redshirt freshman tight end Chris Izbicki was charged today with misdemeanor criminal trespass and for underage possession of alcohol.

The charges date to July 20, when Izbicki attended the KUBE Summer Jam at the White River Amphiteater near Auburn.

Unfortunately, this news became known after UW coach Tyone Willingham finished addressing the media in his season kickoff press conference. During the conference, Willingham mentioned academic and disciplinary issues involving linebacker E.J. Savannah and other players. However, Izbicki's situation was not mentioned.

Here is the Associated Press report on the incident:

Washington reserve tight end Chris Izbicki has been charged with a pair of misdemeanors - second-degree criminal trespass and minor in possession of alcohol.

Izbicki, who will be a redshirt freshman for the Huskies this fall, was charged Monday and will be arraigned on Aug. 14 in King County District Court in Burien, prosecutor's spokesman Dan Donohoe said.

According to a police report, Izbicki attempted to enter a VIP area during a July 20 concert at the White River Amphitheater and was denied access. Officers also noted a strong smell of alcohol and that Izbicki was swaying from side to side.

Izbicki was escorted from the area, but later tried again to enter the VIP area and was released to a friend who promised to take him home.

Less than 20 minutes later, however, Izbicki was seen again near the VIP area and was arrested for trespassing. A breath test showed he had a blood-alcohol level of .241 - three times the legal limit of intoxication, the report said.

Izbicki is expected to compete with senior Michael Gottlieb and freshman Kavario Middleton for playing time this fall.

Blogquick

The first media event of the season has just wrapped up.

Quickly, here are some of the top items that caught my attention:

*101 players reported. That's four shy of the maximum, which allows some the addition of some of the players currently missing due to academic or other potentially temporary issues.

*One of those players is linebacker E.J. Savannah. Coach Tyrone Willingham didn't clarify his status, except that he is out now due to injury, academics and some other unannounced issue. Willingham said his absence "could be forever." When asked if that would be a "huge blow" he replied "To some degree, yes." As camp begins, Josh Gage, Donald Butler and Mason Foster are the starters.

* QB Jake Locker, who completed less than 50 percent of his passes last season, is aiming for 65 percent this season. Offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said that is a realistic mark, but says that he has also reminded Locker that quarterbacks are judged not by passing percentages but by wins and losses.

*Center Juan Garcia's injured foot has progressed well, but its ability to withstand the pounding endured by a college football lineman is "a great concern." Matt Sedillo and guard/center Ryan Tolar will start camp competing for the No. 1 job.

*Receiver Chancellor Young returns with one season of eligibility remaining. For now, he is being seen as a potential key contributor on special teams. Whether he makes his mark as a receiver seems less certain.

*Asked if he feels his team has "more bullets in the gun" this season, Willingham replied, "Getting close."

*Safety Jason Wells and LB Butler both feel better physically than last season. Butler says he's 100 percent. Wells sounded more like he might still be a few percentage points away.

Just arrived on campus. And while I'm early for Tyrone Willingham's season-opening press conference at noon, rosters were already waiting for us.

A first quick scan indicates that linebacker E.J. Savannah, last season's leading tackler, is missing. Willingham hinted at that at Pac-10 media day, and we may finally get the explanation today.

If the absence is long-term, this is an early significant blow to the UW season.

Also missing are freshman Senio Kelemete, Vince Taylor, Craig Noble, Dominique Blackman and Demitrius Bronson.

One surprise is listed among the new walkons: WR Chancellor Young, formerly of O'Dea. Also among the walkons is OL Nick Scott, who comes over from Drake.

We reported here a few weeks ago that there were other issues with Savannah aside from just his injury. We'll see if we get more details today, such as whether this is a permanent deletion or temporary.

It is assumed that Taylor and Kelemete have academic issues. Also not on the roster are the freshmen already known to have issues --- Craig Noble, Dominique Blackman and Demitrius Bronson.

More later.

Washington begins its fall football camp at 3:45 this afternoon. However, we should have some fresh Huskies news before then.

Coach Tyrone Willingham and a dozen or so of his Huskies will take part in a media event from noon into the early afternoon, and I'll blog highlights as soon as possible thereafter. Then the media will be allowed (perhaps our only)access to the full practice, and I'll be back with a report after that.

Then, there are practices every day except Sunday right up until the team leaves for the opener in Oregon ... which means multiple blog entries and newspaper stories just about every day.

Meanwhile, the Huskies aren't the only team getting started, so here's a quick look at what's happening all around the Pac-10 as another football season begins:

Arizona State from the Arizona Republic.

Arizona from the Tuscon Citizen.

USC and UCLA from the LA Times.

Stanford from the Mercury News.

Oregon from the Oregonian.

Oregon State from the Gazette Times.

Cal from the Oakland Tribune.

As for WSU, the TNT is heading to Pullman tomorrow for the start of Camp Coug, so lots of information on Paul Wulff's first WSU team is about to start pouring in.

And for a league overview, former P-I columnist Ted Miller is putting together a dazzlingly good Pac-10 blog over on the ESPN site.

The Washington Huskies are scheduled to report to campus Sunday, and the 2008 football team will take the practice field for the first time at 3:45 p.m. Monday.

Monday's events will begin at noon with a press conference involving coach Tyrone Willingham, followed by another with sophomore quarterback Jake Locker. Both will be streamed live on the Internet at Gohuskies.com. Other players will also be made available for one-on-one sessions with the media, and I'll pop onto the blog with highlights for those as soon as possible.

Media also will be allowed to watch the initial UW practice, and I'll pop back in with information from that after the Huskies leave the field, at approximately 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, my camp preview story from the Sunday paper moved online oddly -- in bits and pieces -- so here it is again, all in one piece:

The Washington Huskies begin fall camp Monday, marking the start of a football season that could affect the program for many seasons to come.

Last winter, university president Mark Emmert committed to allowing coach Tyrone Willingham to return for a fourth season after going 4-9 in his third. However, Emmert also said that “everyone understands that we need to become more competitive,” and that raised the ongoing assumtion that this will be a make-or-break season for the current staff.

Over the off-season, Willingham brought in three new assistants and reeling in the most highly regarded of his four recruiting classes.

At 3:45 p.m. Monday, those newcomers will join the veterans – including 15 returning starters -- as the 2008 Huskies take the field for the first time.

Here are five top items they hope to accomplish over their 21 days of practice leading to the season opener Aug. 30 at Oregon.

1. Improve the defense -- significantly.
Willingham’s boldest off-season move was firing longtime assistant Kent Baer, and eventually replacing him with former NFL coordinator Ed Donatell.

Donatell’s challenge will be considerable as the Huskies lose at least five starters from the 2007 defense, which finished 103rd among 119 NCAA Bowl Subdivision teams in total defense, 92nd in scoring defense, 89th in rushing defense, and 107th in pass efficiency defense.

Donatell hasn’t shared much of his defensive plan publicly. And the Huskies will practice in private again this fall. However, Donatell admits a preference for aggressiveness and is a believer in the 3-4 defense.

2. Build on the potential of QB Jake Locker’s freshman season.
Locker enters his sophomore season on the watch lists for NCAA best-quarterback and best-player awards. However, in his only college season so far, 52.7 percent of his passes fell incomplete, and he threw more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (14). Those numbers need to improve, and his work in spring practice gave every indication that they will.

Locker also ran for 986 yards, making him not only the top returning rusher on the team, but also in the Pacific-10 Conference.

All optimistic projections for UW assume that Locker will improve on his freshman season and that he will remain healthy.

An injury to Locker is UW’s No. 1 disaster scenario, as there are no other quarterbacks on the roster with even one snap of college experience. Redshirt freshman Ronnie Fouch opens camp second on the depth chart. Highly regarded recruit Dominique Blackman isn’t expected to be academically eligible this fall.

3. Hope the new offensive players are skilled enough to overcome inexperience.
The Huskies are similarly young at tailback and receiver. The top returning tailback is sophomore Brandon Johnson who carried 51 times for 196 yards last season. The top returning wide receiver is D’Andre Goodwin, who had six catches.

Coaches believe there is lots of young talent in both areas including Chris Polk, Curtis Shaw, Alvin Logan, Devin Aguilar, Jermaine Kearse and Cody Bruns. However, they must zip through the normal learning curve and produce immediately against a schedule that welcomes them with three ranked teams in the first three weeks: Oregon, BYU and Oklahoma.

4. Coax more production from the young defensive linemen than UW got from the veterans they replace.
Three of Washington’s four starting defensive linemen have departed.

That leaves Pac-10 honors candidate DE Daniel Te’o-Nesheim surrounded by relatively inexperienced linemen such as Cameron Elisara, Darrion Jones and De’Shon Matthews. DT Craig Noble, one of the most promising incoming freshmen, isn’t expected to be academically cleared to play this season.

5. Get healthy and strong.
The off-season may have proved costly as the Huskies suffered injuries to key veterans on both sides of the ball.

Sixth-year center Juan Garcia suffered a foot injury in spring. Since then, his rehabilitation has progressed encouragingly, but no one knows what will happen until he tests it in the violence of the trenches.

Meanwhile, leading tackler E.J. Savannah suffered an off-season arm injury that could linger into camp. And Willingham also has hinted that the linebacker may be among a handful of returnees facing other eligibility questions.

In more general terms, the Huskies will need contributions from younger players, who are generally less physically developed than the upperclassmen they will line up against each Saturday.

And Willingham acknowledged at Pac-10 media day that some of his team’s problems in the second half of games last season may have revealed deficits in conditioning and depth.

That can’t happen again if this team is to achieve the unspoken magic number of victories that is likely to satisfy Emmert.

Five of the Washington Huskies' 12 fall football opponents showed up in the preseason coaches' Top 25 released Friday, and 10 UW opponent received votes in the season's initial rankings.

Georgia is rated atop the USA Today Coaches Poll, of which Tyrone Willingham is a voting member.

The ranked UW opponents are USC, No. 2; Oklahoma, No. 4; Arizona State, No. 16; BYU, No. 17 and Oregon, No. 20. Also receiving votes were UW opponents California, Oregon State, Notre Dame, UCLA and Arizona.

For the first time this season, I'll be back on with Dave "The Groz" Grosby on KJR, 950-AM, at 3:35 p.m. today, talking about this important Husky football season that opens Monday with the start of fall camp.

The conversation also will be streamed over the Internet.