Here is my Huskies story for today, on the UW running game.

And speaking of today, this is the say that life changes for the Huskies as classes finally begin.

A few reactions from the start of this week:

*Senior tight end Michael Gottlieb: “It definitely doesn’t make it easier, but you just kind of roll with the punches. … We’re still student-athletes, so it’s not a problem.”

*Senior cornerback Mesphin Forrester: “I graduated in June, so … I have a couple of classes, but it’s not that bad. For the freshmen, the first couple of weeks is kind of tough because you have to find your classes and it’s totally different from high school. But (coach Tyrone Willingham) sets up a plan and if you follow it you’ll be all right.”

*True freshman receiver Jermaine Kearse: “We’ve played three games before school starts, so that’s always good to get the focus on football and nothing but it. … They do their best to prepare us for school and manage our time with school work and football.”

And, of course, my favorite -- everyone's favorite -- from sophomore linebacker Mason Foster on Monday: “Oh, man, yeah, I forgot about that. I like school. It’s cool. UW is a beautiful campus, but it just kind of changes up your schedule, so you have to focus and get your work done or you’re going to be in trouble. It’s cool though.”

Tailback Terrance Dailey and receivers Cody Bruns and Anthony Boyles impressed UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano during practices during the bye week. And Lappano admits that the time is coming to decide whether to get those true freshmen onto the field this season or let them redshirt.

Lappano said that Dailey was "tearing it up" in practice. And he said Bruns is beginning to make the same kind of impression he did during fall camp before falling behind with a back injury. Meanwhile, Boyles is improving his route-running and had a touchdown reception in the final scrimmage of last week.

A few other notes from our Tuesday afternoon briefing with Lappano:

*Impressed as he is with several of the true freshmen, Lappano said they can't reach full potential until they mature physically and spend at least one more summer in the weight room.

*The Huskies lead the Pac-10 in third-down conversions, and haven't been stopped yet on third-and-short. Lappano gave credit to fullback Luke Kravitz.

*Looking ahead to Stanford, Lappano said the Cardinal runs a defense similar to last season: lots of stunts and blitzes. Last season's more veteran UW offense handled that just fine, piling up 539 yards of offense ... which Lappano believes should have been converted into more than 27 points. Still, the Huskies won that day, and Lappano acknowledges that it's time to get that first win, then a road win, and continue as a player in a Pac-10 race that he sees as having one super team and nine others of similar talent.

*David Freeman will start at tailback again, but in addition to Lappano's praise for Dailey, he also had good words about Brandon Yakaboski and said that Brandon Johnson had his best week of practice.