2008 Washington Huskies
Written June 8, 2008 by Jason Lowry
It’s that time of year to take a look at Jason Lowry’s 2008 Washington Huskies football predictions. The Huskies are coming off a very disappointing season, where they were able to just manage a 2-7 record in the Pac 10 and a 4-9 overall record. The team is returning 14 starters from last year’s squad. Coach Tyrone Willingham continues to try and rebuild this school to the days of bowl games and even a Pac 10 title in 2000. There is a lot of work to be done, but they do have a top 25 recruiting class coming, so the future might be bright in Washington. Before we go predicting how they will do in their upcoming season, lets take a look at what they will be bringing back on both sides of the ball.
Offense:
Sophomore quarterback Jake Locker looks like he is going to be the real deal, and might be the reason this team returns to a bowl game in the near future. Not only can he do it with the arm, as he threw for 2,062 yards and 14 touchdowns, he rushed for 986 yards and 13 more touchdowns. The team will have to do some work at filling the holes at running back and wide receiver, as they talent they have is untested. It looks as though sophomore Brandon Johnson will get first crack at running back and many believe he has what it takes to be the next 1,000-yard rusher. At receiver the team is young as well, and the team is hoping that freshman Chris Polk can be a big time playmaker, as he turned down an offer from USC to play for the Huskies. Sophomore D’Andre Goodwin will also be a threat at receiver and could put up big numbers as well, if Locker can improve his passing. The o-line should be a solid unit this season, as it returns 3 starters from a year ago. They would have returned 4, but 2nd team All-Pac 10 center Juan Garcia is likely out for the season.
Defense:
The defense is returning 6 starters, but is weak up front as they are only bringing back defensive end Daniel Te’o-Nesheim. No other lineman on the team has more than 2 tackles, and they are really hoping that sophomore Cameron Elisara can be a force at the tackle spot. The team has two of its 3 returning starters at linebacker coming back, but it looks like senior Trenton Tuiasosopo might lose his spot to Donald Butler. There won’t be anyone taking last years leading tackler E.J. Savannah who snuffed out 111 tackles. The secondary is full of young talent as well, as it looks like freshman Quinton Richardson could make a run at a starting corner spot. The team does have seniors Byron Davenport and converted safety Mesphin Forrester at the spot as well. At safety more young talent is causing problems for the old guys, as sophomore Victor Aiyewa could take the strong safety spot from senior Darin Harris.
Prediction: 8th in the Pac 10
While Willingham might very well be on the hot seat, we really think that this team is a year or two away from being a force in the Pac 10. This team could very well flirt with a bowl game, but we got them finishing right around 5-7. In two years this team could easily be a team that wins 9 games, as they have a load of young talent and should have almost their whole team coming back.
Before we know it summer will be winding down, and football season will be upon us. While you can’t bet on the games just yet, there is plenty of reason to get signed up at Bodoglife.com and get an account up and running today. Professional handicapper Jason Lowry, is at your service year round, and will continue to bring you team-by-team previews of the upcoming NCAA football season.
