Washington Huskies

ESPN's Erik McKinney drops by to preview top West Coast prospects who will be at this weekend's Elite 11 and Oakland NFTC. McKinney also talks Pac-12 recruiting and why the conference has gotten off to a slow start in 2014 recruiting.

Washington coach Steve Sarkisian talks about spring practices and the new College Football Playoff.

WASHINGTON HUSKIES

2012 record: 7-6
2012 conference record: 5-4 (Fourth in North Division)
Returning starters: Offense 10; Defense 8; Kicker/punter: 2

Top returners: QB Keith Price, RB Bishop Sankey, WR Kasen Williams, TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, DB Sean Parker, LB John Timu, DE Josh Shirley, LB Shaq Thompson.
Key losses: CB Desmond Trufant, DB Justin Glenn, C Drew Schaefer, FB Jonathan Amosa.

2012 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Bishop Sankey* (1,439)
Passing: Keith Price* (2,726)
Receiving: Kasen Williams* (878)
Tackles: John Timu* (91)
Sacks: Josh Shirley*; Andrew Hudson* (6.5)
Interceptions: Justin Glenn, Shaq Thompson*, Marcus Peters* (3)

Spring answers

1. 2013 Schedule

   Aug. 31 Boise State
   Sept. 14 at Illinois
   Sept. 21 Idaho State
   Sept. 28 Arizona
   Oct. 5 at Stanford
   Oct. 12 Oregon
   Oct. 19 at Arizona State
   Oct. 26 California
   Nov. 9 Colorado
   Nov. 15 at UCLA
   Nov. 23 at Oregon State
   Nov. 29 Washington State

   Picking up the pace: We know the Huskies spent the spring installing a new up-tempo offense. How much of it was installed and how comfortable the players are running it remains to be seen. But Steve Sarkisian has made a point that his team needs to 1) do a better job keeping up with the up-tempo offenses in the league and 2) do a better job keeping teams on their heels. This philosophical switch seems to address both since the defense has been practicing against an up-tempo offense.
2. Starting five: Many believe this is the best team Sarkisian has had since coming to Washington. And part of that might be that he finally has a healthy offensive line with quality depth behind the starters. The group of Micah Hatchie (LT), Dexter Charles (LG), Mike Criste (C), James Atoe (RG) and Ben Riva (RT) worked as the first-team starting five all spring. And former starters Erik Kohler and Colin Tanigawa, along with experienced backup Shane Brostek, give the Huskies quantity and quality up front.
3. Progress of Price: The breakout player of 2011 and embattled starter of 2012, Keith Price, quickly shook off whispers of a quarterback competition with a strong spring that left Sarkisian feeling good about his third-year starter. He distanced himself from would-be challengers and, if he can return to that 2011 form, could have Washington in the top 25.

Fall questions

1. After Price: It looks like Cyler Miles has established himself as No. 2 in the quarterback hierarchy, but the battle to be Price's understudy will continue into the fall with Derrick Brown and Jeff Lindquist still in the mix. The Huskies were one of only four teams in the conference last year to have the same quarterback start every game. So Price has proven his durability. But having a clear pecking order behind the starter can be equally important.
2. Replacing Trufant: No easy task to replace Desmond Trufant, a staple in the Washington defensive backfield who at one point started 45 straight games. Marcus Peters is all but locked in on one side, leaving Greg Ducre and Travell Dixon battling it out on the other side. Tre Watson will also be in the mix.
3. ASJ MIA: How long will Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the Pac-12's top tight end, be out? Will he miss any games? He's been suspended indefinitely stemming from his DUI arrest and many are wondering if he'll miss at least the season opener against Boise State. Sarkisian pointed to the silver lining of the situation -- noting that his absence has allowed others at the position to get extensive work this spring. He also said Seferian-Jenkins is taking all of the proper steps to rejoin the team. There is little doubt he'll be the most dominant tight end in the league in 2013, and probably the country. The timetable for his return will be of great interest in the coming months.

This week's look at Pac-12 recruiting touches on Oregon-bound Morgan Mahalak, Joe Mixon, Nathan Starks and more.

Washington athletic director Scott Woodward talks with Ted Miller about remodeled Husky Stadium and the upcoming College Football Playoff.

With spring ball in the books, Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian took some time to chat with the Pac-12 blog about his impressions over the 15 practices, moving on without Austin Seferian-Jenkins and what it's like to actually have a healthy offensive line.

I know every coach has a laundry list of things that they want to get done in spring. But was there one particular thing you felt like you wanted to address?

Steve Sarkisian: There's always more than one. When you come out of a season and you assess your football team and the things you have to work on and the needs you have -- whether it's from a team standpoint, personnel, development -- there were numerous things I felt like we had to address. I feel like we addressed the majority of those things by design. Some of those we found out couldn't be addressed until some of the players we signed arrived on campus. But I felt good about having a purpose going into spring on a variety of fronts and then addressing those things of purpose and feeling good about them coming out.

Where's your confidence level with [quarterback] Keith [Price]?

SS: I felt great about Keith coming out of spring, quite honestly. Of the 15 practices we had, he might have had one that wasn't his best and another where he was just OK. But outside of that I thought he was fantastic. Bringing Marques Tuiasosopo back on board as a quarterbacks coach -- he's a guy I coached in the NFL at Oakland and he was with us here for two years when we first came on board -- bringing him back has been good and the style of coaching he has is what I'm looking for and it's consistent with myself. Keith has really responded to that. He came out and had a really good spring. He's upbeat about what we're doing offensively. I think he feels good about what we're doing up front with the offensive line and also with the wideouts and the running back situation. That genuine confidence that he has in himself, as well as his confidence in what's going on around him, is as high as it's been.

You talked about the offensive line. It seems like you guys finally have healthy depth. How nice has it been to have the same five working with the offense and then knowing you've still got Erik [Kohler] and Colin [Tanigawa] waiting in the wings?

SS: It's been huge. For myself and Dan Cozzetto, our offensive line coach, just the continuity up front of having those five guys communicate with one another, playing with one another, making decisions with one another on the fly has been big. But also for us, having depth -- and not just depth in number -- but depth in experience. You look at Colin Tanigawa. You look at Erik Kohler. Shane Brostek is a backup who has a lot of game experience as well. Really, we have eight offensive linemen who have a lot of game experience against some top-level talent who could step in and play, as well as some younger guys who are really developing. We feel really good about that position group as long as we can stay healthy.

I talked with Bishop [Sankey] a couple of weeks ago and all he wanted to talk about was how he needs to get better at everything -- very little about what he's already accomplished. What's the next step for him?

SS: Bishop is a great kid. Everyone sees what he did on the field and they see how he progressed and got better and better as the year went on and the maturity he exuded -- not only through the tough times early on -- but also in the good times late in the year for himself. The beauty of it all is you turn around and look at our GPA -- he had the highest on the team with a 3.8.

He didn't mention that when we talked.

SS: He'd be the first not to tell you that. He's such a humble kid. But it's everything he does. And it's not just on the field. It's in the classroom, it's in the community. We're seeing now more than ever the leadership he possesses, and I'm really proud of what he's been able to accomplish. I think his best days are ahead of him. There's a lot he can improve on and he's working hard at improving and we're working hard to make him better.

How much of a distraction has the situation with Austin [Seferian-Jenkins] been this spring?

SS: It really wasn't bad. Especially internally. At the end of the day, we touched on this with the team, guys are going to make mistakes. I deal with 18-to-22-year-old males and I've got 105 sons on this roster. To think that all 105 aren't going to make mistakes in a four-to-five year span isn't reality. What I do know, and what our team knows, is that Austin is a really good guy. He's done a great deal for our community. He's a good student. He just got over a 3.0 as well. He's been working hard and was having a good offseason. But he made a mistake. Is that mistake truly indicative of Austin's character? No, it's not. We all understand that. We all have to learn from the mistake he made, unfortunately. But we're moving on. We practiced 12 times without Austin. It was actually good for us. It allowed some of the other guys in his position group to develop and improve. And when the time is right for him to re-join us, he'll re-join us and we'll move on.

You guys were really two different teams when you were at home versus on the road last year. I know there is no magic-bullet answer, but what do you need to do to improve the road play?

SS: We have to continually try to expand our comfort zone. We're obviously a very good team when we're in the friendly confines -- whether it's CenturyLink Field or Husky Stadium -- I think what's key for us is no matter where we go, who we play, what time the game is, what the weather is that we go play Husky football. That's something we've talked about since the locker room of the Las Vegas Bowl, quite honestly, and we continue to talk about it every single day. That won't change.

Speaking of Husky Stadium, what are you expecting from the fans, and what's the game day experience going to be like for them?

SS: I would rival the game day experience with any other school in the country. I had a chance to go through it [last week] and I'm still blown away every time I go in there. I think the proximity to the fans and how close they'll be to the field is going to enhance the game day experience for the fans and for our players. From a crowd noise standpoint. From an energy standpoint they'll provide, it will be a great environment. To go along with the setting of Lake Washington and Montlake Boulevard, I don't know what's better out there in college football.

The defense was much better last year. What's the next step for them as a unit?

SS: I think we have to continue to be an opportunistic defense -- one that creates turnovers. We did a great job of that last year. Continue being really sticky in pass defense. You have to be in our conference with so many people throwing the football. And play really good red-zone defense. Those are three areas we drastically improved last season. To continue to build upon that; our ability to defend the up-tempo offense is going to be big for us; and our ability to disrupt quarterbacks -- whether that's sacks or knockdowns, things of that nature -- playing in the offensive backfield more than we had last season are two areas we're very focused on. We focused on that this spring and we'll continue to focus on it in the fall. Defending the up-tempo offense and then wreaking havoc in the offensive backfield.

Whose name are we going to be hearing in 2013 that we didn't hear about in 2012?

SS: I think a name to keep an eye on is a kid who redshirted for us last year and I think can be a playmaker for us in the defensive backfield and in the return game is Cleveland Wallace. He's a guy that possess a really high football IQ. He has a knack for being around the football. He really improved this spring. I think he's a guy to keep an eye on.

The 2013 NFL draft was odd for the Pac-12.

The Conference of Quarterbacks saw two of its own tumble precipitously, USC's Matt Barkley to the first pick of the fourth round, and Arizona's Matt Scott to undrafted. Meanwhile, four of its five first-round picks were defensive players. And the offensive guy was a lineman.

Oregon was the top-dog, with five picks, including two in the first round and one in the second. USC, which once held that position on a near-annual basis, ended up with an underwhelming four -- same as UCLA -- the first being receiver Robert Woods in the second round, 41st overall.

Arizona and Arizona State, 2012 bowl game winners, were both shut out, while woeful Colorado produced two draft picks.

The conference as a whole supplied 28 draft picks, a number that ranked third among FBS conferences.

The SEC led the way with an extraordinary 63 draft picks. In fact, this article here does a nice job of quantifying how stunning the SEC's dominance was in the draft, not unlike how it has dominated the BCS.

The seven-team SEC East actually had more draft picks than any other conference with 32. That, in fact, is the number of SEC draft picks in the first three rounds.

Yeah... well. Heck. I don't even know what to say about that.

The ACC was No. 2 with 31. After the Pac-12, the Big 12 offered up 22 with 10 teams as the Big Ten did with 12. The Big East had 18.

Scott, who signed a free agent deal with Jacksonville, wasn't the only player who likely was surprised to not hear his name called. Stanford outside linebacker Chase Thomas, two times a first-team All-Pac-12 performer, went undrafted and signed a free agent deal with New Orleans.

Other free agent signings of note:

• Washington State QB Jeff Tuel: Buffalo Bills
• UCLA TE Joseph Fauria: Detroit Lions
• California RB C.J. Anderson: Denver Broncos
• Utah CB Ryan Lacy: New Orleans Saints
• Arizona State LB Brandon McGee: Dallas Cowboys
• USC CB Nickell Robey: Buffalo Bills
• California DE Aaron Tipoti: Buffalo Bills
• USC S Jawanza Starling: Houston Texans
• Utah P Sean Sellwood: Atlanta Falcons
• Utah C Tevita Stevens: Washington Redskins
• Colorado LB Doug Rippy: Denver Broncos
• UCLA CB Aaron Hester: Denver Broncos
• Stanford CB Terrence Brown: Cincinnati Bengals
• Colorado S Ray Polk: Seattle Seahawks
• Oregon LB Michael Clay: Miami Dolphins
• Oregon DT Isaac Remington: Philadelphia Eagles

Here's how things unfolded for the conference in the draft, round-by-round:

First Round: 3. Dion Jordan, OLB, Oregon: Miami; 14. Star Lotulelei, NT, Utah: Carolina; 20. Kyle Long, OG, Oregon: Chicago; 22. Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington: Atlanta; 26. Datone Jones, DE, UCLA: Green Bay.

Second Round: 35. Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford: Philadelphia; 41. Robert Woods, WR, USC: Buffalo; 46. Kiko Alonso, LB, Oregon: Buffalo.

Third round: 71. T.J. McDonald, USC, S: St. Louis; 76. Keenan Allen, WR, California: San Diego; 79. Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State: Pittsburgh.

Fourth round: 98. Matt Barkley, QB, USC: Philadelphia; 107. Brian Schwenke, OL, California: Tennessee; 109. David Bakhtiari, OT, Colorado: Green Bay; 121. Khaled Holmes, OL, USC: Indianapolis; 125. Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA: Green Bay; 133. Levine Toilolo, TE, Stanford: Atlanta.

Fifth round: 140. Stepfan Taylor, RB, Stanford: Arizona; 145. Steve Williams, CB, California: San Diego; 155. Jeff Locke, P, UCLA: Minnesota.

Sixth round: 172. Nick Kasa, TE, Colorado: Oakland; 182. Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon: Carolina. 192. John Boyett, S, Oregon: Indianapolis; 196. Jeff Baca, OL, UCLA: Minnesota.

Seventh round: 212. Joe Kruger, DL, Utah: Philadelphia. 218. Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon State: Philadelphia. 236. Marquess Wilson, WR, Washington State: Chicago. 247. Marc Anthony, CB, California: Baltimore.

Every game counts. But some games count more. Or tell us more.

We're going through the Pac-12 and picking out one game that seems most important -- or potentially most revealing -- for each team from our vantage point today.

And then we'll let you vote from a list of potential options.

We're going in reverse alphabetical order.

Washington

Most important game: vs. Boise State, Aug. 31

Why it's important: There is obvious temptation to pick a North Division rival -- and I certainly am not trying to downplay the significance of the Apple Cup. When that game rolls around, the Huskies might be a top 25 team jockeying for a high-end bowl game. And revenge will certainly be on their minds.

Ask any Washington player which loss hurt the most last year and I'm confident at least 7 out of 10 would say Washington State. The other three would say Boise State.

As for Oregon -- yeah, I get how important that game is. But a rivalry is only as good as the teams (note the plural) that play in it. And Washington hasn't lived up to its end of the bargain since "The Matrix" trilogy ended. Wouldn't be shocked to see a few Oregon fans wearing these if they drive up for the game. If Washington beats Oregon -- then certainly it would be huge for the program. But it would also be considered a significant upset. And thus, it's not their most important game.

Stanford is obviously important as well. The Huskies shook up the college football world by stunning the Cardinal last year -- and now they have to prove they can do it on the road. That's a huge game for the maturity of this program under Steve Sarkisian. But it's not their most important game.

Recall, if you will, another team in the North Division that finished 7-6 the year before and kicked off its season in a remodeled stadium against a Mountain West Conference opponent. That would be California in 2012. Remember how that game turned out? Remember the tone that loss set for the rest of the season?

I'm not saying the Huskies will share Cal's fate should they lose that game. But with so many key starters returning -- an improved (and healthy) offensive line, an A-list running back, a defense on the verge of graduating from potent to nasty -- a home loss in the new-look stadium would be absolutely deflating.

Remember, this series is also about what each game might reveal. And I don't know about you all, but I'm anxious to see if Keith Price is going to return to the 2011 form that made him one of the most feared quarterbacks in the league. This first test will be very telling of his progress.

And, of course, there are the rematch ramifications. Boise State's 28-26 fourth-quarter win in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas is still very fresh in the minds of fans, players and bloggers.

In the final two games of 2012, the Huskies failed to finish. And as a result, they enter the year on a two-game skid. A victory over a team that's been a top-25 staple would energize the fan base and lend credence to the whispers that this could actually be Washington's breakout year. It also probably puts the Huskies in the top 25 after Week 1. Then victories at Illinois (currently enjoying a nine-game losing streak) and home to Idaho State and Arizona (no promises after last year's 52-17 whooping, but there are a lot more question marks around the Wildcats than there were last week) would put Washington at 4-0 heading into the critical showdown with Stanford.

A loss, however, would zap any preseason hype and would be greeted with an unenthusiastic "ho-hum, more of the same" attitude.

It's a question of legitimacy. And the Huskies can get some by winning in Week 1.

Dave Telep and Paul Biancardi break down Pac-12 recruiting for the Class of 2013, highlighting UW-bound point guard Nigel Williams-Goss.

Call them seeming contradictions if you will, but Washington begins spring practices Tuesday with two mixed messages.

• Senior Keith Price is the Huskies' starting quarterback. Unless he isn't.
• There is a lot of enthusiasm surrounding the Huskies' potential in 2013. And general frustration with the program.

With 20 starters back, including a handful of seeming budding stars, the Huskies have the look of a top-25 team that could make some noise in the rugged Pac-12 North Division after three consecutive 7-win seasons, campaigns that have progressively soured fans pining for the proverbial "next step."

This, coach Steve Sarkisian acknowledges.

“I don’t see why we wouldn’t be in a position to compete for a division championship," he said.

Sarkisian also acknowledged the Huskies' offensive struggles in 2012. While an equal share of the blame should go to poor offensive line play, which was aggravated by injury issues, the easy guy to point the finger at is Price, whose play decidedly regressed after a strong debut season in 2011.

Price went from a darkhorse Heisman Trophy contender to eighth in the Pac-12 in passing efficiency, trailing three first-year starters and California's oft-criticized Zach Maynard. The Huskies averaged just 24 points per game, down nine from the 2011 season.

"We need to get our offensive numbers back to where they were two years ago," Sarkisian said.

And that starts with Price. Unless it doesn't.

"Keith Price is our starting quarterback -- the goal is to get Keith Price back to playing the way he was two years ago," Sarkisian said. "But there are four guys behind him who are going to be chomping at the bit to get an opportunity to make this thing into a competition that either is going to push Keith to be better than he's been or, ultimately, try to surpass him."

So this is Price's job. Unless... "As I've said to Keith," Sarkisian said, "we're not going to be stubborn enough that if we think another guy is playing better that guy won't get that opportunity to beat him out."

Those four guys trying to raise an eyebrow at Price's expense: Redshirt freshmen Cyler Miles, Jeff Lindquist, sophomore Derrick Brown and true freshman Troy Williams.

The bottom line meaning behind Sarkisian's statements is fairly straightforward: 1. He wants Price to win the job; 2. But he wants the Huskies to win as many games as possible in a critical season for him and the program; 3. He's going to play the guy who gives him the best chance for No. 2.

The quarterbacks will be working with a new position coach, Marques Tuiasosopo, whose name immediately evokes pleasant memories for Huskies fans. He quarterbacked the program to a No. 3 final ranking after the 2000 season, the Huskies' last Rose Bowl victory. A former dual-threat player, he's got an NFL pedigree, an easy-going style and a natural follow-me-to-the-gold! ability to lead. He also will allow Sarkisian to be more big-picture with the offense.

If the Huskies get the Price of 2011 -- or someone else who can produce a top-10 in the nation passing efficiency rating -- there are a lot of toys to play with, starting with RB Bishop Sankey, WR Kasen Williams and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins. A young offensive line that got pushed around in 2012 should be much better, and the (eventual) return of former starters Colin Tanigawa and Erik Kohler will provide another boost.

The dramatic improvement of the defense in Year 1 under coordinator Justin Wilcox also suggests strong reasons for optimism.

Of course, the program has been glutted with optimism the past few seasons. Seven wins were a revelation in 2010. Not so much in 2012, particularly when the Huskies blew their final two games, most notably a shocking fourth-quarter collapse against Washington State, something that Cougars fans never, ever, ever bring up these days.

Sarkisian, as is his wont, can find a silver lining even there.

"I don’t think that taste is going to go anywhere for awhile, which is OK," he said. "We lost two games that we should have won. The end result is we are sitting here talking about a 7-6 football team when we could have been here talking about a 9-4 football team. But I don’t know if that’s all bad. If we would have finished 9-4 and found a way to finish those last two games, I don’t know what January or February would have been like for us as a football team. We may have still been hungry and I would like to think so and striving for more. We might have grown a bit complacent. What I do know is there is zero complacency in our locker room right now."

That lack of complacency must start with Price. He needs to regain his mojo. The same could be said for Sarkisian.

Washington will open a remodeled Husky Stadium this fall, a facility that will immediately rank among the nation's best. That will add to the anticipation of a special season, one that Huskies fans have turned purple -- appropriately -- holding their collective breath anticipating.

Said Sarkisian of Price, "We've been through a lot together and we've got one chapter left that we want to make a great ending."

USC, Washington and Colorado are starting spring practices after each suffered through disappointing seasons. Ted Miller says each team has different priorities in order to move on from those disappointments.

We're taking a look at the key issues Pac-12 North Division teams face this spring.

Kevin will take a look at the South Division on Friday.

CALIFORNIA BEARS

Spring start: Feb. 25

Spring game: March 23

What to watch:

1. Who's the QB? One of the big reasons that Jeff Tedford's star fell in Berkeley was because he was unable to maintain his early success developing quarterbacks over the past five or so seasons. New coach Sonny Dykes is an offensive-minded guy who built high-powered offenses at Arizona and then as Louisiana Tech's head coach. He'll be choosing between touted redshirt freshman Zach Kline, longtime backup Allan Bridgford and several others.

2. New defense: Under new defensive coordinator Andy Buh, the Bears will be switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 base front. That means guys who were outside linebackers will be putting their hands on the ground and some defensive ends will be moving inside to tackle spots. Buh needs to win over a crew that had a pretty solid degree of success with a 3-4, excluding, of course, the 2012 season.

3. Skill questions: There are questions all over the offense, and leaving off an offensive line that gave up 41 sacks last year might be a mistake. But the Bears have real issues with the guys who will be touching the ball in 2013. Cal must replace its top two rushers from 2012, and the top two candidates to step up will sit out with injuries this spring: Brendan Bigelow and Daniel Lasco. Further, receiver Chris Harper and tight end Richard Rodgers are out.

OREGON DUCKS

Spring start: April 2

Spring game: April 27

What to watch:

1. Players reacting to new coaches: Mark Helfrich and Scott Frost step in as head coach and offensive coordinator, respectively. Ron Aiken and Matt Lubick join the staff at defensive line coach and wide receivers coach, respectively. How much will things change after Chip Kelly's departure?

2. Next man up: Which young players will take the next step? Defensive linemen Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner, running back Byron Marshall, receivers Chance Allen and B.J. Kelley and safety Reggie Daniels have the ability and will have the opportunity in 2013.

3. Replacing departing linebackers: Linebacker is the position with the most questions heading into the spring. Who will replace Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso? Tyson Coleman, Derrick Malone, Rodney Hardrick and Joe Walker will battle for the spots vacated by the All-Pac-12 performers.

-- Brandon P. Oliver, DuckNation

OREGON STATE BEAVERS

Spring start: April 1

Spring game: April 26

What to watch:

1. Cody Vaz or Sean Mannion? Or is that Mannion or Vaz? The Beavers have a nice core of talent coming back on offense, but much depends on -- finally -- figuring out the true No. 1 triggerman. Mannion was the starter at the beginning of 2012 but fell out of favor. Vaz did himself no favors by the way he played in the Alamo Bowl against Texas. Vaz might be the front-runner, but Mannion has more overall talent.

2. Defensive tackle: The Beavers must replace both starting defensive tackles, and Castro Masaniai and Andrew Seumalo were underrated players who were very valuable to a very good run defense. The top four backups in 2012 had 12 tackles combined. Further, the recently reinstated Mana Rosa will miss spring with a foot injury. Youngsters and JC transfers are going to need to step up.

3. Receiver depth: Leading receiver Markus Wheaton is gone, but Brandin Cooks is back. That's a good start at receiver, but things are a little sketchy after that. Kevin Cummings was the third leading pass-catcher among the receivers last year, but he caught just 18 balls. Is the intriguing but unproductive Obum Gwacham ready to step up? The high jumper dropped track this spring in order to focus on football. We'll see if it pays off.

STANFORD CARDINAL

Spring start: Feb. 25 and April 1

Spring game: April 13

What to watch:

1. Tight end: The tight end obsessed Cardinal lost Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo, perhaps the best tandem at the position in the nation in 2012. The general feeling was coach David Shaw therefore would move 2012 fullback Ryan Hewitt back to his former position, but Shaw is hoping a youngster or two, starting with sophomore Luke Kaumatule, will step up. Shaw also moved senior Eddie Plantaric and junior Charlie Hopkins, former defensive linemen, to tight end.

2. Center and left tackle: Shaw wants to move All-American left tackle David Yankey inside to left guard. That would set up a big battle between touted sophomores Andrus Peat and Kyle Murphy for the left tackle spot. The loser might still end up starting, perhaps pushing Cameron Fleming at right tackle. Further, center Sam Schwartzstein needs to be replaced. Top candidates are seniors Conor McFadden and Khalil Wilkes, as well as junior Kevin Reihner and sophomore Graham Shuler.

3. Replacing Thomas: The loss of running back Stepfan Taylor became less of an issue when Tyler Gaffney opted to drop baseball for football. The Cardinal seems fairly deep at running back, with Gaffney looking like the lead dog. But what about replacing outside linebacker Chase Thomas? Thomas' 2012 backup, Alex Debniak, also graduated. The most obvious answer would be sophomore Kevin Anderson, who had seven tackles and two sacks as Trent Murphy's backup last fall.

WASHINGTON HUSKIES

Spring start: March 5

Spring game: April 20

What to watch:

1. Quarterbacks: As he prepares for his senior season, Keith Price is the incumbent at quarterback. However, he is coming off an up-and-down campaign as a junior and some wonder if one of the younger quarterbacks in the program -- Cyler Miles, Jeff Lindquist or early enrollee Troy Williams -- could push Price for the starting job.

2. Offensive line: Injuries vaulted young players into starting roles in 2012. While the group struggled at times, the experience should lead to improvement, and it will be interesting to see how this group develops throughout the spring.

3. Early enrollees: Williams and safety Trevor Walker are getting early starts on their college careers. The incoming freshmen want to make an impact right away. Kicker Cameron Van Winkle also plans to enroll before the end of spring practice and should push for a starting job as a true freshman.

-- Mason Kelley, HuskyNation

WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS

Spring start: March 21

Spring game: April 20

What to watch:

1. Is Halliday Leach's guy? Quarterback Connor Halliday has plenty of starting experience and he's played well at times. He seems like the front-runner to start in 2013. But he's also been inconsistent, and that clearly frustrated coach Mike Leach last year. Halliday needs to end all doubt this spring, or he could get challenged by redshirt freshman Austin Apodaca, incoming freshman Tyler Bruggman or perhaps someone else this fall.

2. The O (No!) line: A team cannot give up 57 sacks in 12 games and expect to have a good season. While Leach isn't a big fan of running the ball, 29 yards rushing per game -- a 1.4 yards per carry average, no less -- isn't going to cut it, either. Four starters return from the 2012 O-line. That may or may not be a good thing. To have any legitimate chance at a bowl game in 2013, the Cougs must get better on the offensive line.

3. Going Long on the pass rush: Travis Long was a four-year starter, a guy who was underappreciated because he played on lousy defenses. He's been the Cougs' best defender probably all four years and now he's gone. He led the defense with 9.5 sacks last year, even though everyone knew he was the only true pass-rushing threat. No other Coug had more than three sacks. His backup, junior Logan Mayes, had 2.5 sacks last year. But it's not just about replacing Long, it's about the pass rush in general, which relied heavily on blitzes to create pressure, a big reason the Cougars were 11th in pass efficiency defense in 2012.