Washington Huskies

SEATTLE -- When recruits make the decision to enroll early, they face a tough task.

They make a quick transition from high school to college. They trade weightlifting sessions with high school teammates for training time with players who have spent years in the system.

They go from living at home to taking care of themselves. And then, right when they start to develop a routine, spring practice starts.

“For the guys that enroll early, they don’t get that summer to get acclimated with the campus and college life and used to living on their own,” Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said. “They jump on campus and, bang, they’re plopped right into classes with every other kid on campus. They’re going to workouts with our veterans right off the start. And then they get thrown into spring practice.”

This is the challenge Washington freshmen Troy Williams and Trevor Walker face this week.

The four-star quarterback out of Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne and the three-star safety from Arlington (Texas) Mansfield Timberview started their college careers in January when they enrolled at the university. Now, after two months in Seattle, the two prospects are practicing with the Huskies.

When asked about what the freshmen face this week, Sarkisian said the biggest challenge is finding a way to keep from getting too “wide-eyed.”

“For Troy and Trevor, I would just like to see them stay composed, keep their competitive nature and not be too hard on themselves,” Sarkisian said. “They’re going to have some ups and downs in the spring. That’s all part of it.”

Williams and Walker didn’t enroll early to stand on the sidelines and watch. The recruits want to find ways to contribute early in their careers.

As a safety, Walker fills a position of need for the Huskies and will get a chance to earn a spot to play in his first season.

“He’s a natural guy who is going to have some opportunities,” Sarkisian said. “That’s why he chose to come here, for the opportunities at that position.”

Williams will be thrust directly into a quarterback competition, one of several players who will get the chance to push senior Keith Price.

The goal is for the competition in the spring and fall to get Price to the point where he can regain his sophomore form. But Williams will get his share of snaps in spring practice and fall camp.

Back in 2010, running backs Deontae Cooper and Jesse Callier enrolled early. Then in 2011, tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins decided to get a head start on his college career. After watching those players go through the experience, Sarkisian said he wants to see the freshmen maintain their composure through the good and bad.

“They’re going to have some really flashy, high-flying plays that we’re all going to want to talk about and then they’re going to have some rough days where they aren’t at their best,” Sarkisian said.

“That’s all part of the process.”

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."

SEATTLE -- When Steve Sarkisian met with the media Monday, Washington’s coach talked about a team that is “poised for a great run” in 2013.

That journey begins Tuesday when the Huskies take the field for their first spring practice.

“We’re champing at the bit to get on the field and get going,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian believes the pieces are in place for the program to compete for a Pac-12 title. To do that, Washington needs to find success and build confidence this spring.

Here are five storylines to follow as the Huskies set out to reach the lofty expectations that have been set in front of the program:

1: Can Keith Price regain the form he showed as a sophomore?

Heading into the spring, Price is Washington’s quarterback. Sarkisian made that clear when asked about the senior quarterback.

However, Sarkisian also made it clear that the Huskies’ passing attack needs to take a step forward, and Price needs to regain the confidence he had as a sophomore.

“The goal is to get Keith Price back to playing the way he was two years ago,” Sarkisian said.

With the way Price, and the team, struggled at times last season, both the quarterback and coaching staff tried to manufacture the energy Price produced so naturally as a sophomore.

It didn’t work.

“It’s developed through confidence, through belief to where it exudes out of him and it’s not trying to be created superficially,” Sarkisian said.

Through Price’s offseason training, Sarkisian believes the quarterback will regain his swagger in time for theseason. But the other quarterbacks in the program -- Cyler Miles, Jeff Lindquist, Troy Williams and Derrick Brown -- will get their opportunities.

“We’re not going to be stubborn enough to think, if another guy is playing better that guy won’t get that opportunity to beat him out,” Sarkisian said. “[Price] understands the focus of this spring and what he needs to do for himself so that he can perform to the highest level of his capabilities.”

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