Forget the redshirt!!

[raincat]

I saw a comment UW head coach Tyrone Willingham made about his prize freshman quarterback, Jake Locker. Locker is a true freshman, but the spring game listed him as a sophmore. A reporter asked coach about the "mistake" pointing out that he'll actually be a redshirt freshman with 4 years remaining. Willingham said, "no, he's going to be a sophmore. He'll have to earn the fifth year". Many players are recruited with the understanding that every attempt will be made to "save" their freshman year, and they will have four years remaining. Looks like coach Willingham picked up Notre Dames program where few, if any get more than four years to attend compliments of a football scholarship. I remember a few years back much was made of a quarterback named Ron Paulus who ND granted a rare 5th year to see if he could win the Heisman. I'm told several Huskys who were headed into their fifth year and not at the top of the depth chart were dismissed from their scholarships. I suppose they can walk on if they would like to.

[whizonthegriz]

Yeah, Willingham caused quite a stir when he rescinded a few players scholarships who were expecting a fifth year. Lots of talk around Seattle. It wasn't just nonstarters who weren't asked back, a couple of starters were included.

I have my two cents, but ultimately it is Willingham's opinion that matters.

[GrizinWashington]

This activity occurs at many schools. Willingham lost credibility because he made the announcement with one game remaining in the kids football careers, when they were expecting another full year. At most schools, if this is done, it's done in between their 3rd and 4th(academic) years. He handled the whole situation very poorly.

[theblackgecko]

This activity occurs at many schools. Willingham lost credibility because he made the announcement with one game remaining in the kids football careers, when they were expecting another full year. At most schools, if this is done, it's done in between their 3rd and 4th(academic) years. He handled the whole situation very poorly.

How popular in Willingham up in Washington? (Asked purely in an inquisitive manner.)

[lifeloyalsigmsu]

This activity occurs at many schools. Willingham lost credibility because he made the announcement with one game remaining in the kids football careers, when they were expecting another full year. At most schools, if this is done, it's done in between their 3rd and 4th(academic) years. He handled the whole situation very poorly.

How popular in Willingham up in Washington? (Asked purely in an inquisitive manner.)

THat's a great question gecko.

I know that there's a lot of cautious and guarded optimism, especially with the arrival of Jake Locker, but Ty has taken a lot of heat for the way he's excluded alumni and the media from attending the practices (mainly the first 2 years). He's improved a lot this year by easing up on that private nature.

He's no Rick Neuheisel in terms of charisma and they don't call him Paint Dry Ty for nothing. Many believe (myself too, at times) that he's a wonderful football coach every day of the week with the exception of Saturdays.

What I do know is that there are a lot of deep pocket alumni/Tyee boosters who have been holding out on their contributions. I'm not sure if it's a disagreement with the choice of hiring Ty or if they're waiting for results based on the recruits of his that will be starting from now on. There's a mega million dollar proposal for a complete facelift of Husky stadium as well as its surroundings. I think many of them are going to sit back and see how this year unfolds. They get USC, Boise State, Ohio State, Whoregon, Arizona, Cal, and WSU at home this year.

I personally feel like he's well liked for the discipline and father figure nature he seems to impart on his players, but I'm under the assumption that he's not liked all too well as the head coach in terms of ability. As a UW alum myself, the jury is still out on him but I do like what he's doing to get the program respectable again. I put my faith in him (for now) because he inherited a train wreck of a program and he's made some very positive changes thus far. I mean, this guy took Stanford to a Rose Bowl in 1994 (I think it was '94). Freakin' Stanford!

[whizonthegriz]

lifeloyalsigmsu pretty accurately described the feelings of family I know on the Tyee Council. He is a class guy, which made the handling of the 5th year of eligibilty fiasco so newsworthy. People really appreciate the clean program he runs.

However, it still comes down to wins and losses, and Ty has not done enough winning. The recruiting classes (not just under him) have been less than steller and very few blue chip prospects have signed with Washington. Locker, and possibly Hasty, are the exceptions. With only 2 players drafted, 1 win Stanford had more players drafted.

This year's schedule is brutal. The team might be better than last year, but with their schedule Washington will have a hard time showing it.

Personally, I'm just not sure if he is the coach that makes Washington great again. Eventually, he should make them competitive. I do not see any stretch of glory years on the horizon.

[raincat]

lifeloyal is pretty much spot on with what I hear. I happen to work with some extemely hard core WSU Cougars (two are former Cougar Club presidents) and they have a lot of respect for coach Willingham...and it's hard to find hard core Cougars who respect much of anything about UW! That said, I think he has done a remarkable job in a very short time. He's done a decent job of recruiting and things look pretty well grounded. Locker and Hasty were amazing additions, although Hasty may never see the field if he doesn't cure his grade problems. Hasty, from Bellevue, was on his way to Penn State when Willingham took the UW job, and Ty turned him around.
His first year was predictable, but last year he was 4-7; two of the losses (Cal and ASU) were in overtime, lost at Norman 20-37 when OU was #2, gave the game away to USC in LA 20-26 and beat UCLA. Even better for him, beat WSU 35-32 to end the season.
I don't think the schedule is all that horrific this year. Syracuse is nothing special, Boise State...the emeging powerhouse plays in Seattle, but I'd rather see them than say Texas, Nebraska or Penn State. They play Ohio State, Oregon and USC at home and finish at Hawaii.
If I'm a Husky I'd "hopefully" expect 7-4...no less than 6-5 this year. That's light years ahead of expectations just last year.

[WyomingGrizFan]

*

[whizonthegriz]

when they were expecting another full year. At most schools, if this is done, it's done in between their 3rd and 4th(academic) years. He handled the whole situation very poorly.

Wouldn't it also cause a certain degree of resentment since nowadays, since the NCAA changed the 'no more dropdowns with only one year left eligibility,' amongst most players let go with one year remaining?

Otherwise, as in the past, players with but one year left could have transferred to a I-AA (FCS), but not anymore. Of course, what's resentment amongst players/parents/community etc. no longer in the program, or in football anymore, period?

As lifeloyalsigmsu stated earlier, Willingham handled this very poorly. A couple of players transferred to Central Washington since their only viable option was a Div II school. Another player had graduated, so he was able to enroll in grad school and play at Ohio University. The Times did an article a couple of weeks ago, and there was still some resentment. Overall, though, the players seemed to take the high road.

[whizonthegriz]

What ticks me off is that the players were promised one thing by the coach who recruited them (Neiheisal redshirted every recruit and told them they would have 4 years to play after the redshirt). The played for another coach. And then, when a third coach comes in, he breaks what was promised to them. Just before Senior Day, he announced that they were seniors and ushered them out the door a year early.

Willingham talks so much about character, but to me this shows an utter lack of character.

[GrizinWashington]

Willingham talks so much about character, but to me this shows an utter lack of character.

Agreed. Although I'm not much of a Husky fan, I do like most of what Ty has done. But this was a below-the-belt-blow, and I lost some respect for him.

[Weltercat]

I saw a comment UW head coach Tyrone Willingham made about his prize freshman quarterback, Jake Locker. Locker is a true freshman, but the spring game listed him as a sophmore. A reporter asked coach about the "mistake" pointing out that he'll actually be a redshirt freshman with 4 years remaining. Willingham said, "no, he's going to be a sophmore. He'll have to earn the fifth year". Many players are recruited with the understanding that every attempt will be made to "save" their freshman year, and they will have four years remaining. Looks like coach Willingham picked up Notre Dames program where few, if any get more than four years to attend compliments of a football scholarship. I remember a few years back much was made of a quarterback named Ron Paulus who ND granted a rare 5th year to see if he could win the Heisman. I'm told several Huskys who were headed into their fifth year and not at the top of the depth chart were dismissed from their scholarships. I suppose they can walk on if they would like to.

I don't understand why Coach Willingham would say he'd have to earn his fifth year. He is the projected starter so Willingham must have confidence in him and he red shirted last year. Supposedly, the Huskies were recruiting Rasmussen until Locker committed.

[whizonthegriz]

I saw a comment UW head coach Tyrone Willingham made about his prize freshman quarterback, Jake Locker. Locker is a true freshman, but the spring game listed him as a sophmore. A reporter asked coach about the "mistake" pointing out that he'll actually be a redshirt freshman with 4 years remaining. Willingham said, "no, he's going to be a sophmore. He'll have to earn the fifth year". Many players are recruited with the understanding that every attempt will be made to "save" their freshman year, and they will have four years remaining. Looks like coach Willingham picked up Notre Dames program where few, if any get more than four years to attend compliments of a football scholarship. I remember a few years back much was made of a quarterback named Ron Paulus who ND granted a rare 5th year to see if he could win the Heisman. I'm told several Huskys who were headed into their fifth year and not at the top of the depth chart were dismissed from their scholarships. I suppose they can walk on if they would like to.

I don't understand why Coach Willingham would say he'd have to earn his fifth year. He is the projected starter so Willingham must have confidence in him and he red shirted last year. Supposedly, the Huskies were recruiting Rasmussen until Locker committed.

I'm sure Willingham can still claim everybody is treated fairly.

[raincat]

I saw a comment UW head coach Tyrone Willingham made about his prize freshman quarterback, Jake Locker. Locker is a true freshman, but the spring game listed him as a sophmore. A reporter asked coach about the "mistake" pointing out that he'll actually be a redshirt freshman with 4 years remaining. Willingham said, "no, he's going to be a sophmore. He'll have to earn the fifth year". Many players are recruited with the understanding that every attempt will be made to "save" their freshman year, and they will have four years remaining. Looks like coach Willingham picked up Notre Dames program where few, if any get more than four years to attend compliments of a football scholarship. I remember a few years back much was made of a quarterback named Ron Paulus who ND granted a rare 5th year to see if he could win the Heisman. I'm told several Huskys who were headed into their fifth year and not at the top of the depth chart were dismissed from their scholarships. I suppose they can walk on if they would like to.

I don't understand why Coach Willingham would say he'd have to earn his fifth year. He is the projected starter so Willingham must have confidence in him and he red shirted last year. Supposedly, the Huskies were recruiting Rasmussen until Locker committed.

I'm sure Willingham can still claim everybody is treated fairly.

That's just it, Locker wasn't "redshirted". Technically in four years he will be a senior and UW will have fulfilled their obligation, at least that's the view going in. However, if Locker is still the stud in four years they will grant a fifth year. If not, for whatever reason...like an incoming freshman is handed the job, then he's likely gone.

[Weltercat]

I saw a comment UW head coach Tyrone Willingham made about his prize freshman quarterback, Jake Locker. Locker is a true freshman, but the spring game listed him as a sophmore. A reporter asked coach about the "mistake" pointing out that he'll actually be a redshirt freshman with 4 years remaining. Willingham said, "no, he's going to be a sophmore. He'll have to earn the fifth year". Many players are recruited with the understanding that every attempt will be made to "save" their freshman year, and they will have four years remaining. Looks like coach Willingham picked up Notre Dames program where few, if any get more than four years to attend compliments of a football scholarship. I remember a few years back much was made of a quarterback named Ron Paulus who ND granted a rare 5th year to see if he could win the Heisman. I'm told several Huskys who were headed into their fifth year and not at the top of the depth chart were dismissed from their scholarships. I suppose they can walk on if they would like to.

I don't understand why Coach Willingham would say he'd have to earn his fifth year. He is the projected starter so Willingham must have confidence in him and he red shirted last year. Supposedly, the Huskies were recruiting Rasmussen until Locker committed.

I'm sure Willingham can still claim everybody is treated fairly.

That's just it, Locker wasn't "redshirted". Technically in four years he will be a senior and UW will have fulfilled their obligation, at least that's the view going in. However, if Locker is still the stud in four years they will grant a fifth year. If not, for whatever reason...like an incoming freshman is handed the job, then he's likely gone.

Raincat, are you sure he was not red shirted last year??? Are you telling me he sat on the bench all last year behind Isiah Stanbeck without taking a snap and did not use his red shirt?? That would seem really dumb of coach Willingham.

[GrizinWashington]

I think Raincoat's point is that technically, no one "uses" their redshirt until they are granted their fifth year of eligibility. If Locker gets to his 4th year of school and is a bust, the UW would not HAVE to grant him a fifth year, and therefore last year would not have been a redshirt year, but rather his freshman year. The likelyhood of that happening, however, seems miniscule.

[raincat]

Thanks GrizinWashington. You're pretty much right on.

[Weltercat]

I’m all confused. Don’t you get four years of eligibility plus a red shirt year that you can participate in practice but not play? What would be the logic of putting off your redshirt until you’re a senior?

[Bleedinbluengold]

I’m all confused. Don’t you get four years of eligibility plus a red shirt year that you can participate in practice but not play? What would be the logic of putting off your redshirt until you’re a senior?

It's a rarity, but it does happen. You're right that most of the time, freshman will redshirt because they need the year to learn and get bigger, stronger, faster. Sometimes, a freshman is thrust into playing, but will get redshirted later. Most of the time this is due to being deep at that particular position.

[GrizinWashington]

I’m all confused. Don’t you get four years of eligibility plus a red shirt year that you can participate in practice but not play? What would be the logic of putting off your redshirt until you’re a senior?

You're kind of missing the point, I think. In the case of the dismissed Huskies, they HAD (or at least THOUGHT they had) redshirted their freshman year. That is to say, they practiced but didn't play. As they approached the end of thier 4th year (their 3rd year playing), Willingham said he didn't want them back, and told them that they had used up their 4 years of eligibility. That is to say, he essentially took away their use of the redshirt their freshman year and counted it as a season of eligibility. While Locker "redshirted" last year, TW is not guaranteeing him that he won't do the same thing to him that he did to other players.