Whoever realized that a great, experienced quarterback is almost a necessity for a championship team was a genius before his time. The recent Super Bowl matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints featured great quarterbacks: Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.
Now the University of Washington Huskies have Jake Locker back for another year to continue a tremendous rebuilding effort by new head coach Steve “Sark” Sarkisian.
Locker, who struggled for two useless years with the coach of nowhere whose name I refuse to mention, finally found his own mentor in Sark, a huge success in his own right at Brigham Young University.
Sark also coached two Heisman Trophy winners: Carson Palmer in 2002 and Matt Leinart in 2004, and mentored fellow NFL draft picks John David Booty and Mark Sanchez. They are all quarterbacks.
In 2008, Locker and his teammates endured an excruciating, winless season (0-12). In 2009, with the arrival of Sarkisian, a former offensive coordinator from Southern California, and Nick Holt, a former defensive coordinator from USC, as the Huskies’ new defensive coordinator, Locker began “educating himself” as an NFL quarterback. An interested and easily coachable student, Locker made incredible progress and the Huskies began to improve.
Washington played tough against LSU in their opener but lost, 31-23, before beating Idaho 42-23 and then defeating Southern Cal 16-13 in a game that made national news. The Huskies lost their first road game at Stanford 34-14 and lost again at Notre Dame 37-30 after leading the Irish into overtime.
After defeating Arizona 36-33, they stayed at 3-3 and then quickly lost to Arizona State, Oregon, UCLA and Oregon State, leaving some fans wondering if the optimistic start would be a longer season finale.
Thankfully, Washington completely decimated their cross-state rival, humiliating Washington State by shutting out the 30-zip Cougars, then defeating a very good California team 42-10 to end the season on a note. triumphal. The Huskies’ 5-7 record did not reflect how far they had come from a winless season, or how far they had progressed.
On the brink of making a breakthrough in 2010, NFL scouts began drooling over the centerpiece of Washington’s renaissance: Jake Locker. A junior quarterback with 4.3 sprint speed and good enough to be a starting running back, Locker was an absolute must-have recruit because just about any coach worth his salt knew the talented Husky had enough energy and muscle to play 7 different positions in the football field.
Sarkisian never thought twice about moving Locker from his QB station. Sark just wanted to make him an NFL quarterback, and Locker went through a steep learning curve in a hurry.
If there was ever any doubt that Locker would become a legend after his playing days in Washington, it all vanished in a heartbeat when, after consideration, he decided to turn down millions in money now to hone his training as a QB.
As Locker announced his decision to return to U-Dub and finish the business he started, whispered prayers of thanks were heard floating across the Montlake campus.
By deciding not to sell out his school, his fans, his supporters, and not making them wait for months on his intentions, and then calling a huge press conference to announce his decision, Locker has become a living legend before his death. final. he even starts the season.
Locker didn’t even bother with the NFL’s application process. He approached Sarkisian and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and said, “Coach, I’m staying.” That’s Jake Locker, an immensely talented, humble, down-to-earth guy you wish you were dating your daughter with.
Locker is far from a normal, greedy, self-centered world athlete in today’s sporting environment. Raised in a home that puts God before everything else, it makes perfect sense that Locker would make his decision with the right thoughts and the right motives. There are no hidden agendas with Locker, no need to push everyone out of the way for the light to shine on him. With Locker, light comes from within.
With his return to the Montlake campus and the battlefield, Locker will make everyone around him better. Receivers will catch more balls, running backs will get more yards because of their presence, and their linemen could be blocking for a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Even Husky’s defense will benefit because he’ll extend the offensive team’s time on the field, or get his team into the end zone so quickly and often that it won’t matter.
So how big is Locker’s comeback? Well, astronomers aren’t naming stars in the western Washington sky for football players, but they might start to think about it, especially if they’re U-Dub grads.
Copyright © 2010 Ed Bagley